According to a report from Courthouse News, the 7th Circuit weighed the reach of US antitrust laws in a case accusing Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors of making secret deals with Canadian authorities to promote sales of their beer at the expense of small breweries.
Last year, Mountain Crest sued Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors, America’s first and second largest breweries, claiming they abused their monopoly power to restrain trade – particularly, beer exports to Ontario, Canada.
Mountain Crest, the 21st largest brewer in the US, brews beer for Ravinder Minhas, a Canadian entrepreneur, for export to Alberta. Since 2009, it’s been trying to expand its market to Ontario, but claims the defendants have stiff-armed it through “secret agreements.”
This secret agreement allegedly stipulated that if any small brewer, like Mountain Crest, wanted to sell 12 or 24-packs of beer in Ontario, they would have to pay listing, handling, and service charges to sell through The Beer Store. Anheuser Busch and Molson Coors brands were exempt from the fees.
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit as barred by the act-of-state doctrine, because all the challenged conduct is governed by a contract with the Ontario government.
But Mountain Crest’s attorney Charles Benoit told a 7th Circuit panel Friday, November 2, that this interpretation of the law immunizes illegal conduct abroad by American companies.
“Can a beer company offer $10 million [to a foreign government] to block all other beer sales? The [act-of-state] doctrine cannot be a defense,” Benoit told the three-judge panel. “It’s absurd.”
He argued, “It is clear the Sherman Act was intended to protect US exporters.”
Anheuser-Busch controls 45% of the US beer market and 43% of the Canadian market.
Full Content: Court House News
Featured News
Google and South Carolina Clash Over State Records Demand
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Telefonica Germany Teams Up with Amazon Web Services to Migrate 5G Customers
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Federal Judge Grants $7.4 Million Settlement in Pork Price-Fixing Case
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Wilson Sonsini Bolsters Antitrust and Competition Practice with Key Partner Returns
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
EU to Scrutinize Telecom Italia’s Network Sale to KKR
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI