Antitrust and Competition Law Update: F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd. v. Empagran: Supreme Court Restricts Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Antitrust Laws

摘要

On June 14, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important opinion on the extraterritorial reach of U.S. antitrust laws in F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. v. Empagran, S.A.1 The opinion, written by Justice Breyer, restricts the extraterritorial application of the antitrust laws under the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act of 1982 (FTAIA). The Court unanimously held that purchasers in overseas markets claiming injury from price fixing (or other antitrust violations) cannot sue in U.S. courts by alleging that they were harmed by conduct that also injured consumers in the United States, at least absent allegations that injury to U.S. consumers facilitated the harm to them. The decision, however, leaves open some questions whether such antitrust claims can be redressed in U.S. courts in limited circumstances.