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 can enforce anti-steering rules: court.  American Express can once again enforce its rules prohibiting merchants from steering customers to other credit cards after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit temporarily lifted an earlier court order on Friday.  The Court of Appeals decided to lift the order until it decides the appeal of the April 30 order by Judge Nicholas Garaufis that found that American Express’s rules harmed competition and violated U.S. antitrust laws.  The appellate court’s ruling came the day after it heard oral argument on American Express’ appeal of the order.

Regulators Tamp Down on Mergers of Hospitals.  In the latest sign that federal antitrust regulators are uneasy about the increase in proposed health care mergers, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it planned to block the combination of two large Illinois hospital groups.  Regulators said the proposed merger of Advocate Health Care, which is already the state’s largest health system, and NorthShore University HealthSystem, could create a 16-hospital powerhouse that would dominate the North Shore area of Chicago.  “This merger is likely to significantly increase the combined system’s bargaining power with health plans, which in turn will harm consumers by bringing about higher prices and lower quality,” said Deborah L. Feinstein, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, in a statement announcing the decision.

Sky, U.S. studios to fight antitrust charges at January hearing: sources.   Sky UK, NBCUniversal and five other U.S. studios will try to convince EU antitrust regulators at a hearing next month that their movie-licensing deals are not anti-competitive, according to sources.  The European Commission in July accused the group of blocking consumers outside the UK and Ireland access to films and other content broadcasted by the British TV station.  The EU executive is seeking to end restrictions which hamper cross-border trade in an effort to spur e-commerce and growth in the 28-country bloc.

States, Feds Involved in Movie Theater Antitrust Inquiries.  The U.S. Justice Department and several states are investigating alleged antitrust violations by the country’s biggest movie theater chains, according to securities filings and the Ohio attorney general.  AMC and Cinemark both acknowledged investigative demands by the government in recent SEC quarterly filings.  Last month, AMC also acknowledged similar requests from Ohio, Florida, Kansas, New York, Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia.  The antitrust enforcers are seeking documents related to potentially anticompetitive conduct, including film clearances and participation in certain joint ventures.