Some claims of nine-year Comcast class action in Philadelphia headed to trial

On Thursday, April 12, U.S. District Judge John R. Padova Jr. ruled on what claims could go forward on a nine-year class action lawsuit against Comcast. Judge Padova allowed the section 1 rule of reason to proceed to trial, on the issue of whether Comcast engaged in a horizontal allocation of markets in Philadelphia by creating a cable cluster through acquiring competitors and swapping cable assets. Section 2 claims can, in part, also go to trial, when they relate to Comcast’s discounts offered to potential RCN customers.

Judge Padova granted Comcast’s motion for summary judgment on parts of two counts: (1) the section 1 claim of a per se violation, and (2) section 2 claims, insofar as they contend that clustering and blocking RCN access to contractors constituted acts of monopolization. The per se claim was rejected because Comcast successfully showed that the cluster created pro-competitive efficiences that increased consumer welfare.

Full content: Philadelphia Business Journal

Related content: The Brief Life of the Section 2 Report and the Uncertain Future of Bundled Discounts (Daniel Crane, University of Michigan Law School)