At an October 1, 2021 in-person conference (Fordham’s 48th Annual Conference on International Antitrust Law and Policy) Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers of the Antitrust Division spoke about the history of and Antitrust Division’s commitment to enforcing the antitrust laws, including criminal enforcement, in labor markets:  “If it was important for enforcers to…

The Supreme Court’s decision in Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n v. Alston, Nos. 20-512 and 20-520, 2021 WL 2519036, (U.S. June 21, 2021) is a boost for the Antitrust Division’s commitment to prosecute what it calls naked “wage fixing” and “no poach” agreements. In the prosecutions it has brought to date (still in the early stages)…

Congratulations to Senator Chuck Grassley and Patrick Leahy for the passage in the House of Representatives of their bipartisan legislation that has already passed the Senate that aims to protect whistleblowers who come forward with information on criminal antitrust violations.  In a December 8, 2020 Press Release  Senator Grassley said, “The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act encourages and…

As tributes pour in for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg following news of her passing on September 18, the jurist is being remembered for her efforts to support women’s rights. This post is intended to provide a look back at Ginsburg’s contributions to antitrust law during her time on the High Court from…

The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division has issued more business review letters in 2020 than in any year since 2002. Recent years have averaged only one letter. So why is there this sudden interest in a statement of the Antitrust Division’s enforcement intentions with respect to proposed business conduct? Concerns about how the Antitrust…

A.      The Broiler Chicken Civil Litigation/Criminal Indictment On June 3, 2020, a grand jury in Colorado returned an indictment charging executives from Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and Claxton Poultry Farms with fixing prices and rigging bids nationwide for broiler chickens  [I wonder how the grand jury met? Zoom?] The case was filed in the…

US v. Lischewski, Case No. 3:18-cr-00203-EMC (N.D. Cal.) Christopher Lischewski, the former CEO of Bumble Bee who was convicted of price fixing after a trial last December, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16, 2020.  The government has requested a guidelines sentence of eight to ten years in prison and a $1 million  fine. …

Since the premerger notification program of Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) was passed in 1976, challenges to consummated mergers in the U.S. have dwindled and for good reason:  Under HSR, antitrust enforcers can stop mergers that “may be” anti-competitive before they harm consumers.  U.S. antitrust enforcers, however, might be considering more such challenges.  While they are legally possible,…

Medical supply distributors McKesson Corporation, Owens & Minor Inc., Cardinal Health Inc., Medline Industries Inc., and Henry Schein Inc. have received approval from the Department of Justice Antitrust Division to collaborate on manufacturing, sourcing, and distributing personal-protective equipment (PPE) and coronavirus-treatment-related medication. On April 4, the Antitrust Division issued to these companies its first business…

Last month, the Seventh Circuit in Viamedia Inc. v. Comcast Corp.[1] found that refusal to deal claims can still be successfully alleged under Sherman Act Section 2 if plaintiff’s allegations mirror those in Aspen Skiing closely enough.  If it stands, the opinion will make it much more difficult for monopolist defendants to dismiss such claims…