antitrust law

Respondent Caroline Behrend et al., cable television subscribers, brought an antitrust class action against Petitioner Comcast Corporation alleging anticompetitive activity. In order to be certified as a class, Respondents had to present evidence that they suffered damages on a class-wide basis. The evidence they submitted consisted of a damages model prepared by their expert witness. Comcast challenges the District Court’s reliance upon that evidence, claiming that it is inadmissible under standards set forth in Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U. S. 579 (1993). In this case, the Supreme Court will address whether evidence presented in support of class certification must be admissible under those standards. The decision will likely significantly impact the ability of plaintiffs to certify as a class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, and it may also affect underlying commercial conduct, such as the future use of territory-swapping and clustering agreements. 

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Phoebe Putney Health Systems ("PPHS") leased and operated one of two hospitals in Dougherty County, Georgia. PPHS then leased the other county hospital, Palmyra Medical Center, from the Hospital Corporation of America ("HCA"). In April 2011, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") filed a complaint against PPHS, alleging that by leasing Palmyra, PPHS violated the Clayton Act and the FTC Act by acting with anticompetitive effect. PPHS argues that it should be exempt from federal antitrust law under the state action doctrine. The Eleventh Circuit found for PPHS, stating that a private actor falls within the state action doctrine when its anticompetitive activity is foreseeable by the state legislature. The FTC urges a more stringent standard where the anticompetitive effect must be intrinsic to the state’s authorization. How the Supreme Court decides this case will dictate how state legislatures delegate power to local government entities, and whether or not they must formally articulate authorization for such an entity to act with anticompetitive effect.

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The Sherman Antitrust Act forbids product-tying arrangements by companies that possess substantial market power in the tying-product's market. While the party alleging the violation must generally prove such market power exists, market power is assumed when a company holds a valid patent on the tying product. Illinois Tool Works ("Illinois") makes the availability of licensing agreements for its patented products contingent on the exclusive use of other, unpatented products. It urges the Court to overturn the patent-based market-power presumption. Independent Ink, an Illinois licensee, claims that the tying arrangement improperly forces it to buy Illinois' ink, despite the availability of cheaper, effective substitutes, thereby stifling beneficial competition. The direct impact of the Court's decision, whether it preserves the status quo or changes its rule, making antitrust violations harder to prove, will be felt by sellers who tie patented products to unpatented ones, firms who buy products from such companies, and the consumers who ultimately purchase products from either company. Indirectly, the case may mark the Roberts Court's first foray into the doctrine of stare decisis, which provides insight into the current Court's view on when and how to defer to its past decisions. As a result, the effects of the decision may be felt in many areas of the Court's jurisprudence which don't deal with the antitrust law.

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The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) alleges that the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners (“Board”) has engaged in unfair methods of competition by trying to exclude non-dentists from the teeth-whitening market. The Supreme Court will now determine two legal issues: (1) whether the Board is a public actor or private actor for purposes of federal antitrust liability; and (2) if the Board is a private actor, whether the Board is subject to active supervision by the state. The Board argues that it is a public actor and thus does not need “active supervision” to be immune from federal antitrust law. The FTC argues that the Board is a private actor and is not subject to active state supervision. The Supreme Court’s resolution of this case will impact both the efficacy of future state regulatory boards and the balance of federalism.

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This case involves price squeeze claims and whether they are viable under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. In addition, the Court will likely determine if price squeeze claims must be pled and treated in the same way as traditional predatory pricing claims. This claim arose when linkLine, an internet service provider, sued its wholesale DSL supplier, AT&T, for engaging in anticompetitive practices in order to stifle competition in the California telecommunications market. The Ninth Circuit rejected AT&T’s argument that linkLine’s claim was not viable under antitrust jurisprudence, especially in light of the recent Supreme Court decision in Verizon v. Trinko. The Supreme Court’s ruling will determine the status of price squeeze claims in antitrust jurisprudence, and could also clarify how the costs of retail production of a vertically integrated company with a wholesale monopoly should be measured when considering retail predatory pricing claims. 

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