The Antitrust Week In Review

Here are some of the developments in antitrust news this past week that we found interesting and are following.

American Express Violated Antitrust Laws, Judge Rules.  In a 150-page opinion, Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled that American Express’s practice of prohibiting any merchant that accepts its cards from encouraging customers to pay with lower-cost cards violates the U.S. antitrust laws.  Constantine Cannon partner Jeffrey I. Shinder, who represented three retailers — Ikea, Sears and Crate & Barrel — that testified against American express in the case, predicted that the decision would give merchants greater clout to negotiate more favorable agreements with American Express, including cheaper fees.

Google wins US antitrust lawsuit.  Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California dismissed an antitrust lawsuit that accused Google of forcing device manufacturers that use its Android operating system to include a bundle of the company’s apps and make its search engine the default option.  Although Judge Freeman found that “there are no facts alleged to indicate that defendant’s conduct has prevented consumers from freely choosing among search products or prevented competitors from innovating,” she also gave the plaintiffs a chance to correct this pleading deficiency by giving them three weeks to amend their antitrust complaint.

In Russia, Yandex Files Antitrust Complaint Against Google Over Search On Android Devices.  Just as Google wins one antitrust battle in the U.S., a similar fight breaks out in Russia.  Internet search giant Yandex, which has been called the “Google of Russia,” has filed a request with Russia’s antimonopoly regulator to investigate whether Google has violated Russia’s antitrust laws.  Yandex is complaining about Google’s Android operating system and how Google bundles its search engine as the default on all Android devices.