In the United States, mergers and acquisitions involving companies of a certain size must be reviewed by one of the competition authorities—the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice. Under 15 U.S.C. § 18a, commonly known as the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust…
Whether you have an offensive antitrust claim to assert against another business, or an antitrust claim is being asserted against your business, it can be helpful to put at least a ballpark dollar figure on the potential damages at stake. For example, let’s say you have an antitrust claim to…
When allegations of industry-wide price fixing or other cartel conduct come to light, plaintiffs’ lawyers almost always respond with class-action lawsuits, naming all the relevant competitors as co-defendants. Often the defendants comprise all or most sellers of the at-issue product across an…
The Short(ish) Answer: An MFN requires Party A to offer Party B the best deal—or at least the same deal—that Party A offers to Party B’s competitors. MFN examples: (1) a requirement that a seller give a particular buyer the best price; (2) a requirement that a buyer not do…
The Short Answer: Yes. A class action is a procedural device that allows groups of similarly situated plaintiffs to sue together for efficiency reasons. The class of plaintiffs in an antitrust case typically consists of businesses and/or consumers who purchased the same goods or services…
The Short Answer: In a monopoly, a seller has market power to increase its selling prices to above-competitive levels. In a monopsony, a buyer has market power to lower its purchasing prices to below-competitive levels. A monopsony is an antitrust violation when a seller has monopsony power…