The coming year is poised to be a critical and exciting year for antitrust law. The U.S. Supreme Court is due to rule on no less than four antitrust cases this year. Government enforcement continues to be on the rise and private litigation is surging again. This article highlights some of the cases to watch in 2013 that will shape the antitrust landscape.
In November, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the Federal Trade Commission’s bid to block Phoebe Putney Health System’s $195 million acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital. While the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit agreed with the FTC’s assertion that the acquisition would result in a monopoly, the court held that the acquisition was protected by the state action doctrine. The state action doctrine gives states and state agencies federal antitrust immunity under certain conditions. The FTC had argued that the transaction should not receive such immunity because the transaction involved two hospitals that were essentially privately run. The Eleventh Circuit’s decision created a circuit split regarding the state action doctrine and the Supreme Court’s decision will clarify the use (or abuse) of this increasingly used defense.
