By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//November 26, 2014//
U.S. Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
Civil
Antitrust — Foreign trade
Foreign subsidiaries of American corporations cannot sue under the Sherman Act in American courts. “It is fair to require foreign subsidiaries of American companies to seek remedy in the courts of the country in which they choose to incorporate. Companies operate overseas facilities to take advantage of many legal provisions of that country: labor law, environmental law, and tax law. In non-legal terms: ‘You take the good with the bad.’ By contrast, American consumers have no realistic choice but to buy finished goods that are assembled from components sold and assembled around the world. Therefore, the antitrust laws should be read—where possible— to allow governmental enforcement against international cartels that were meant to have, and have had, a substantial effect[] on domestic commerce. … A foreign subsidiary’s] position is more akin to an American citizen living overseas who buys price-fixed goods but then must seek any remedies under the laws [of the] country she has chosen to live in.”
Affirmed.
14-8003 Motorola Mobility, LLC, v. AU Optronics Corp.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Gottschall, J., Posner, J.