The Paul, Weiss Antitrust Practice advises clients on a full range of global antitrust matters, including antitrust regulatory clearance, government investigations, private litigation, and counseling and compliance. The firm represents clients before antitrust and competition authorities in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions around the world.
Second Circuit Invites Rehearing in Reverse Settlement Case
May 6, 2010
In a recent decision regarding the validity of so-called "reverse settlement" agreements, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiffs' antitrust claims on summary judgment, but took the unusual step of inviting plaintiffs to petition for rehearing by the full Court of Appeals. Applying its own prior precedents, the Second Circuit held that plaintiffs were barred as a matter of law from challenging the pharmaceutical patent settlement agreement at issue under the antitrust laws. The Court observed, however, that recent developments had called such precedents into question, including an amicus brief filed in the case by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, at the Court's request, in which the Division argued that reverse settlements should be treated as presumptively unlawful. Based on these developments, the Court invited plaintiffs to petition for rehearing en banc.