National Chamber Litigation Center Seeks High Court Reversal of Two Antitrust Case Rulings

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In amicus briefs filed yesterday and today, the National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC) asked the Supreme Court to reverse rulings in two important antitrust cases.

In Bell Atlantic Corporation, et al., v. Twombly, et al., NCLC argued that class action lawyers were not entitled to pursue massive litigation over completely unsupported claims that Bell Atlantic and three other telecommunications companies engaged in a conspiracy to eliminate competition and bolster prices by not entering into each other's markets. The high court agreed to consider whether plaintiffs must do more than allege parallel conduct and tack on the word "conspiracy" in order to require defendants to incur significant discovery costs in defending an antitrust action.

"Plaintiffs who make bare bones allegations of conspiracy should be tossed out of court at the pleading stage unless they can show an agreement to restrain trade," said Robin Conrad, NCLC senior vice president. "Unless the Supreme Court takes action, companies faced with even merit-less antitrust claims will get stuck with huge legal bills or be coerced into settlements."

In Weyerhaeuser Company v. Ross-Simmons Hardwood Lumber Co., Inc, NCLC argued that a verdict of predatory purchasing against Weyerhaeuser was incorrectly affirmed by the Ninth Circuit. In so doing, the court applied a liability standard that fails to provide any objective basis to distinguish a manufacturer's legitimate and desirable competition to acquire raw materials from buying behavior that is truly predatory and anticompetitive.

"Failure to overturn the Ninth Circuit Court's ruling will actually undermine the goal of antitrust laws by causing many businesses to compete less vigorously in order to avoid the risk of treble-damage antitrust liability," said Conrad. "This case could reach far beyond the lumber industry and affect manufacturers in many other industries as well."

NCLC, the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is a membership organization that advocates fair treatment of business in the courts and before regulatory agencies. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

Read the amicus briefs at /nclc/caselist/issues/Antitrust.htm.

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