Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, WORTH NOTING—Other Antitrust and Trade Regulation developments, (Dec 19, 2014)

A periodic roundup of other items of interest to the Antitrust and Trade Regulation community:

PUBLICITY RIGHTS—N.D. Ga.: The federal district court in Atlanta has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Universal City Studios by a hip-hop performer known as “Honey Rockwell,” who claimed that the motion pictures “Honey” and “Honey 2” were based on a misappropriation of her persona and life story (Valencia v. Universal City Studios LLC, December 18, 2014, Storey, R.).

ADVERTISING—Cal. App.: In deciding that the Federal Arbitration Act preempted state-law rules prohibiting or restricting certain state-law claims, a California appellate court ruled that a consumer was required to arbitrate her claims against Citibank, N.A., alleging violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act. In granting Citibank’s request to compel arbitration of the consumer’s state-law claims pertaining to a credit insurance plan covering her Citibank credit card account, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District determined that while the California trial court had appropriately ordered arbitration of the consumer’s claims seeking monetary damages and restitution, the lower court erred in denying arbitration of the consumer’s claims seeking injunctive relief (McGill v. Citibank, N.A., December 18, 2014, Aronson, R.).

STATE UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES—D. Conn.: A consumer’s action under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) against a private investigation firm and its principal failed, because, in the court’s view, no reasonable juror could find from the evidence at trial that their ?alleged conduct was either an unfair or deceptive act or practice and/or that such conduct caused plaintiff to sustain an ascertainable loss.” Allegations about the firm’s allegedly deceptive investigative scope and superior ability, its billing practices, and allegedly broken promises of confidentiality, failed to support a CUTPA claim. The court declined to submit the consumer’s CUTPA claim to the jury, and granted judgment as a matter of law on this claim (Piao v. Smith, December 18, 2014, Fitzsimmons, H.)

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: The FTC announced today that it has approved applications for divestitures required under consent orders settling challenges to a combination of hospital operators and a merger of funeral services providers (In re Matter of Community Health Systems, Inc.. Dkt. C-4427, File No. 131-0202; Service Corporation International, Dkt. C-4423, File No. 131-0163).

RICO—D. Colo.: An alleged illegal racketeering scheme joined by the defendant Russian corporation Lukoil to deprive a plaintiff Canadian corporation from the benefits of a rich diamond discovery in Russia was dismissed because Lukoil was not subject to personal jurisdiction in Colorado. In addition, the action should be dismissed based on forum non conveniens grounds, the federal district court in Denver decided (Archangel Diamond Corporation Liquidating Trust v. OAO Lukoil, December 18, 2014, Moore, R.).

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