Espresso Exclusivity?
Belvi Coffee and Tea Exchange cannot be serious. The firm is suing Starbucks for exclusive dealing in the Seattle and Bellevue, Washington real estate markets. The suit alleges that Starbucks has leased real estate at above-market prices in exchange for commitments by the landlords to exclude other coffee shops from the building. Let’s take Belvi’s ... Espresso Exclusivity?
GM/Ford: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
When teaching antitrust as I am this fall, a time always comes during the semester when I need to give my students an example of a merger whose implications for competition are so obviously adverse that the antitrust authorities would surely seek an injunction against the merger under Section 7 of the Clayton Act. My ... GM/Ford: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?
The Ivey Files: A New Admissions Blog
My friend Anna Ivey (former Dean of Admissions at the University of Chicago Law School and author of The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions: Straight Advice on Essays, Resumes, Interviews, and More (Harcourt, 2005)) has recently started a new blog devoted to the topic of university admissions with a particular focus on the fields ... The Ivey Files: A New Admissions Blog
Law & Liturgy
I love Ethan Leib’s interesting idea of reading the legal pronouncements of Jewish liturgy in light of later legal developments–and vice versa. Ethan suggests creatively that an allusion to the liturgy of Yom Kippur (the Jewish day of atonement) may be found in Cardozo’s famous opinion in Jacob & Youngs v. Kent: “The willful transgressor ... Law & Liturgy
Interest Rates and Antitrust
Today’s Israeli newspapers have an interesting story about a multibillion dollar antitrust suit that an Israeli manufacturing firm has brought against Israel’s three major banks. The complaint alleges that the banks price colluded on rates, charging identically in five distinct rate categories: a uniform prime rate always 1.5% above the central bank’s; a uniform risk ... Interest Rates and Antitrust
Chief Judge Easterbrook
Deven Desai at Concurring Opinions discusses an interesting article on law.com reporting that my old boss, Judge Frank Easterbrook, will soon become Chief Judge of the Seventh Circuit. Interestingly, the article suggests, and the judge in an interview confirms, that not very much about the Seventh Circuit is likely to change. The court is already ... Chief Judge Easterbrook
Lebanon’s Military Capacity
I’m confused about something. What are the capabilities of the Lebanese army? Is it capable of dealing with Hezbollah or not? Till now, the Lebanese position has been: we have not been able to comply with our obligation under UN Security Council Resolution 1559 to disarm Hezbollah because our army is too weak to do ... Lebanon’s Military Capacity
Law’s Primacy in L&E
Kudos to Josh for pointing us to Judge Posner’s fascinating and on the whole quite favorable review of Steven Shavell’s Foundations of Economic Analysis of Law. Posner’s most interesting statement in the essay may well be: “It is curious but true that, although economics is intellectually more sophisticated than law and though there is—recognition of ... Law’s Primacy in L&E
Cramer on Sirius/XM
A few weeks ago I suggested here that a merger between the two satellite radio firms, Sirius and XM, would not necessarily be as much of an antitrust problem as Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin seems to think. Now market analyst Jim Cramer has weighed in on the issue and encouraged Karmazin to have Sirius do ... Cramer on Sirius/XM
Sirius/XM: An Antitrust Problem?
After scoffing for months at the suggestion that satellite radio firms Sirius and XM should merge, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin admitted this week that it’s something he’d like to see happen but expressed doubts about the antitrust authorities permitting the deal to go through. See stories here and here. Karmazin is right that the proposed ... Sirius/XM: An Antitrust Problem?
Bankruptcy Trumps Probate–Anna Nicole Wins!
A few weeks ago, I predicted here that Anna Nicole Smith would win her case in the Supreme Court. That prediction has now come true. Justice Ginsberg’s opinion for a unanimous court holds that state probate law cannot divest federal bankruptcy courts of jurisdiction over the claims of a bankruptcy estate against a probate estate ... Bankruptcy Trumps Probate–Anna Nicole Wins!
Antitrust, the ABA, and Analysis of Law School Cost Variables
Josh’s interesting post re the sunsetting of the ABA’s antitrust consent decree, as well as David Zaring’s, are worth some further thought. One problem with the consent decree is that it is widely misunderstood. All that antitrust law forbids the ABA to do is impose minimum salaries and other conditions of employment. But that is ... Antitrust, the ABA, and Analysis of Law School Cost Variables
