Essential Facilities and Natural Gas Pipelines
Date: 02/27/17
Source: The New York Law Journal. Reprinted with permission
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed dismissal of antitrust claims asserting concerted denial of access to an essential facility in the natural gas market in western Colorado. The appellate court found that the plaintiff, a venture seeking to enter the gas production market, failed to present sufficient evidence of harm to competition in a properly defined relevant market. Confirming the persistent significance of relevant market analysis in antitrust cases, a district court’s acceptance of a narrow relevant market proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice ensured the government’s successful challenge to Aetna’s proposed acquisition of rival health insurer Humana.
Essential Facilities and Natural Gas Pipelines (pdf | 274.95 KB )