Antitrust & Trade Regulation

Weekly Summaries Distributed September 25, 2015 Landmark Inv. Group, LLC v. CALCO Constr. & Dev. Co. Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Contracts, Injury Law  Connecticut Supreme Court Sanger Ins. Agency v. HUB Int'l Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Business Law  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

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Landmark Inv. Group, LLC v. CALCO Constr. & Dev. Co. Court: Connecticut Supreme Court Docket:SC19287 Opinion Date: September 29, 2015 Areas of Law: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Contracts, Injury Law In 2005, Landmark Investment Group, LLC entered into a contract with Chung Family Realty Partnership, LLC (Chung, LLC) to purchase certain property. Chung, LLC repudiated the contract after receiving a more attractive offer from CALCO Construction & Development Company (Calco) and John Senese, Calco’s president and owner (together, Defendants). Landmark successfully sued for specific performance of the contract but was unable to purchase the property after it was sold at a foreclosure auction where a company controlled by Senese was the highest bidder. Landmark then filed suit against Defendants, alleging tortious interference with its contractual relations and a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA). The jury returned a verdict in favor of Landmark on both counts. The trial court, however, granted Defendants’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) and rendered judgment for Defendants. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court (1) improperly granted Defendants’ motion for JNOV because it failed to view the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the jury’s verdict; and (2) incorrectly concluded that Landmark presented insufficient evidence to support its claims. http://j.st/4sWN View Case On: Justia Google Scholar

Sanger Ins. Agency v. HUB Int'l Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Docket: 14-40854 Opinion Date: September 23, 2015 Areas of Law: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Business Law Sanger filed suit claiming that it was forced to abandon certain prospective business plans after coming up against the anticompetitive practices of HUB, a major player in the nationwide market for veterinary insurance. The district court granted summary judgment for HUB. The court concluded that Sanger has produced sufficient evidence of preparedness to survive the standing inquiry at the summary judgment stage, and the court reversed the district court’s ruling to the contrary. The court also concluded that the alleged conduct does implicate allocation of risk in the insurance market and thus the McCarran-Ferguson Act, 15 U.S.C. 1012(b), exemption. Therefore, the dismissal of the federal antitrust claims is affirmed, but the dismissal of the state antitrust and tortious interference claims is reversed. http://j.st/4ssh View Case On: Justia Google Scholar