Archives: Legislative

Capper Volstead: Past, present and future – Part 3

By Jay L. Levine and Don Barnes on March 2, 2023

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

Capper Volstead: Past, present and future – Part 2

By Jay L. Levine and Don Barnes on February 22, 2023

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

New Brandeisians push further: Proposed antitrust legislation reflects broad remedial purpose of antitrust laws

By Jay L. Levine and Porter Wright on September 15, 2021

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

Antitrust as antidote? Historical overview of antitrust law

By Jay L. Levine and Porter Wright on April 28, 2021

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

Supreme Court clips FTC’s wings

By Jay L. Levine on April 26, 2021

In a significant decision handed down last Thursday, April 22, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cannot, in the first instance, seek monetary remedies in federal court. Rather, it must first obtain a cease and desist order and, only after a violation of that order, can it seek penalties … Continue Reading

Ohio’s COVID-19 qualified immunity legislation

By Jay L. Levine on October 20, 2020

COVID-19 has spurred all sorts of legislation. In this episode, Jay discusses some examples of COVID-19-related legislation with John Carney, Chair of Porter Wright’s Health Care Practice and former three-term Ohio state representative. The discussion includes Ohio’s recently-enacted qualified immunity legislation (HB 606) as well as some thoughts about future laws that may be on … Continue Reading

2016 antitrust developments: Foreshadowing 2017?

By Molly Crabtree on January 4, 2017

It’s that time of year again, when we reflect on what happened during the prior year and prepare for another one. Let’s take a moment to look at some trending antitrust topics from 2016, and take a stab at what we believe will be some of the hottest trending topics in antitrust law going forward. … Continue Reading

Antitrust & politics: A match made in…

By Jay L. Levine on July 11, 2016

After eight years of antitrust enforcement under the Obama administration that some consider robust, while others are more critical, it is fair to wonder what we can expect from a Trump or Clinton administration. Of course, it is often difficult, if not dangerous, to make such prognostications, but it is worth considering the question nonetheless. … Continue Reading

Breaking: President Obama’s executive order requires all federal agencies to examine antitrust issues

By Jay L. Levine on April 15, 2016

Earlier this morning, President Obama announced the issuance of an executive order that broadly requires all executive agencies and departments to take steps to address competition concerns. The executive order comes on the heels of a report issued by the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors that details the increasing concentration of markets in the … Continue Reading

FTC commissioner dissents from FTC/DOJ joint statement on South Carolina’s Certificate-of-Need law

By Porter Wright on January 19, 2016

Certificate-of-Need laws (CON laws) require health care providers to obtain state approval for significant capital expenditures, such as expanding the number of beds in a hospital or investing in robotic surgery capabilities. The National Health Planning and Resources Development Act of 1974 prompted the wide enactment of CON laws by the states by making it … Continue Reading