SubscribeA recent decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is important for competitors involved in joint ventures because it states what mode of antitrust analysis—the per se rule or the rule of reason—applies to the conduct of joint ventures when it is challenged as anticompetitive. The decision is also significant because the court describes some steps joint venturers can take to improve the odds that their conduct will be analyzed under the more lenient rule of reason.
joint-ventures
Joint FTC / DOJ Guidance: Hurricanes Harvey and Irma
Businesses and individuals in Texas, Florida, the Southeast, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are preparing for a massive recovery and reconstruction effort in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have issued antitrust guidance that reiterates key principles of permissible and impermissible competitor collaboration and provides useful examples related to disaster recovery. (more…)
Antitrust and Healthcare: A Comprehensive Guide
McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce the publication of Antitrust and Healthcare: A Comprehensive Guide, First Edition. This new publication, produced by American Health Lawyers Association provides invaluable “practice pointers” to help healthcare industry participants, and their counsel, minimize antitrust risk and more successfully plan and execute business and litigation strategies. McDermott partner, David Marx, Jr., co-authored this first edition with Christine L. White and Saralisa C. Brau of the Federal Trade Commission. The authors draw on their significant government enforcement and private-sector counseling and litigation experience to explain the application of antitrust principles to the different segments of the healthcare industry and the specific issues they confront. Health care lawyers and antitrust practitioners will find this new guide a complete resource for representing all types of organizations including healthcare providers; commercial insurance companies and managed care organizations; for-profit, not-for-profit, and government-owned or controlled concerns; self-insured employers; and professional partnerships. Sections covered include:
- Antitrust Overview
- Mergers, Acquisitions, and Issues of Legality
- Premerger Notification and Transaction Planning
- Joint Ventures
- Provider Networks and Managed Care Contracting
- Trade Associations and Group Purchasing Organizations
- Medical Staff Privileges, Exclusive Physician Contracts, and Peer Review
- Monopolization
- The Robinson-Patman Act
- Exemptions and Immunities
European General Court Confirms Parental Liability For Competition Law Infringements by 50:50 Joint Ventures
by Philip Bentley QC and Philipp Werner
The European General Court (GC) has confirmed a European Commission decision to hold chemical companies EI du Pont de Nemours and Dow Chemical jointly and severally liable for a fine imposed on their 50:50 joint venture (JV) for an infringement of European competition law (EI du Pont de Nemours and Company v Commission T-76/08 and The Dow Chemical Company v Commission T-77/08). In light of this judgment, parent companies would be well advised to check that their 50:50 JVs are compliant with EU competition rules.
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