Fall 2006 Supreme Court Preview: Antitrust

For the upcoming fall term, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear two significant antitrust cases, Bell Atlantic v. Twombley, Case No. 05-1126 (2006), and Weyerhaeuser Co. v. Ross-Simmons Hardwood Lumber Co., Case No. 05-381 (2006). There is also a chance that the Court may grant certiorari in another important antitrust case in the coming months — Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc., Case No. 06A179 (2006).

In Bell Atlantic v. Twombley, the Court will decide whether allegations of parallel competitive conduct by defendants, coupled with a simple assertion that such conduct is the result of a conspiracy, states a claim under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. In the decision below, the Second Circuit held that it does, despite the fact that it is settled law that parallel conduct alone does not entitle the plaintiff to relief.