On April 17, 2025, a federal district court denied a motion to dismiss the first government enforcement action brought in decades under the Robinson-Patman Act (“RPA”), a statute that prohibits price discrimination and other...more
In a 3-2 party-line vote (Democratic majority), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the first time in decades filed an action alleging secondary line price discrimination under the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA). The FTC's...more
On the eve of a new administration, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed its first price-discrimination action under the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) since 2000. The FTC sued Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits LLC in US...more
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in a company’s work processes is not new. AI has automated, innovated, and optimized a business’s processes and outcomes. In recent years, tech firms and consultants have been touting...more
Retailers today have grown increasingly sophisticated in how they collect and use sales data and price their merchandise to optimize sales, revenue, and profits, using that information in conjunction with digital marketing...more
Price discrimination under the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) involves charging different prices to competing buyers for the same product. This was the key issue recently before the Ninth Circuit in U.S. Wholesale Outlet &...more
Dear Retail Clients and Friends: Starting January 1, 2023, a new law in California will prohibit higher prices for products marketed to a particular gender. The law specifically takes aim at higher prices on products...more
Last week, a California federal jury concluded that the maker of 5-Hour Energy Drink did not violate federal antitrust law by selling the energy shots to Costco for less than the price charged to its family-owned rivals....more
On October 21, 2019, a jury empaneled by the United States District Court for the Central District of California found that the makers of 5-Hour Energy “shots” did not violate the Robinson-Patman Act (“RPA”) by providing more...more
Last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a $2.6 million fine against beer wholesaler Craft Brewers Guild (a Sheehan family-owned company) for violating anti-price discrimination statutes and commercial...more
Last week, in Connecticut Fine Wine and Spirits LLC v. Seagull, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a lower court’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit from Total Wine & More challenging parts of Connecticut’s...more
Earlier this month, a Massachusetts state trial court judge issued a decision in the matter of Craft Beer Guild LLC d/b/a Craft Brewers Guild v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. The court upheld a decision by the...more
On August 12, 2016, the Seventh Circuit reversed the district court decision allowing Woodman’s Food Market, Inc.’s (Woodman’s) price discrimination lawsuit against The Clorox Company and The Clorox Sales Company (Clorox) to...more
California is taking on gender price discrimination. California law already prevents businesses from gender-based price discrimination for services such as haircuts, alterations, and dry cleaning. A recently proposed bill...more