Showing archive for: “Supreme Court”
Twombly: Good, Bad, or Who Cares?
My apologies for the blogging hiatus. I’ve spent the last ten days grading, traveling, grading, being sick, and hanging out with family in sunny San Diego. But now the grading is done, I’m feeling better, and I’ve had an opportunity to do a little blog-speed catch up. I guess the biggest antitrust news is Twombly, ... Twombly: Good, Bad, or Who Cares?
You Mean Leegin's Not the Only SCOTUS Antitrust Case?
While we have been going on and on and on about Leegin here at TOTM, Manfred Gabriel offers a detailed analysis and a prediction on Twombly, the pending SCOTUS case which may provide some important guidance on 12(b)(6) standards. Gabriel predicts that the Court will neither embrace the District Court’s ruling that plus-factors must be ... You Mean Leegin's Not the Only SCOTUS Antitrust Case?
SCOTUS Weyerhauser Opinion Released
Justice Thomas’ opinion is available here. The punchline: “The general theoretical similarities of monopoly and monopsony combined with the theoretical and practical similarities of predatory pricing and predatory bidding convince us that our two-pronged Brooke Group test should apply to predatory-bidding claims.” Professor Sokol has a few additional comments at AntitrustProfBlog.
SCOTUS Oral Argument Transcripts
Are available from Twombly and Weyerhauser. HT: Antitrust Review. UPDATE: Randy Picker reads the Twombly tea leaves and the court’s analogy to Form 9.
Are Dr. Miles' Days Numbered?
Maybe. WSJ Law Blog reports that SCOTUS may revisit the nearly century old precedent applying the per se rule to minimum resale price maintenance (RPM). Dr. Miles may well be the last vestige of antitrust before consumer welfare’s promotion as the guiding principle of the Sherman Act, which is to say, before economics had a ... Are Dr. Miles' Days Numbered?
New paper: Missed Opportunities in Independent Ink
My paper for the 2006 Cato Supreme Court Review, Missed Opportunities in Independent Ink, is now available on SSRN. Justice Stevens’ opinion for the unanimous court in Independent Ink rid antitrust law of the misguided, ill conceived, and universally criticized presumption of antitrust market power in patent tying cases. Very few dispute the wisdom of ... New paper: Missed Opportunities in Independent Ink
An Antitrust Trifecta
From Hanno Kaiser at the excellent Antitrust Review on a wide range of antitrust issues and events. Here is a brief tour through the trio and some initial reactions: 1. Hanno on Peggy Zwisler’s article in 20 Antitrust 40-43 (2006): Volvo Trucks v. Reeder-Simco: Judicial Activism at the Supreme Court. Hanno takes some issue with ... An Antitrust Trifecta
National Review on Judicial Ethics and GMU's Law and Econ Center
This National Review editorial defends George Mason’s Law and Economics Center from what it describes as “junk ethics” charges. My colleague Ilya Somin has picked up the story at Volokh. In the comments to Ilya’s post, GMU Foundation Professor and Associate Dean Frank Buckley, Director of the LEC, responds to some of the charges that have ... National Review on Judicial Ethics and GMU's Law and Econ Center
Supremes Take New Antitrust Cases
Hanno Kaiser at the Antitrust Review reports (courtesy of the ABA listserv) that SCOTUS has granted cert in Weyerhauser (predatory buying) and Twombly (pleading standards), but not Schering-Plough (reverse payments). Speaking of Weyerhauser, the FTC/ DOJ single firm conduct hearings started off with an examination of predatory pricing issues. The materials from the hearings are ... Supremes Take New Antitrust Cases
The NYT on SCOTUS’s Wetlands Decision
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a fractured decision in consolidated appeals raising the issue of which wetlands come within the ambit of the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA�). The wetlands at issue were next to drainage ditches that, when full of water, would eventually flow into navigable waters. The record did not establish whether ... The NYT on SCOTUS’s Wetlands Decision
Robinson-Patman Act Repealed!
Ok, not really. But the Antitrust Modernization Committee voted overwhelmingly in favor to repeal the Act (HT: Antitrust Review). Apparently, nine Commissioners voted in support of a the statement: “that Congress should repeal the Act in its entirety” on the grounds that: (1) the Act does not serve any purposes not already served by the ... Robinson-Patman Act Repealed!
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!
