Due Process Limitations On Indirect Purchaser Claims Under The Cartwright Act: Toward A New Standard?

Competition

An interlocutory appeal pending in the Ninth Circuit as part of the ongoing In re TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation presents an issue that should be of keen interest to antitrust practitioners—under what circumstances may indirect purchasers of price-fixed goods assert claims under California's Cartwright Act for sales that occurred outside of California. This article discusses the issue on appeal in depth as well as the present state of the law. The district court held that application of California law to out-of-state sales violated the Due Process Clause, and the Ninth Circuit now has the opportunity to provide important new guidance about the due process limits on the extraterritorial application of the Cartwright Act and similar state laws.