Forum

U.S. Supreme Court

Case Status

Resolved

Docket Number

15-961, 15-962

Term

2016 Term

Lower Court Opinion

U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

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Questions Presented

Whether allegations that members of a business association agreed to adhere to the association's rules and possess governance rights in the association, without more, are sufficient to plead the element of conspiracy in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1, as the Court of Appeals held below, or are insufficient, as the Third, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits have held.

Case Updates

U.S. Chamber urges Supreme Court to reaffirm strict standards for pleading an antitrust conspiracy

September 08, 2016

Together with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief in a pair of consolidated Supreme Court merits cases addressing the burden that a plaintiff must meet to plead an antitrust conspiracy claim against members of a business association under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The Chamber argued that the decision below, which failed to assess whether the challenged rules were the product of concerted action as opposed to lawful collaboration, improperly threatens lawful and pro-competitive business conduct that spurs innovation and economic growth. The brief asked the Court to reaffirm that Section 1 plaintiffs must plead plausible facts that distinguish lawful cooperation from unlawful conspiracies.

Elizabeth P. Papez, Steffen N. Johnson, Eric M. Goldstein, Christopher E. Mills, and Jeffrey S. Wilkerson of Winston & Strawn LLP served as counsel for the amici.

Cert. petitions granted 6/28/2016.

U.S. Chamber amicus brief filed 9/8/2016.

Writs of certiorari dismissed as improvidently granted 11/17/2016.

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