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Landmark Antitrust Victory for Becton Dickinson in the Fifth Circuit
- Client News
- December 2, 2016
Practices
Paul, Weiss secured a significant antitrust appellate victory for global medical technology company Becton Dickinson & Company (BD). The landmark decision, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, reversed and vacated a $340 million verdict in favor of a competitor, Retractable Technologies, Inc. (RTI).
In September 2013, Paul, Weiss tried to a jury in the Eastern District of Texas 12 antitrust claims asserted by RTI, and won all but one claim, attempted monopolization by means of false advertising and patent infringement. In the first appellate decision in recent years to squarely address whether patent infringement and false advertising can constitute anticompetitive conduct under antitrust laws, the Fifth Circuit ruled that the claim against BD was "infirm as a matter of law" and rendered judgment for BD.
Writing for the panel, U.S. Circuit Judge Edith H. Jones wrote that false advertising and patent infringement cannot be considered anticompetitive conduct. While it might harm a competitor, the panel concluded, it does not harm the competitive process.
The Paul, Weiss team included litigation partners Bob Atkins, Jacqui Rubin and Bill Michael, and counsel Steve Herzog, Dan Crane, Farah Berse and Gary Carney.