Justia Antitrust & Trade Regulation Opinion Summaries

Four pathologists left their employment at a Des Moines laboratory, operated by Iowa Pathology Associates, P.C., and Regional Laboratory Consultants, P.C., to form a new competing laboratory called Goldfinch Laboratory, P.C. Goldfinch alleged that the existing laboratories had previously enjoyed monopoly power over pathology services in Central Iowa and had pressured pathologists to sign noncompetition agreements to maintain that monopoly. After Goldfinch was established, it claimed that the defendants made false statements about it to physician referrers and undertook other actions designed to eliminate Goldfinch from the market, resulting in significant financial losses.The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa dismissed Goldfinch’s complaint. The district court concluded that Goldfinch had not suffered an antitrust injury, was not a proper plaintiff, and, in any event, failed to state a claim under the relevant antitrust statutes. Goldfinch appealed this dismissal.The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reviewed the district court’s decision de novo. The appellate court held that Goldfinch’s claim under Section 1 of the Sherman Act failed because the complaint itself established that the two defendant laboratories were not independent economic actors but operated as a single economic unit, incapable of conspiring with each other under antitrust law. Regarding the Section 2 claim for attempted monopolization, the court found that Goldfinch had not adequately alleged a relevant geographic market, as it did not explain why pathology services outside Central Iowa were not practical alternatives for referring physicians. The court also found no abuse of discretion in the district court’s denial of leave to amend the complaint, as Goldfinch did not explain how an amendment could cure these deficiencies. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal. View "Goldfinch Laboratory, P.C. v. Iowa Pathology Associates, P.C." on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, retail grocers, filed putative class actions against two large full-line wholesale grocers, alleging that the wholesalers' contract to exchange retailer supply agreements constituted market allocation in violation of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1. Plaintiffs formed the Midwest Class and the New England Class, each class having an Arbitration Subclass of retailers who had arbitration agreements with their current (post-swap) wholesaler. The district court dismissed the purported representatives of the Arbitration Subclasses and the court reversed. At that point, the district court had rejected the proposed Midwest and New England classes and granted defendants' motion for summary judgment. The court reversed, ordering the district court to consider a narrower Midwest class. On remand, Colella moved to intervene to join Village Market, the New England Arbitration Subclass representative, in seeking to certify a narrower New England class. The district court denied the motion and announced that it would not consider any new class of New England plaintiffs. The court concluded that it does not have discretion to hear Village Market's appeal under Rule 23(f). The court explained that an order that leaves class-action status unchanged from what was determined by a prior order was not an order granting or denying class action certification. The court also concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Colella's motion to intervene as time-barred. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Colella's Super Market, Inc. v. SuperValu, Inc." on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, retail grocers, filed putative class actions against two large full-line wholesale grocers, alleging that the wholesalers' contract to exchange retailer supply agreements constituted market allocation in violation of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1. Plaintiffs formed the Midwest Class and the New England Class, each class having an Arbitration Subclass of retailers who had arbitration agreements with their current (post-swap) wholesaler. Each Arbitration Subclass filed suit against only its previous wholesaler, with which it no longer had a current arbitration agreement. The district court dismissed the Arbitration Subclasses from the case. On remand, the district court rejected the wholesalers' alternate successors-in-interest theory and the wholesaler's third alternate theory that they could directly enforce their previous arbitration agreements because some of the conduct at issue occurred when the previous agreements were still in effect. The court concluded that the district court did not err by rejecting the successors-in-interest theory where the court was not aware of any authority supporting the proposition that a predecessor-in-interest bears a sufficiently close relationship to a successor-in-interest such that the predecessor-in-interest can compel arbitration under an agreement to which only the successor-in-interest is a signatory. The court rejected the direct enforcement argument, concluding that wholesalers may not directly enforce the arbitration agreements to which they are no longer signatories. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Millennium Operations v. SuperValu" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs appealed the district court's dismissal of their claims for damages in their action against Ferrellgas and AmeriGas under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants acted in concert to reduce the amount of propane contained within pre-filled propane tanks while maintaining the same price per tank, and thus artificially increasing the price of the tanks. Here, plaintiffs allege that reduction in fill levels, and thus the effective price increase, occurred in 2008, almost immediately after defendants reached the unlawful agreement. Plaintiffs have not alleged any overt acts within the four year limitations period that were new and independent acts, uncontrolled by the initial agreement. Therefore, the court concluded that plaintiffs' claims are time-barred and the court's conclusion reflects the objectives of Congress in encouraging timely lawsuits for the public good. The court affirmed the judgment. View "Larson v. Ferrellgas Partners" on Justia Law