Practice Areas & Industries: Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.

Practice/Industry Group Overview

For more than 30 years, we have provided antitrust and competition advice to clients in business transactions including mergers and acquisitions, franchising and distribution agreements, and intellectual property matters. We represent clients in government investigations and enforcement proceedings and in private civil litigation. Our attorneys also assist clients in establishing corporate antitrust compliance programs.

"Antitrust is a world in which the law is so vague that businessmen have no way of knowing whether specific actions will be declared illegal until they hear the judge's verdict -- after the fact.* At Fredrikson, we want our clients to have a better experience."

Services Available

Areas of Expertise

• Pre-Merger Notification
• Justice Department and Attorney General's Office
• Investigations
• Grand Jury Matters
• Predatory Pricing Claims
• Price Discrimination Claims
• Exclusive Dealing
• Monopolization

We have experience in a wide variety of industries including health care, consumer goods, agricultural products, financial services and retail.

Representative Cases

In re: Vitamins Antitrust Litigation. We represented a defendant in ongoing civil antitrust proceedings (both state and federal court) alleging worldwide vitamin price-fixing.

In re: Milk Products Antitrust Litigation. We represented a defendant in civil and criminal antitrust proceedings in connection with alleged price fixing of milk products. This included defense of both direct and indirect purchaser class action claims, a parens patriae claim by the Minnesota Attorney General and a grand jury investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In re: Brand Name Pharmaceuticals Antitrust Litigation. We represented several defendants in class action litigation alleging a conspiracy to fix the price of brand name pharmaceuticals. We defended both direct and indirect purchaser claims in the class context.

In re: Potash Antitrust Litigation. We represented a defendant in consolidated civil antitrust class actions alleging a conspiracy to raise and stabilize prices of potash in violation of the Sherman Act.

In re: Video Lottery Antitrust Litigation. We represented a defendant in an antitrust action alleging a rule of reason claim under Section 1 of the Sherman Act.

Concrete Litigation. We represented a defendant in an alleged bid-rigging conspiracy relating to the sale of reinforced concrete pipe.

Minnesota Ass'n of Nurse Anesthetists v. Unity Hosp., 208 F.3d 655 (8th Cir. 2000). We represented a corporate defendant and individual anesthesiologists in an action alleging violations of Sherman Act Sections 1 and 2; illegal boycott; illegal tying; denial of essential facilities; violations of the Minnesota Antitrust statute, Minnesota Consumer Fraud statute, Minnesota Deceptive Trade Practices statute, and Minnesota Whistleblower statute; tortious interference with contract; breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; and civil conspiracy. The Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of our clients.

Business Machines Sales & Service Inc. v. Appleton Papers, Inc. We represent two defendants as local counsel in an indirect purchaser class action alleging a national price fixing conspiracy with regard to jumbo rolls of thermal fax paper sold in North America.

Peridot, Inc. v. Kimberly-Clark Corp. We represent two defendants in a civil antitrust indirect purchaser class action alleging a conspiracy to artificially inflate the price of commercial tissue paper sold in the United States.