On February 29, 2016, the Attorney General of Maryland filed a complaint alleging that Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson) violated the Maryland state antitrust law by entering into an agreement with a retailer regarding a resale price maintenance (RPM) policy.

The complaint alleged that Johnson & Johnson initially instituted an RPM policy in response to objections from eye care professionals that they were losing business to discount retail stores, including Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), who were charging less than the eye care professionals to fill prescriptions for Johnson & Johnson’s contact lenses.  Once Johnson & Johnson implemented its RPM policy, which fixed minimum retail prices for all retailer sellers of its contact lenses, Costco complained to Johnson & Johnson that the policy prevented Costco from offering discounted pricing on the lenses that its customers had come to expect.  In response to Costco’s complaint, Johnson & Johnson entered into negotiations with Costco regarding the terms of its RPM policy.  Ultimately, Johnson & Johnson agreed with Costco to amend its RPM policy to permit Costco to provide gift cards and other discounts to Costco customers who purchased Johnson & Johnson’s contact lenses from Costco.  Johnson & Johnson then entered into similar RPM policy amendments with certain other retailers.  (more…)