Law360 Highlights AAI’s Brief in Refusal-to-Deal Appeal in Viamedia v. Comcast

Law360 published a story about AAI’s Seventh Circuit amicus brief in support of the plaintiff in Viamedia v. Comcast. The story, headlined “7th Circ. Urged To Revive Comcast Ad Sale Antitrust Suit,” noted:

“Advocates for strong application of antitrust laws have urged the Seventh Circuit to reverse the dismissal of a $75 million suit alleging that Comcast Corp. illegally monopolized the market for local television advertising, arguing that the lower court accepted Comcast’s justifications too easily.

“The American Antitrust Institute and Public Knowledge filed an amicus brief on Thursday supporting Viamedia Inc., a company that represents small cable operators in ad sales that alleges Comcast cut off its access to a needed advertising platform in order to take on Viamedia’s customers itself. The nonprofits argued that the lower court used too high a bar when evaluating the company’s refusal-to-deal claim by accepting the cable giant’s contention that cutting out a middleman was efficient.”