Showing results for: “loyalty discounts”
Bootleggers and Baptists, Madison Style
Last Wednesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral argument on whether to reinstate an antitrust lawsuit against taverns around the University of Wisconsin (story here). In 2002, the taverns agreed to eliminate drink specials after 8:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays. A group of students filed a class action lawsuit against the taverns for injunctive ... Bootleggers and Baptists, Madison Style
Interesting Section 2 Developments
A pair of interesting antitrust appellate decisions have been released over the past few days involving single firm conduct and Section 2: Cascade Health Solutions v. PeaceHealth (9th Cir.) and Broadcom v. Qualcomm (3rd Cir.). First, the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Cascade Health Solutions v. PeaceHealth reversed the district court’s Lepage’s based jury instruction in ... Interesting Section 2 Developments
The EC versus Intel: The SO is issued
To no one’s great surprise (other than that it took so long), the European Commission issued a Statement of Objections against Intel today. More information as it becomes available. For those looking for a little insight into the case, you might be intrested in The FTC’s 1998 Complaint against Intel and the resulting Consent Decree (the entire case ... The EC versus Intel: The SO is issued
Dr. Miles (1911-2007)
So Dr. Miles is dead. May he rest in peace. No great surprises in the majority opinion in Leegin. Justice Kennedy, quite rightly, emphasized points we have asserted numerous times on this blog. Most notably: The per se rule should be reserved for practices that are always, or almost always, anticompetitive. The common law nature ... Dr. Miles (1911-2007)
Cass on Leegin
Ronald Cass, dean emeritus of Boston University Law School, argues in today’s WSJ that the Supreme Court should overrule Dr. Miles: The decision was a mistake that has plagued antitrust law and American business ever since. Manufacturers have no interest in suppressing price competition to help increase profits for retailers. A manufacturer with a meaningful ... Cass on Leegin
A Response to Commissioner Harbour’s "Open Letter" on Leegin
Federal Trade Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour has sent the U.S. Supreme Court justices an “open letter” regarding the pending Leegin case. [HT: Danny Sokol.] Leegin, as regular TOTM readers know, will test the continued vitality of Dr. Miles, the 1911 decision making it per se illegal for manufacturers and retailers to agree on minimum retail ... A Response to Commissioner Harbour’s "Open Letter" on Leegin
"Loyal" Directors in Delaware
In November of 2006, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion in Stone v. Ritter dealing with a director’s fiduciary duties in cases where the complaining plaintiff-shareholder is maintaing that her directors did not sufficiently monitor their corporate charge. (I refer to these “oversight” cases loosely as “asleep at the wheel” cases.) There has been ... "Loyal" Directors in Delaware
Loyalty Discount Propositions
One of the more interesting parts of the November 29 DOJ/FTC hearing on loyalty discounts (where I presented these remarks) was the panelists’ discussion of a number of “propositions” advanced, for purposes of discussion only, by the agencies. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to discuss all the propositions. I’ve reproduced them below the fold, along ... Loyalty Discount Propositions
Bundled Discounts, Exclusive Dealing, and Liability Rules: Thoughts on Crane and Lambert on Bundled Discounts
Dan Crane and Thom (who has promised more remarks!) have now both posted their prepared remarks for the Section 2 hearings panel on bundled discounts. Both call for bright-line, administrable liability rules for all forms of unilateral exclusionary conduct, and have important things to say about designing antitrust rules for bundled discounts. Both are worth ... Bundled Discounts, Exclusive Dealing, and Liability Rules: Thoughts on Crane and Lambert on Bundled Discounts
Bundled Discounts Remarks (More to Come…)
In response to Josh’s gentle nudge, here are my remarks from Wednesday’s DOJ/FTC hearing on loyalty discounts. I focus entirely on bundled discounts (as opposed to single-product loyalty discounts, like volume or market-share discounts). Bundled discounts are discounts (or rebates) that are conditioned upon purchasing separate products from disparate product markets — e.g., “we’ll give ... Bundled Discounts Remarks (More to Come…)
Crane's Section 2 Hearings Testimony on Loyalty Discounts
Dan Crane (Antitrust Review, Cardozo) has graciously posted his testimony for Wednesday’s FTC/ DOJ Section 2 Hearings on Loyalty Discounts. Readers familiar with Crane’s scholarship on bundled discounts in the Chicago Law Review and Emory Law Journal will not be surprised that it is thorough, careful, mindful of the role that administrative costs should play ... Crane's Section 2 Hearings Testimony on Loyalty Discounts
Crane and Lambert on Hovenkamp — the Closet Chicagoan
Cardozo professor Dan Crane and I are living parallel lives. We both attended Wheaton College and the University of Chicago Law School (Dan was two years ahead of me). We began teaching at the same time. We both teach antitrust law and have written on bundled discounts. Like Josh, we’re both presenting at the DOJ/FTC ... Crane and Lambert on Hovenkamp — the Closet Chicagoan
