In This Issue:

- COURT DENIES BLUES’ MOTION TO DISMISS IN RE BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD ANTITRUST LITIGATION (MDL 2406):

On June 18, United States District Court Judge David Proctor (Northern District of Alabama) issued his highly anticipated ruling in the In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation, declining to dismiss the action prior to the commencement of discovery. The multidistrict litigation, in which the plaintiffs contend that the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its 38 member Blues have utilized trademark licensing agreements to limit competition between them, was consolidated and transferred to Judge Proctor by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in 2013...

- AUTO REPAIR SHOP ANTITRUST ACTIONS MAY BE CONSOLIDATED INTO MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION:

Over the course of the last several months, auto body repair shops in five states (Florida, Mississippi, Indiana, Utah and Tennessee) filed antitrust actions against a collection of auto insurers, alleging that the insurers’ direct repair programs violate the antitrust laws. In each case, the plaintiffs alleged that the manner in which the insurers set reimbursement rates for covered repairs artificially depressed the compensation plaintiffs received for their services, and that the insurers also “steered” insureds away from plaintiffs’ businesses to those shops that are participants in the insurers’ direct repair programs....

- UPTICK IN DOJ ANTITRUST DIVISION CRIMINAL FINES:

The DOJ Antitrust Division obtained over $1 billion in criminal fines in fiscal year 2013 (October 1, 2012 – September 30, 2013). This was one of the highest totals ever obtained by the Division. However, the Antitrust Division is currently on track to exceed that level in fiscal year 2014. For the first six months of the new fiscal year, the Antitrust Division has already obtained fines totaling $709 million, including the fourth-largest criminal antitrust fine ever imposed – a $425 million fine against Bridgestone. A fine of $325 million was also levied against Rabobank in connection with the DOJ’s LIBOR interest rate antitrust investigation...