Today, we’re resuming our series on the antitrust law of transactions taking place on foreign soil.  This post completes our review of the antitrust law of foreign transactions prior to the passage of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvement Act.  First, a ground rule that I should have clarified earlier – our purpose here is a historical survey of the law – so readers should of course thoroughly check the background (and subsequent treatment) of the cases we discuss before relying on them.  With the seven cases below, we’re carrying our survey up to the enactment of the FTAIA. Industria Sicil ..read more

Today, let’s begin our section by section tour through the American Law Institute’s new Insurance Restatement. Chapter 1, Section 1 of the Restatement includes definitions of common terms found in the law of liability insurance, including such commonplace concepts as a condition, the insuring clause, a mandatory (versus non-mandatory) rule, a policy limit and a standard-form term.  Although most of the definitions in the Restatement are non-controversial, a couple of points bear mentioning.  In Section 1(2), the Restatement states that “Unless otherwise stated in the insurance policy, none of ..read more

On Wednesday, May 8, I’ll be joining a pair of California Supreme Court experts for a panel discussion, “What to Expect from the Brown Court” at the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Conference Center, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor in San Francisco (the discussion will also be available through a webcast). Justice Joshua P. Groban, the newest Justice appointed by former Governor Brown, will speak.  He will be followed by a panel discussion, with Benjamin G. Shatz of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and David A. Carrillo of the California Constitution Center, UC Berkeley joining me.  The Honorab ..read more

Today, we’re continuing the prologue of our tour through the law of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvement Act, surveying the antitrust law of foreign-based transactions in the years leading up to enactment of the FTAIA.  In our first installment, we reviewed the Supreme Court’s decision in American Banana Co. v. United Fruit Company, 213 U.S. 347 (1909), where the Court held that an antitrust conspiracy to take actions overseas was not within the reach of the Sherman Act, even when the conspiratorial agreement was reached within the U.S.  The cases following American Banana showed both the ..read more

Two weeks ago, we announced a new biweekly series analyzing, section by section, the new Restatement of the Law of Liability Insurance.  Before we begin talking about specific sections, let’s review the response so far to the Restatement from courts and other authorities outside the ALI. Pushback against the Restatement began even before final approval by the ALI membership.  On May 5, 2017, a full year before the Restatement was approved, the leaders of the National Council of Insurance Legislators sent ALI leadership a letter arguing that “several of the proposed Restatement’s provisions go ..read more

Two weeks ago, we announced a new biweekly series on the law of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvement Act.  Before we embark on our survey of the cases since passage of the FTAIA, let’s spend a few weeks reviewing the slate upon which Congress was writing when they passed the FTAIA – what was the US law of foreign-based transactions when the FTAIA was passed? American Banana Co. v. United Fruit Company, 213 U.S. 347 (1909).  Probably the earliest major decision on the application of antitrust law to foreign transactions was American Banana Co. v. United Fruit Company, 213 U.S. 347 (1909).  A ..read more

Ever wonder how the Restatements of the Law which we all read in law school (and have seen in even some modest law libraries throughout our careers) are written – and exactly who the American Law Institute – the credited authority behind the Restatements – is?  As a prelude to our new biweekly series of posts analyzing the Restatement of the Law of Liability Insurance, today we’re taking a brief look at the ALI’s history and structure, how ALI defines the purpose of its two primary classifications of treatises – the “Restatements” and the “Principles” – and how the Restatement of the Law of L ..read more

Section One of the Sherman Act is written in simple, straightforward language: “Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal.” Okay, maybe a little too simple, since, as the courts quickly realized, interpreted according to its plain language, the Sherman Act outlaws all contracts, since contracts by definition are a restraint of trade (albeit, in nearly all cases, a minor one). Nevertheless, most antitrust and international law scholars agree that th ..read more

I’m delighted to welcome three new experienced and talented appellate specialists to our growing San Francisco office!  Here’s the firm’s press release – Horvitz & Levy Expands San Francisco Office with Three Experienced Appellate Hires Bay Area Office for Nation’s Largest Appellate Boutique Offers Unmatched Expertise Horvitz & Levy LLP, the country’s largest boutique law firm dedicated to civil appeals and trial  consulting, has expanded its San Francisco presence with three strategic hires. The firm operates on an experienced-hire model and in keeping with this strategy has added ap ..read more

Tuesday, March 12, I’ll be a panelist for a Strafford webinar on Data Analytics and Litigation.  The other two panelists are Steve Embry, publisher of Tech Crossroads (and a former colleague of mine many years ago) and Evan Moses, a partner at Ogletree Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart.  The time is 10:00 – 11:30 Pacific.  Here’s the link and the full description is below.  This CLE webinar will guide litigators on how to use big data leading up to, and during, litigation. The panel will explore how data is being used to govern decisions as trial approaches, including settlement conditions, s ..read more