Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—E.D. Mich.: Terminated employee fails to allege no-hire agreement between auto maker, consulting group, (Sep 24, 2013)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

In a wrongful discharge case brought by a former employee of management consulting company ASI Consulting Group, LLC (ASI) and of Chrysler Group, LLC—one of ASI’s clients—the federal district court in Detroit has rejected the plaintiff’s federal antitrust claims based on a purported no-hire agreement between the defendants (Murray v. Chrysler Group, LLC, September 23, 2013, Friedman, B.).

The plaintiff, who had been terminated first by ASI and later by Chrysler, attempted to allege a conspiracy between ASI and Chrysler with regard to the employment of personnel as reflected in a proposed severance agreement provided to the plaintiff by Chrysler. The only “agreement” identified in the complaint was not an agreement at all, according to the court, but a term within a proposed, unexecuted severance agreement which most likely could not be considered under the Federal Rules of Evidence. Moreover, the plaintiff failed to provide factual support for a larger conspiracy or plausible allegations that such an agreement would produce adverse anticompetitive effects within a relevant market.

The Sherman Act allegations were “the type of labels, legal conclusions, formulaic recitations, and unsupported allegations” that did not meet the pleading requirements of Twombly. The complaint failed to allege an agreement to support the Sherman Act, Section 1 conspiracy claim, the court ruled.

Thus, ASI’s motion to dismiss and Chrysler’s motion for judgment on the pleadings were granted with respect to the federal antitrust claim.

The case is Civil Action No. 12-CV-14408.

Attorneys: Michael L. Pitt (Pitt, McGehee) for Major Daniel Murray. Debra A. Colby (Ogletree, Deakins) for Chrysler Group, LLC. Joseph A. Siciliano (Siciliano, Mychalowych) for ASI Consulting Group, LLC.

Companies: Chrysler Group, LLC; ASI Consulting Group, LLC

Cases: Antitrust MichiganNews