Publications

Litigation Associates Lee Brand and Jenny Palmer co-wrote an article published on the California State Bar's website, and Jonathan Mincer and Caitlyn Chacon co-wrote another.

The first article, “Eleventh Circuit Rejects Section 1 Claim Based on Plaintiff’s Joint Venture with Defendant,” co-written by Lee and Jenny, discusses an Eleventh Circuit ruling which reinforced the distinction between true antitrust claims and traditional contract claims. Colombian company Procaps filed suit against its Canadian partner Patheon, alleging that Patheon’s acquisition of a third company transformed their legitimate joint venture agreement into an unlawful horizontal restraint of trade. Finding that Procaps failed to establish concerted action in restraint of trade and anticompetitive effects, the court rejected what was essentially a contract dispute under the guise of an antitrust claim.

The second article, “FTC Wins in Seventh Circuit Hospital Case Based on Geographic Market Definition,” co-written by Jonathan and Caitlyn, discusses a reversal of a district court decision that had granted the FTC a preliminary injunction in a hospital merger case. The Seventh Circuit found that the district court had made several factual errors in its geographic market analysis, including misunderstanding the well-established hypothetical monopolist test. The decision strengthens judicial support for the FTC’s analytical framework in hospital merger cases.

To read the articles, please click here.