Robinson-Patman Act

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According to people with knowledge of the matter, the Federal Trade Commission is conducting a preliminary investigation of soft drink companies to determine whether their pricing practices in the soft drink market segment violate the price discrimination prohibitions of the Robinson-Patman Act (the “RPA”). Section 2(a) of the RPA makes it unlawful for a supplier to discriminate in price between competing resellers of “commodities of like grade and quality” when the effect of such discrimination is to injure competition.…

Continue Reading A Blast from the Past: FTC Bringing Back Enforcement of Robinson-Patman Act

Woodman’s Food Market, Inc. v. Clorox Co., No. 15-3001 (7th Cir.  August 12, 2016).

Clorox Sales Company and Clorox Company produce a range of consumer goods.  Clorox sold goods to Plaintiff Woodman’s Food Market, a local grocery store with locations in Wisconsin and Illinois.  Clorox also sold to discount warehouses such as Costco and Sam’s Club.  In 2014, Clorox unilaterally announced that it would sell its large packs only to wholesale discount clubs.  Thus, the large bulk-size packs, which had previously been sold to Woodman’s were no longer available to it by direct purchase from Clorox.…

Continue Reading Refusal to Sell Bulk-Size Packs, Without More, Is Not Price Discrimination – “Size is Not a Service”