In Part 3 of their Capper Volstead series, Jay Levine and Don Barnes discuss other statutes that exempt agricultural cooperatives from antitrust liability and delve into the historical and present relationship that USDA and DOJ have with the Capper Volstead Act. Read a transcript of the episode here. Find Jay on Twitter and LinkedIn or contact him at jlevine@porterwright.com. Listen wherever you listen to … Continue Reading
In Part 2 of their Capper Volstead series, Jay Levine and Don Barnes continue to discuss the need for the Capper Volstead Act and its key elements. Specifically, the team dives in to discuss why the Act was required and preview some of the ongoing issues with its application.… Continue Reading
In a belated tribute to Capper Volstead’s 100th anniversary, Jay Levine talks with his legal partner Don Barnes, one of the deans of the agricultural bar and an authority on Capper Volstead. In Part 1 of their discussion, they review the origins of Capper Volstead and how the legal landscape for agricultural producers has changed … Continue Reading
Last year, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is not authorized to impose civil penalties on parties who violate the FTC Act unless the party is violating a previous cease and order. The ruling took away a major enforcement tool. Now, Axon Enterprises is seeking to attack the entire structure … Continue Reading
Two recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) actions confirm the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) is not to be ignored. On Dec. 22, the FTC fined both Biglari Holdings and the founder of Werner Enterprises for failure to file with the FTC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) before consummating significant acquisitions of related entities.… Continue Reading
Our last article, New Brandeisians keep their promise, discussed the contents of Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s (D-MN) proposed overarching antitrust legislation, Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act (CALERA). Now, we’d like to take a step back and focus on the arguments supporting and opposing such reform, and in particular the precise manner in which the … Continue Reading
In part two of their series “The Antitrust Revolution,” host Jay Levine and guest Carrie Garrison discuss the evolution of antitrust in the decades leading up to the present. They explain, in plain words, the prevailing economic theory that governed antitrust enforcement and why those principles are now coming under attack. They also discuss the … Continue Reading
An antitrust revolution is definitely underway. But to understand where we may be going, you must first understand where we have been. In this podcast, Jay is joined by attorney Carrie Garrison. They will guide you through the evolution of antitrust law, from its inception to the present, and provide you the tools to better … Continue Reading
Probably never before has there been introduced in Congress so many bills relating to antitrust. At last count, over 25 different pieces of antitrust legislation have been introduced just this year, covering antitrust in general and distinct industries in particular, including pharmaceuticals, sports, news and oil. And more have been promised. While some proposed laws … Continue Reading
The sports and antitrust worlds eagerly awaited the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in NCAA v. Alston, a case challenging to the NCAA’s right to limit compensation paid to student-athletes. On Monday, June 21, the Supreme Court upheld the decisions by the lower courts, which found in favor of student-athletes and forbade the NCAA or the … Continue Reading
There is no question that antitrust policy, at any time, is highly influenced by the prevailing economic thinking. Equally unquestionable is the fact that economic thinking is highly influenced by one’s political philosophy. With these principles established, the current debate over the purpose of the antitrust laws, and thus the standards they ought to employ, … Continue Reading
Borrowing from the immortal words of Paul Revere, the title consciously evokes images of a battle, though fought with words and ideas and (hopefully) not muskets and bayonets. The proper objectives of the antitrust laws and the appropriate level of antitrust enforcement has been discussed in mainstream media more over the last decade than perhaps … Continue Reading
An antitrust revolution is upon us. Numerous pundits and political leaders blame many of today’s societal and economic ills on what they claim is the increasing concentration of economic power in the hands of a few. Perceived lax antitrust enforcement and permissive antitrust laws, many claim, is the cause of that. Indeed, President Joe Biden … Continue Reading
A divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court and held that the 1996 amended catch-all provision of the Pennsylvania Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (CPL) imposes strict liability. Writing for the 4-3 majority, Justice David Wecht, based upon a professed review of the plain language of the statute, concluded the General Assembly’s addition of “or … Continue Reading
For nearly 75 years, the McCarran-Ferguson Act established a broad – although not unlimited – exemption from the application of federal law to “the business of insurance,” finding “the continued regulation and taxation by the several states [of that business] in the public interest.” As a result, McCarran-Ferguson exempted insurers from federal antitrust liability where … Continue Reading
The NCAA’s legal challenges regarding a student athlete’s ability to financially benefit from their name, image and likeness has ramped up. The league was hit with another class action antitrust lawsuit last week. The lawsuit comes on the heels of a decision by the Ninth Circuit affirming a bench trial victory by student-athletes. In that … Continue Reading
Before even moving for certification of the putative classes they seek to represent, Interim Class Counsel (ICC) in the In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation sought to insure they would get not only their own piece of the pie, but also a sizable sliver of everyone else’s. Claiming they are prosecuting potentially “the largest … Continue Reading
As millions of Americans contemplate whether to fry, smoke or barbeque their chicken over the upcoming 4th of July holiday, the antitrust class action against our nation’s largest chicken producers—In Re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, No. 16-cv-8637—took a significant turn this past week, when the U.S. Department of Justice formally intervened in the multi-district private … Continue Reading
There is currently a tug-of-war going on over the heart and soul of the antitrust laws. Well, perhaps that is a bit dramatic. But it is certainly fair to say that there is surging sentiment that the antitrust laws, and specifically antitrust enforcement, should be recalibrated to address concerns that are “populist” in nature. This … Continue Reading
Data is a buzzword popular in the media today. Most often we hear or read the word in conjunction with a breach of a major retailer or healthcare company. It is also used by companies to target us with behavioral advertising. But it also has become the new coin of the realm. Being neither a … Continue Reading
Nautilus’s Bowflex TreadClimber just became the latest example of enforcement action against a health and fitness product by the National Advertising Division (NAD), a voluntary advertising self-regulatory body administered by the Better Business Bureau. More specifically, the NAD determined that Nautilus could not support its claim that one could lose substantial weight solely by using … Continue Reading
The National Advertising Division (NAD), a voluntary advertising self-regulatory body administered by the Better Business Bureau, just dealt a major blow to the Pavlok Aversion Therapy wristband by recommending that it discontinue numerous unsupported claims as a violation of false advertising laws. Pavlok has said it will accept the recommendations. Pavlok, a product by the … Continue Reading
Many health and fitness companies know that federal and state laws prohibit unfair or deceptive practices, including false advertising. But many still have the mistaken impression that they can freely post testimonials from their products’ users without running afoul of false advertising laws. After all, the thought goes, the company is merely relaying its customers’ … Continue Reading
If you have not yet developed a data breach response plan, the FTC has stepped in to help. The FTC has prepared a guide, a short video and a corresponding segment on its business blog to help businesses prepare for data breach events. The guide and video provide key considerations, including having your computer forensic … Continue Reading
