People v. Eli Lilly & Co. et al., No. 23STCV00719 (Super. Ct. L.A. Cty. Jan. 12, 2023)
California sued the largest insulin makers and PBMs, alleging that they drove up the cost of the drug through unlawful, unfair and deceptive business practices in violation of Cal. Bus & Prof. Code 17200, et. seq. The three manufacturers named in the lawsuit produce over 90% of the global insulin supply and the three PBMs…
Washington v. Tyson Foods, Inc., No. 21-2-14174-5 (Wash. Super. Ct. King Cty. 2022)
Plaintiff state filed a lawsuit against 19 chicken producers accusing them of a wide-ranging illegal conspiracy to inflate and manipulate prices, rig contract bids and coordinate industry supply reductions to maximize profits. The defendants account for approximately 95 percent of the broiler chickens sold in the United States. The complaint asserts their conduct violates the…
New York et al. v. Meta (originally Facebook Inc.), No. 20-3589 (D.D.C.)
Forty-eight plaintiff states filed a lawsuit against Facebook Inc., alleging that the company harms the public by illegally stifling competition to protect its monopoly power. The states alleged that, over the last decade, the social networking giant illegally acquired competitors in a predatory manner and cut services to smaller firms that threatened its power, depriving…
Utah et al. v. Google LLC, No. 3:21-cv-05227 (N.D. Cal. July 7, 2021)
Thirty-seven states filed a lawsuit against Google for monopolizing the smartphone application market in violation of state and federal antitrust laws. According to the complaint, Google operates a web of exclusionary agreements with phone manufacturers and carriers to exert control over app distribution on Android phones through its Google Play Store. By leveraging those anticompetitive…
Illinois v. Elite Staffing, No. 2020CH05156 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cty. Ill. July 29, 2020)
Plaintiff state sued staffing agencies Elite Staffing, Inc. (Elite), Metro Staff, Inc. (Metro) and Midway Staffing, Inc. (Midway), as well as their client Colony, Inc. (Colony). The complaint alleged that the three staffing agencies formed an unlawful agreement to refuse to solicit or hire the other’s employees and to fix the wages paid to their…
In the Matter of Investigation of Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.. Assurance No. 19-156 Dec. 31, 2019)
New York reached an agreement with Emergent BioSolutions, manufacturers of the opioid overdose reversal nasal spray NARCAN, to allow additional companies to gain access to the nasal spray delivery devices developed by Emergent. In February 2016, Adapt Pharma, Inc. launched a naloxone nasal spray, branded as NARCAN, in the United States. Naloxone has been used…
In re: Franchise No Poaching Provisions, King Cty. Super Ct., Wash. 2019
The Attorney General of Washington has entered into a series of agreements with 75 national chains who included so-called “no-poach” provisions in their franchise agreements. No-poach clauses appear in franchise agreements between owners of franchises and corporate headquarters. The clauses prohibit employees from moving among stores in the same corporate chain, a practice that economists…
In the Matter of Invesigation of Hornblower Group, Inc., AOD no. 19-103
An attorney general’s investigation of the dining cruise market in New York Harbor indicated that Hornblower Group, Inc. had obtained dominance in New York City’s dining cruise market through its acquisition of Entertainment Cruises. The investigation also confirmed that while other already-existing dining cruise operators wished to expand their operations into New York City, they…
California ex rel. Becerra v. Sutter Health, No. 18-565398
State sued Sutter Health, the largest hospital system in northern California, alleging that Sutter engaged in anticompetitive behavior in violation of the Cartwright Act by 1) establishing, increasing and maintaining Sutter’s power to control prices and exclude competition; 2) foreclosing price competition by Sutter’s competitors; and 3) enabling Sutter to impose prices for hospital healthcare services and ancillary products that far exceed the prices it would have been able to charge in an unconstrained, competitive market. The complaint alleges that Sutter did this by: Preventing insurance companies from negotiating with it on anything other than “all or nothing†system-wide basis, requiring health insurers under the terms of contract with Sutter Health to negotiate with all the Sutter Health system or face termination of their contract; Preventing insurance companies from giving consumers more low-cost health plan options, for example, charging a $200 out-of-pocket cost for an outpatient surgery performed by a facility outside of the preferred group and $100 for outpatient surgery performed by a facility inside the preferred group; Setting excessively high out-of-network rates for patients who must seek care outside of their provider network; Restricting publication of provider cost information and rates. The complaint alleged three causes of action under the Cartwright Act: price tampering and fixing; unreasonable restraint of trade; and combination to monopolize. The state sought injunctive relief, disgorgement and attroneys fees.
FTC and Plaintiff States (CA and DC) v. Draft Kings, No. 17-cv-01195 (D.D.C. 2017)
States and the FTC sued to block the merger of the two largest daily fantasy sports sites, alleging that the combined firm would control more than 90 percent of the US market for paid daily fantasy sports contests. Plaintiff states and the FTC allege that the defendants compete with each other on price and quality.