Antitrust issues in retail have returned to prominence as long-dormant antitrust theories have come back to life and the appellate courts have become increasingly sympathetic to the interests of smaller retailers and suppliers. This course examines major areas of activity in antitrust law as it pertains to retail. Your instructor for this course is August Horvath, a partner at Kelley Drye & Warren in New York with over 18 years of experience in counseling and litigation on retail-related antitrust issues. First, Mr. Horvath reviews developments in the areas of resale price maintenance, or so-called “vertical price fixing,” in which a supplier agrees with a reseller on the price the reseller will charge to its own customers. Mr. Horvath then discusses “unilateral pricing policies” or “Colgate policies” that are often adopted as a safer alternative to resale price maintenance. Also covered is the related topic of minimum advertising price (MAP) policies, in which the supplier merely limits the price at which a reseller advertises its product rather than the price at which it sells.
Learning objectives:
I. Understand the evolving federal and state law of resale price maintenance.
II. Know the good and the bad reasons to undertake a resale price maintenance or a minimum advertised price policy.
III. Learn strategies to cope with the demands and expectations of powerful vendors or customers while complying with the antitrust laws.
August Horvath, a partner in Foley Hoag's Advertising & Marketing practice, is a noted advertising and antitrust attorney. He counsels clients on how to substantiate and defend marketing claims they wish to make for their products and services, helps them challenge false and disparaging advertising by their competitors, and assists them in managing relationships with competitors, customers and suppliers without running afoul of antitrust laws.
August provides representation in private false advertising and deceptive practices litigation before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state Attorneys General and the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, and litigates in courts across the country. He has helped many companies in fields such as pharmaceuticals, retailing, sporting and other consumer goods, and online Internet services reach their marketing, distribution and competitive goals while overcoming complex challenges of advertising law and antitrust barriers.
August’s antitrust experience includes litigating both civil and criminal cases before the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division; FTC investigations and litigation related to conduct and mergers and acquisitions; and private litigation, including class actions with millions of class members. He also counsels clients in establishing marketing programs and distribution arrangements that comply with advertising and antitrust laws and regulations from the outset of their marketing plan development. August’s Ph.D. and hands-on experience in survey research and statistical analysis give him exceptional insight into developing substantiation protocols, designing and assessing research into the implied meaning of advertising claims, and working with and against expert witnesses.
August has been listed among premier attorneys in the U.S. Legal 500 and New York Super Lawyers. A fellow of the American Bar Foundation, he serves as co-chair of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, Agriculture and Food Committee.
Steve Humphreys is special counsel in the firm's Parsippany office, where he concentrates in all aspects of environmental law and related counseling of businesses. He also assists business clients in such emerging fields as environmental sustainability business auditing, renewable energy development and energy conservation infrastructure. Other areas of emphasis in Mr. Humphreys' practice include litigation and regulatory compliance counseling in matters arising under CERCLA, the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and various state and local environmental laws, as well as environmental aspects of business transactions.
Mr. Humphreys represents purchasers and sellers of contaminated or potentially contaminated and “brownfields” properties in transactions involving single and multiple properties, both in the United States and abroad, and he represents lenders and borrowers in commercial loan transactions and loan workouts. He has particular experience in developing strategies for the identification, management and allocation of environmental risk in business transactions, including the use of environmental insurance products, guaranteed remediation contracts and governmental liability protections to offset risk.
Mr. Humphreys also represents owners of real property seeking to manage environmental liabilities through voluntary cleanup programs and property transfer laws such as the New Jersey Industrial Site Recovery Act. He has experience retaining and managing environmental engineering firms, including response action contractors, for projects involving the investigation and remediation of contaminated property.
Another aspect of Mr. Humphreys' practice involves the representation of clients in prosecuting and defending claims under the federal Superfund law (CERCLA) and comparable state statutes for recovery of costs associated with cleaning up environmental contamination at various types of industrial and commercial properties. Mr. Humphreys also has represented corporate clients regarding regulatory enforcement actions and/or obligations arising under CERCLA, RCRA, the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and various state and local environmental laws. In addition, Mr. Humphreys has represented corporate clients and property owners in the prosecution of several insurance recovery cases, leading to the recovery of millions of dollars in proceeds under insurance policies for environmental-related damages and losses.
Mr. Humphreys' practice also includes counseling clients in a wide range of compliance issues arising under federal and state environmental laws, primarily with regard to hazardous waste regulation and water and air permitting matters. He has participated in the development of significant federal rulemakings under CERCLA and RCRA through the submission of comments on behalf of affected parties.
Mr. Humphreys has written numerous articles on various environmental law issues, including environmental considerations in real estate and corporate transactions, criminal enforcement of environmental laws and hazardous waste cleanup cost recovery. He also is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars on environmental law topics. His recent speaking engagements have included such topics as "Water Rights and Resource Management," "Buying and Selling Contaminated Properties" and "New York's Brownfields Cleanup Program."
Representative Experience
Environmental Aspects of Transactions
Oversaw environmental due diligence and negotiation of contractual allocations of environmental risk in the following transactions:
Superfund
Regulatory Enforcement Actions
Memberships & Associations
Professional Activities
Community Activities
Honors & Awards
Pro Bono
Excellent speaker. Wish there were more like him.
good presenter
Excellent material
Very interesting and informative. Good presentation and good use of examples. Learned a lot.
I liked the presentation here; very straightforward and logical. Nicely done.
outstanding. clearly presented.
Very good