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The Antitrust Attorney Blog

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The San Diego Daily Transcript Named me a 2014 Top Attorney Finalist for Corporate Litigation in San Diego

Most of The Antitrust Attorney Blog entries focus on antitrust and competition law, which I suppose isn’t a surprise. But that hides the fact that I am a business litigator as well. While many of my matters relate to antitrust, some of them don’t. So I thought this award would…

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The Antitrust Law Journal, Patent Assertion Entities, and Politics

As you know, I am a big fan of the Antitrust Law Journal, which is produced by the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section. It is the journal where antitrust lawyering meets antitrust economics and academics. I like to hang out at this intersection. A couple weeks ago, another issue…

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The FTC Orders Ski-Equipment Companies to Start Competing Again

Sometimes competition is a real hassle. If your company has a loyal customer or longtime employee, you feel betrayed when a competitor swoops in to try to “steal them.” If you are the Miami Heat, you probably don’t like that the Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to hire your best player,…

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What Does the Supreme Court’s Decision in Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc. Mean for Antitrust Law?

The defendants in Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc. failed to show the US Supreme Court the “special justification” necessary to overturn settled precedent. As we explained in a previous post, the Supreme Court in this case agreed to reconsider its 1988 decision in Basic v. Levinson, which allowed…

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We Filed an Amicus Brief to the Minnesota Supreme Court in a Property Rights Case

We are proud to announce that we filed an amicus curiae brief with the Minnesota Supreme Court on behalf of the Minnesota Vacation Rental Association last week in Dean et al. v. City of Winona, a case concerning municipal power and the right to rent out one’s residential property. Four property…

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The Lanham Act and POM Wonderful LLC v. Coca Cola: A Cause of Action for Competitors

Many of my cases will pit one competitor against another in litigation. An antitrust claim is often at the center of the dispute, but a number of other claims can find their way into the case; sometimes even in a starring role. Litigation between competitors can include, for example, trade…

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How Much Does it Cost to Litigate an Antitrust Case?

If you ask this question to an antitrust lawyer, you will receive some form of “it depends” in response. That’s true. It does depend. And you will inevitably follow up with, “What does it depend upon?” Let’s see if we can begin to answer that question. What we are discussing…

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Government Entities that Compete in Markets Must Face Antitrust Scrutiny

A few years ago, now-Chief Justice then-Nominee John Roberts invoked an umpire analogy during his confirmation hearings, explaining that “My job is to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat.” I love baseball, so I can appreciate any description that marries law and baseball. Without getting into…

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The Antitrust Laws Encourage Stealing

That’s right, the antitrust laws care so much about competition that they even prohibit agreements among competitors to not steal. In a society that morally condemns stealing, this is counter-intuitive (and a good reason to learn a little bit about antitrust). You might wonder now whether I will engage in…