The potential for antitrust challenges brought by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) or the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) is well known among deal-making parties. However, parties should also keep in mind two lesser-known antitrust issues when seeking to complete their merger: (1) the potential for private merger challenges; and (2) the increased likelihood of becoming engaged in multi-district litigation in the post State
Read More Private Merger Challenges and SAEVA — What Merging Parties Need to KnowPublished Work
Senior Counsel Robert Langer and Partner Benjamin Diessel Published an Article in ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Antitrust Magazine
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Senior Counsel Robert Langer and Partner Benjamin Diessel co-authored an article titled, “Off the Wagon: Rejecting Efforts to Write the Agreement Requirement Out of Section 1 in Liquor Regulation Preemption Cases” in ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Antitrust Magazine. The article discusses the complex intersection of state pricing regulation, the Sherman Antitrust Act and the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. It explains at length why the…
Read More Senior Counsel Robert Langer and Partner Benjamin Diessel Published an Article in ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Antitrust MagazineCAVEAT VENDITOR!! The Second Prong of the Cigarette Rule is Alive and Well in Several “Little FTC Act” States
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Wiggin and Dana partners, Robert Langer and John Doroghazi along with Associate Amanda Brahm, have co-authored an important article regarding a key development concerning state consumer protection laws that affect both businesses as well as consumers.
Read More CAVEAT VENDITOR!! The Second Prong of the Cigarette Rule is Alive and Well in Several “Little FTC Act” StatesWhy Correctly Understanding Antitrust Risk is Crucial to Properly Addressing Brand Dilution in the E-Commerce Age
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The National Law Review has published a recent article titled, Why Correctly Understanding Antitrust Risk is Crucial to Properly Addressing Brand Dilution in the E-Commerce Age, which was authored by Wiggin and Dana Partner, Benjamin Diessel and Associate, Timothy Cowan.
To read the full article, please click here.
Read More Why Correctly Understanding Antitrust Risk is Crucial to Properly Addressing Brand Dilution in the E-Commerce AgeConsumer Review Fairness Act Codified Consumers’ Right to Complain
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Introduction
Customer reviews are ubiquitous in today’s commercial environment. Whether the business is Amazon.com or the doctor’s office down the street, consumers are accustomed to rating and reviewing goods and services online and having access to reviews from other consumers to help inform their purchasing decisions. Ratings are important because consumers sometimes have limited opportunities to interact with sellers, prompting them to rely on accounts…
Read More Consumer Review Fairness Act Codified Consumers’ Right to ComplainCongress Protects Negative Online Reviews
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Social media sites such as Yelp and Facebook provide consumers with a platform to share their opinions about businesses that sell goods or services to the public.
While businesses rely on this kind of digital word-of-mouth to boost sales and positive brand awareness, unflattering online reviews are inevitable and have the potential to cause considerable damage.
But stopping customers from giving bad feedback, even if…
Read More Congress Protects Negative Online ReviewsState Antitrust Law and the Constitution
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In early 1978, I wrote an Op-ed piece for the New York Times describing the 1977 landmark “Chevymobile” settlement by forty-four state attorneys general with General Motors in which it was alleged that GM had failed to disclose the substitution of Chevy engines in 1977 Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Pontiacs. In my Op-ed, I had predicted that the Chevymobile matter, in which I participated as a…
Read More State Antitrust Law and the ConstitutionUnilateral Price Policies in the Contact Lens Industry: Can Manufacturers Be Forced to Sell to Every Retailer?
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It is a cardinal rule of antitrust that—absent very limited exceptions—parties can do business with, or refuse to do business with, whomever they choose. The Supreme Court solidified that premise in United States v. Colgate & Co.1 and has reiterated it time and again.2 Recent state legislation and lawsuits arising in the contact lens industry are threatening to dismantle that bedrock principle…
Read More Unilateral Price Policies in the Contact Lens Industry: Can Manufacturers Be Forced to Sell to Every Retailer?North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC — What Hath the Supreme Court Wrought?
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The federalism debate has continued to serve as a point of controversy and division in American politics and jurisprudence.1 The balance of power between the states and the federal government has shifted over time reflecting the realities of this debate. Historically, the states were thought to possess the exclusive power to regulate ‘‘their purely internal affairs” through the exercise of their police powers.2…
Read More North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC — What Hath the Supreme Court Wrought?Termination for Convenience Under the Uniform Commercial Code
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Between suppliers and manufacturers, planning for the termination of a supply agreement during its negotiation may seem counterintuitive, awkward, or perhaps insignificant. Termination discussions often take a back seat in the conference room where the negotiating energy is spent primarily on price, quality, and delivery terms. As one court observed, termination is typically “of little interest or concern to the parties” so long as they…
Read More Termination for Convenience Under the Uniform Commercial Code