Michelle Lowery
Subscribe to Michelle Lowery's PostsMichelle Lowery is the go-to litigator for West Coast state and federal antitrust and unfair competition matters and for California Attorney General antitrust and general litigation matters. She has nearly two decades of experience achieving exceptional results for clients in antitrust and unfair competition litigation and investigations, including class actions. Read Michelle Lowery's full bio.
THE LATEST: DOJ Announces Settlement with Carolinas Health System (Atrium Health) After Two Years of Litigation
By Stephen Wu, Michelle Lowery, Ashley Fischer and McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 20, 2018
Posted In DOJ Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week that it and the State of North Carolina have reached a settlement with Carolinas Healthcare System / Atrium Health relating to provisions in contracts between the health system and commercial insurers that allegedly restrict payors from “steering” their enrollees to lower-cost hospitals. The settlement comes after two...
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ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting Highlight: “Antitrust & Health Care: Square Peg in a Round Hole?”
By Michelle Lowery on Apr 30, 2015
Posted In FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust, Mergers & Acquisitions
In this month’s American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting, the program “Antitrust & Health Care: Square Peg in a Round Hole?” featured debate and discussion about antitrust law treatment of health care transactions and how that treatment might (or should) evolve (via regulation, legislation, or some combination of approaches), or conversely,...
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Ninth Circuit Affirms Divestiture of Consummated Physician Practice Acquisition
By Ashley Fischer, Daniel Powers and Michelle Lowery on Mar 2, 2015
Posted In FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed an Idaho federal district court’s decision ordering the divestiture of a physician practice group that had been acquired by a competing health system. The case, which pitted the health system against private plaintiffs as well as the Federal Trade Commission and the state attorney general,...
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DOJ Issues First Business Review Letter Following Agencies’ Joint Policy Statements on Cybersecurity
By Michelle Lowery on Oct 28, 2014
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments
On October 2, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued its first business review letter since issuing jointly with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the Agencies’ Antitrust Policy Statement on Sharing of Cybersecurity Information in April 2014 (the Policy Statement). The Policy Statement recognized that sharing cyber threat information is integral to defending against...
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Chinese Magnesite Producers Antitrust Class Action Complaint Dismissed
By Michelle Lowery on Jul 30, 2014
Posted In Chinese Developments, Energy/Commodities, Private Litigation
On July 24, 2014, the district court in Animal Sci. Prod., Inc. et al. v. China Nat’l Metals & Minerals Imp. and Exp. Corp. et al., Case No. 2:05-cv-04376 (D.N.J.), dismissed direct purchaser plaintiff’s Amended Complaint without prejudice in favor of magnesite producers accused of engaging in a price fixing scheme for magnesite and magnesite...
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Perspectives from the Federal Antitrust Enforcement Agencies
By Ashley Fischer, Michelle Lowery and Stephen Wu on May 20, 2014
Posted In DOJ Developments, FTC Developments, Healthcare Antitrust
At the recent Antitrust in Health Care conference in Arlington, Virginia, representatives from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division discussed important health care and antitrust topics. Speakers stressed that the Affordable Care Act is not an opportunity for anticompetitive consolidation and conduct. Providers and payers alike should continue to analyze...
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Patent Enforcement Protected by First Amendment?
By Michelle Lowery on Apr 24, 2014
Posted In FTC Developments, IP Antitrust
After receiving a draft complaint and a stipulated order from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banning its allegedly deceptive letters to infringers of its scanning technology, MPHJ Technology Investments LLC (MPHJ) filed suit against the FTC in the Western District of Texas, alleging violations of the First Amendment. The complaint alleged that the FTC’s investigation...
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FTC Hit with Lawsuit by Target of its Fraudulent Patent Enforcement Investigation
By Michelle Lowery on Jan 27, 2014
Posted In FTC Developments, IP Antitrust
On January 13, 2014, MPHJ Technology Investment LLC (MPHJ) filed a seven-count complaint against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging various constitutional and other violations, including violations of MPHJ’s First Amendment rights and violations of the Separation of Powers Doctrine. The FTC began an investigation into MPHJ’s business practices and in December 2013 served MPHJ...
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Northern District of California Certifies Indirect Purchaser Class in CRT Case
By Michelle Lowery on Oct 18, 2013
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, Private Litigation
On September 24, 2013, the Northern District of California certified a class of indirect purchasers in In re Cathode Ray Tube Antitrust Litig., No. 3:07-cv-5944 SC, 2013 WL 5391159 (N.D. Cal. September 24, 2013). The case was brought by indirect purchasers of products containing cathode ray tubes (CRTs) against CRT manufacturers alleging a global conspiracy...
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