“The loftiest of purported motivations do not excuse anti-competitive collusion among rivals. That’s long-standing antitrust law.” So begins a USA Today opinion piece by Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General and head of the Antitrust Division. Delrahim was defending a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into four major automakers who had recently announced they would continue to meet California’s fuel efficiency standards even as the Trump Administration moved to roll back higher efficiency standards at the federal level. The agreement between the automakers will likely lead to higher prices for consumers, which—regardless of other positive benefits—could be illegal under antitrust law. But should it be?
Joel B. Eisen* Two pending federal appellate cases involving Illinois and New York laws, Old Mill Creek v. Star and Coalition For Competitive Electricity v. Zibelman respectively,[1] involve the conflict between federal authority over the electric grid and state laws supporting nuclear power plants. The issues are nearly identical in both cases.[2] In Illinois, New
by Sam Kalen & Steven Weissman Many modern energy dialogues gravitate toward a conversation about the present status of the jurisdictional divide between state and federal authority over the regulation of wholesale sales of energy. A March 3, 2017 Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) article began by observing how the utility industry believes the biggest
By Sarah L. Fine This post is part of the Environmental Law Review Syndicate (ELRS). As the old saying goes, whiskey is for drinking—water is for fighting over. I. Introduction The mythic Dead Sea—the highly salinated, low-altitude lake of international interest and importance—is drying up.[1] Although the Jordan Rift Valley, where the Dead Sea is located,
