Competition Law and Antitrust Law

A North Carolina Superior Court denied class certification in an antitrust case involving indirect purchasers who alleged a hospital network's anticompetitive conduct inflated their health insurance premiums. The court found plaintiffs failed to demonstrate class-wide impact through common proof, particularly rejecting their expert's pass-through theory as insufficiently rigorous and excluding key portions of the expert report.

Financial pressures on rural and critical access hospitals are well documented. Losses due to low reimbursements by private insurers, significant volumes of Medicare...

A federal court granted Disney's motion to compel arbitration in an antitrust class action, allowing the company to invoke fuboTV's subscriber terms of service after acquiring a 70% stake in the streaming platform. The ruling demonstrates how corporate mergers can fundamentally alter litigation strategy by enabling non-signatories to enforce arbitration agreements containing "future affiliates" provisions.

The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection has launched a new program allowing businesses and stakeholders to identify ambiguities, conflicts, and problems with FTC rules. The Bureau may issue public guidance in response to submissions, though participation carries both opportunities and potential risks for companies.

The U.S.-Canada trading relationship has reached a critical juncture as both nations implement escalating trade measures, with Canada's counter-tariffs taking effect and the United States responding with unprecedented import bans on Canadian alcoholic beverages, dairy products, and motorcycles. These actions mark a significant expansion of the Trump Administration's use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, moving beyond additional tariffs to outright import restrictions. What does this escalation mean

The U.S. Department of Commerce has launched antidumping and countervailing duty investigations targeting linear hydraulic cylinders from five countries, with petitioners advocating for an unusually broad scope that would trace component origins through multi-country supply chains and apply duties even after third-country assembly.

California's legislative branch has sent Assembly Bill 1776, known as the COMPETE Act, to Governor Gavin Newsom for signature, marking a significant expansion of the state's antitrust enforcement capabilities. If enacted, this legislation would empower California's Attorney General to challenge single-firm monopolistic conduct under the Cartwright Act...

State attorneys general in Florida and Louisiana have filed lawsuits against pharmacy benefit managers alleging collusion and price-fixing of reimbursement rates paid to retail and independent pharmacies. These cases represent a growing trend of states pursuing antitrust enforcement actions against PBMs for allegedly coordinating to suppress pharmacy reimbursements.

This comprehensive global antitrust roundup examines recent enforcement actions, investigations, and court decisions across multiple jurisdictions, including major U.S. litigation involving alleged price-fixing in casino hotels and sugar markets, Mexico's heightened scrutiny of the agri-food sector, and European Commission proceedings against construction chemical manufacturers. The analysis reveals emerging patterns in algorithmic pricing enforcement, vertical restraints, and sustainability-related competi