Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—D.N.J.: Avaya Inc. to pay over $62.6M for attempted monopoly, illegal tying, (Sep 15, 2014)
Law Firms Mentioned:Bryan Cave LLP | K&L Gates LLP
Organizations Mentioned:Archer & Greiner, PC | Avaya, Inc. | Bryan Cave, LLP | Telecom Labs, Inc.
By Greg Hammond, J.D.
Business communications and collaboration systems company Avaya Inc. has been ordered to pay over $62.5 million for engaging in attempted monopolization and illegal tying, the federal district court in Camden, New Jersey, has decided (Avaya Inc. v. Telecom Labs, Inc., September 11, 2014, Irenas, J.).
In June 2014, a jury determined that Avaya—a manufacturer, seller, and servicer of private branch exchange (PBX) systems—(1) attempted to monopolize the post-warranty maintenance market for Avaya-brand PBX systems; and (2) unlawfully tied software patches for Avaya-brand predictive dialer systems to (i) the purchaser of Avaya-brand post-warranty maintenance or (ii) an agreement not to use the complaining ISP for such maintenance. Conversely, the company was found to be not liable for monopolization, conspiracy, and several other counts.
In August 2014, Avaya was unable to persuade the court to disregard the jury’s $20 million damages award, and its motion for judgment as a matter of law on damages was therefore denied. Consequently, the $20 million verdict amount was automatically trebled to $60 million, pursuant to Section 4 of the Clayton Act, and the court granted prejudgment interest in the amount of $2, 613,052.
The case is Civil Action No. 06-cv-02490-JEI-KMW.
Attorneys: Robert T. Egan (Archer & Greiner, PC), Lawrence Scarborough, Jacob A. Kramer, and Daniel I. Prywes (Bryan Cave LLP) for Avaya, Inc. Anthony P. LaRocco, Charles F. Rysavy, Kathy D. Helmer, Scott G. Kobil, and Anthony P. Badaracco (K&L Gates LLP), for Telecom Labs, Inc.
Companies: Avaya, Inc.; Telecom Labs, Inc.
Cases: Antitrust NewJerseyNews