(Reuters) – Here are some upcoming events of interest to the antitrust community. Unless otherwise noted, all times are local, and court appearances are virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tuesday, Oct. 19
2 p.m. – BakerHostetler’s Ann O’Brien, who leads the firm’s cartel and government antitrust investigations task force, will join antitrust partner Marc Schildkraut in a webinar about the changing face of antitrust enforcement in the Biden era. The discussion will touch on topics including mergers, monopolies, trade restraint and noncompete agreements, the firm said. Find more information here.
Wednesday, Oct. 20
9 a.m. – Dechert partner Alec Burnside and senior associate Marjolein De Backer will give opening remarks on the second day of a conference titled Big Data and Competition Law. Lars Kjølbye, office managing partner at Latham & Watkins in Brussels, will speak on a panel today addressing big data and merger control. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Tone Oeyen is set to join Deutsche Telekom senior competition counsel Jan Lohrberg on a panel looking at horizontal cooperation. Find more information here.
12 p.m. – The American Antitrust Institute hosts a panel discussion titled “Competition Roundtable: Darkest Side of Rising Concentration–Fear and Retaliation in Antitrust.” Panelists include Ann O’Brien of Baker & Hostetler, Dan McCuaig of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, Grant Petrosyan of Constantine Cannon; and Slade Bond, chief counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives’ antitrust, commercial and administrative law subcommittee. Find more information here.
Thursday, Oct. 21
9 a.m. – A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider antitrust claims that automotive parts supplier Prevent USA Corp brought against Volkswagen AG. Prevent asserts that VW has blocked the company from acquiring other parts suppliers. The complaint alleged the defendants procured agreements in which suppliers said they would not be sold to Prevent. Lawyers for VW deny the claims and said they “have no meaningful connection to the United States.”
The case is Prevent USA Corp v. Volkswagen AG, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 21-01379. For plaintiff: Matthew Tripolitsiotis of Boies, Schiller & Flexner. For Volkswagen: Sharon Nelles of Sullivan & Cromwell and Todd Holleman of Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone.
10 a.m. – U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco will hear an update at a case management conference concerning antitrust claims from Epic Games, consumers and states against Google Inc’s Play store. Google has denied market power abuses within Play, asserting the company has no duty under competition law to allow competing app stores on Play.
For plaintiffs’ classes: Bartlit Beck; Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer; Hagens Berman Sobol & Shapiro; Sperling & Slater; and Hausfeld. For Epic Games: Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath; Cravath, Swaine & Moore. For Google: Munger, Tolles & Olson; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius; and O’Melveny & Myers.
10 a.m. – U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan federal court will hold a fairness hearing to weigh a $102 million settlement involving claims Deutsche Bank and HSBC Bank conspired to fix gold prices. The court preliminarily approved the Deutsche Bank settlement in 2016 and the HSBC settlement in February 2021. The banks have continued to deny the plaintiffs’ claims of alleged wrongdoing.
The case is In Re: Commodity Exchange Inc Gold Futures and Options Trading Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:14-md-02548-VEC. Co-lead plaintiffs: Merrill Davidoff of Berger & Montague and Daniel Brockett of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. For defendants: King & Spalding for HSBC, and Kirkland & Ellis for Deutsche Bank.
11:30 a.m. – U.S. District Judge Edward Chen will convene an initial case management conference in a new “pay for delay” action that Walgreen Co, Kroger Co, Albertsons Companies Inc and other plaintiffs filed in September against a group of pharmaceutical companies. The lawsuit confronts alleged delays in the generic competition market for certain HIV drugs.
The case is Walgreen Co v. Gilead Sciences Inc et al, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:21-cv-07374-EMC. For the plaintiff: Anna Neill of Kenny Nachwalter. Lawyers for defendants did not immediately note their appearances on the docket.
Know of an event that could be included in Week Ahead in Antitrust? Contact Mike Scarcella at [email protected].
