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Articles by Aaron Gott
Seven Lesser-Known Antitrust Exemptions And Immunities
Aaron Gott’s articles from Bona Law PC are most popular: within Antitrust/Competition Law topic(s) in United States with readers working within the Insurance and Securities & Investment industries There are a number of exemptions to and immunities from the federal antitrust laws. Some are well known, and we have written about many of them before.
Glossary Of Key Antitrust Terms
BP Bona Law PC More Bona Law is an antitrust boutique focused on antitrust and competition law. We bring together some of the best legal minds with big-law, government, and senior in-house experience to solve our clients' problems. If you are an executive or general counsel of any business, whether a startup or Fortune 100, you will at some point hire and interact with outside antitrust counsel. United States California Antitrust/Competition Law
What The Fire Apparatus MDL Teaches Every Acquisition-Driven Company About Section 2 Risk
Aaron Gott’s articles from Bona Law PC are most popular: with readers working within the Insurance, Securities & Investment and Law Firm industries Seven U.S. cities have filed antitrust suits in five weeks against two manufacturers of “fire apparatus”—and the lawsuits are consolidating into a federal multidistrict litigation in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The case is about fire trucks.
Antitrust And Hockey: Competition Law Lessons That Apply Beyond The Ice
Aaron Gott’s articles from Bona Law PC are most popular: with readers working within the Insurance, Securities & Investment and Law Firm industries The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway. For an antitrust lawyer and hockey fan, it is a fitting moment to take stock of professional hockey’s rich antitrust history. Professional sports leagues create unusual market dynamics.
Bona Law Partner Aaron Gott Breaks Down Ticketmaster/Live Nation Antitrust Ruling On FOX
Bona Law PC are most popular: with readers working within the Banking & Credit, Consumer Industries and Law Firm industries The ongoing litigation involving Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster has reached a notable–but not final–stage. A New York jury recently found civil liability for monopolization and tying brought by a coalition of states. Following the verdict, Bona Law partner Aaron Gott discussed the ruling on FOX 9 ALL DAY and what it may signal for companies.
Can States Grant Federal Antitrust Immunity? Part 2 : The Sherman Act vs. Sacramento: Why AB 1340 Is Preempted By Federal Law
Bona Law PC are most popular: with readers working within the Technology industries In my last post, I discussed how California's newly enacted AB 1340—which allows independent contractor gig drivers to form a "union" and engage in sectoral bargaining against rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft—likely does not provide the federal antitrust immunity that it purports to provide. This week, I'd like to discuss the other problem with AB 1340: it is likely unconstitutional.
Can States Grant Federal Antitrust Immunity? Part 1: Why California's New Gig-Driver Law Won't Survive Parker
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed AB 1340 into law, a bill that purports to give more than 800,000 California rideshare drivers the right to unionize and bargain collectively over pay and working conditions. Some are celebrating the statute as a political and policy breakthrough. In press statements, supporters called the measure a victory for "dignity and fairness" and proof that government can "deliver" where federal leaders cannot.
Could Elon Musk Acquire TikTok Under A Joint Operating Agreement Exception To The Antitrust Laws?
The idea of Elon Musk purchasing TikTok might sound like a headline ripped from a speculative business column, and maybe it is. But as antitrust lawyers, we couldn't resist. Obviously, Mr. Musk already owns X, and any such acquisition might raise antitrust concerns. But could you head off those concerns by structuring the deal with an exception to the antitrust laws known as a Joint Operating Agreement?
Could Elon Musk Acquire TikTok Under a Joint Operating Agreement Exception to the Antitrust Laws?
Authors: Pat Pascarella and Aaron Gott The idea of Elon Musk purchasing TikTok might sound like a headline ripped from a speculative business column, and maybe it is. But as antitrust lawyers, we couldn’t resist. Obviously, Mr. Musk already owns X, and any such acquisition might raise antitrust concerns. But could you head off those concerns by structuring the deal with an exception to the antitrust laws known as a Joint Operating Agreement?
Ruth Glaeser - Concurrences
Ruth Glaeser is an associate at Bona Law, based in the firm’s Minneapolis office. She is an antitrust lawyer who leverages her experience working in an antitrust enforcement agency, in-house at a Fortune 500 company, and in private practice to advise and represent clients on a range of antitrust, competition, and complex business problems. Ruth clerked at the Antitrust Division of the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, where she focused on anticompetitive conduct and mergers.
If I Were You…I'd Listen To This Podcast About Residential Real Estate & Antitrust - Antitrust, EU Competition - United States
This Episode Is About: Residential Real Estate and Antitrust Why: A settlement has been reached between the National Association of Realtors (or NAR) and the class action plaintiffs that would resolve the $1.8 billion verdict out of Missouri finding illegal collusion in the residential real estate industry. But the settlement raises its own antitrust concerns and this podcast provides actionable guidance for avoiding them. You can listen to this podcast here.
Antitrust For Kids—Anatomy Of A Chocolate Cartel (An Antitrust Review Of The Movie Wonka) - Cartels, Monopolies - United States
There are a lot of lessons you can learn from Wonka. It's a story about how ingenuity, determination, selflessness, and teamwork can overcome the oppressive adversity of a system that serves entrenched interests. But it's also a story about a chocolate cartel. And that offers its own lessons, too. Just ask my four kids, who now understand what I do all day (though I may have overplayed the chocolate-related aspect).
Bona Law Client PharmacyChecker.com Defeats Summary Judgment Motion by LegitScript in Antitrust Lawsuit
A federal court has rejected an attempt to toss Bona Law client PharmacyChecker’s antitrust lawsuit about competition and transparency in prescription drug pricing. Judge Michael Simon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued an order January 3, 2024 denying summary judgment to defendant LegitScript, LLC, a private for-profit pharmacy verification company and competitor of PharmacyChecker.
Bona Law Client Zulily Files Antitrust Complaint Against Amazon for Horizontal Price-Fixing and Monopoly Abuses
Zulily has lodged an antitrust complaint charging that Amazon specifically targeted Zulily as part of an overarching scheme to eliminate price competition among all online retailers. The complaint follows charges by the Federal Trade Commission and eighteen state attorneys general that Amazon has illegally suppressed retail price competition for years through an “anti-discounting” conspiracy that prohibits Amazon’s sellers from offering better retail prices off Amazon.
$1.8 Billion Antitrust Verdict Against Realtor Groups Provides Lessons for Brokerages, Realtor Associations, and Multiple Listing Services Nationwide
A Missouri jury awarded a class of home sellers $1.8 billion dollars in finding that the National Association of Realtors (“NAR”) and some of the nation’s largest real estate brokerages “conspired to require home sellers to pay the broker representing the buyer of their homes in violation of federal antitrust law.” At the center of the case was NAR’s rule requiring sellers to pay a non-negotiable commission awarded to the buyer’s broker at a transaction’s closing (“Mandatory Payment Rule”).
$1.8 Billion Antitrust Verdict Against Realtor Groups Provides Lessons For Brokerages, Realtor Associations, And Multiple Listing Services Nationwide - Antitrust, EU Competition - United States
A Missouri jury awarded a class of home sellers $1.8 billion dollars in finding that the National Association of Realtors ("NAR") and some of the nation's largest real estate brokerages "conspired to require home sellers to pay the broker representing the buyer of their homes in violation of federal antitrust law." At the center of the case was NAR's rule requiring sellers to pay a non-negotiable commission awarded to the buyer's broker at a transaction's closing ("Mandatory Payment Rule").
McDonald’s & Monopsony: The Seventh Circuit Vacates District Court’s Dismissal of a Per Se No-Poach Theory
Author: Molly Donovan In an opinion written by Judge Easterbrook, and a major win for per se no-poach claims, the Seventh Circuit has vacated a district court’s dismissal of a Sherman Act, Section 1 no-poach claim against McDonald’s.
Antitrust, Web3 and Blockchain Technology: A Quick Look into the Refusal to Deal Theory as Exclusionary Conduct
Antitrust, Web3 and Blockchain Technology: A Quick Look into the Refusal to Deal Theory as Exclusionary Conduct Authors: Luis Blanquez A company using a blockchain––or perhaps even the blockchain itself––with a sizeable share of a market could be a monopolist subject to U.S. antitrust laws. But a monopoly by itself isn’t illegal. Rather, a company must use its monopoly power to willfully maintain that power through anticompetitive exclusionary conduct.
Minnesota Is The New California For Non-Compete Agreements
In May of 2023, Minnesota enacted a new law that broadly bans employee non-compete agreements with few exceptions and also limits the use of forum-selection and choice-of-law clauses in employment agreements. You can read that law here (jump to 66.12). Note: the Federal Trade Commission is also contemplating a ban on employee non-compete agreements, but we don't know what that will look like until the final rule is published. We've written about the FTC's proposed rule here and here.
Unpacking Antitrust: What Is A Joint Venture? - Antitrust, EU Competition - United States
The Short Answer: Two or more businesses that work together to produce something. Antitrust Law: An Analysis of Antitrust Principles and Their Application (Areeda and Hovenkamp) ("A joint venture is a form of organization in which two or more firms agree to cooperate in producing some input that they would otherwise have produced individually, acquired on the market, or perhaps would have done without."). Why Does It Matter?
The US State of Minnesota enacts a legislation to prohibit employee non-compete agreements
Previous article Next article Minnesota is the New California for Non-Compete Agreements* In May of 2023, Minnesota enacted a new law that broadly bans employee non-compete agreements with few exceptions and also limits the use of forum-selection and choice-of-law clauses in employment agreements. You can read that law here (jump to 66.12).
The US State of Minnesota enacts legislation to prohibit employee non-compete agreements
Minnesota is the New California for Non-Compete Agreements* In May of 2023, Minnesota enacted a new law that broadly bans employee non-compete agreements with few exceptions and also limits the use of forum-selection and choice-of-law clauses in employment agreements. You can read that law here (jump to 66.12). Note: the Federal Trade Commission is also contemplating a ban on employee non-compete agreements, but we don’t know what that will look like until the final rule is published.
“It’s Complicated”: A Review of Barry Hawk’s Monopoly in America
Author: Steven Cernak Most antitrust practitioners, even members of the general public, have a good intuitive sense of what Sherman Act Section 1 is aimed at. Whether you follow the common law’s ancient voiding of “combinations in restraint of trade,” as does Greg Werden for example, or your kindergarten teacher’s instruction to avoid “ganging up,” as explained by Dick Steuer, even beginning antitrust students understand that certain agreements are bad for competition and, so, should be illegal.
Domestic Companies and Their Execs Plead Guilty to Criminal Price-Fixing
Authors: Jon Cieslak & Molly Donovan Two individuals and four of their corporate entities pleaded guilty to an antitrust conspiracy to fix the prices of DVDs and Blu-Rays sold on Amazon’s platform during the 2016-2019 time period. According to the plea agreements, the defendants “engaged in discussions, transmitted across state lines both orally and electronically, with representatives of other sellers of DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs on the Amazon Marketplace.
FTC’s Proposed Noncompete Ban Has Already Succeeded
Author: Steven Cernak Recently, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a nearly complete ban on noncompete provisions in employment agreements. Because it faces the usual lengthy rulemaking process and several expected legal challenges, the proposed rule might not become effective for months, if ever. Through the proposal and attendant publicity, however, the FTC already has drastically changed how such provisions will be used.
State and Federal Enforcers Pull Out All the Stops to Target Meat and Poultry in 2022
Author: Aaron Gott A couple years ago, clamor for antitrust scrutiny of the agricultural industry was growing apace. But then the pandemic happened. Demand bottomed out, processing plants shuttered and everyone feared an unprecedented virus-induced recession. The clamor disappeared. The National Pork Producers Council even won approval from the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (with some strings) to engage in a coordinated nationwide campaign to reduce output through mass culling.
OPINION EXCHANGE | State certificate-of-need laws for hospitals must go
Over the last month, our economy has come screeching to a halt as most Americans were either ordered or encouraged to stay at home to slow the spread of the coronavirus. These measures are necessary because we must “flatten the curve” to prevent our health care system from overload. Even Italy, where thousands of COVID-19 patients have died due to inadequate health care infrastructure, proportionately has more hospital capacity than the United States.
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