Bye Bye Bargains? Congressional Hearings On Repealing Leegin

The House Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing entitled "Bye Bye Bargains? Retail Price Fixing, the Leegin Decision, and Its Impact on Consumer Prices." The committee heard testimony from several antitrust lawyers, including FTC Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour, about whether Congress should overrule the Supreme Court's 2007 Leegin decision and reinstate the per se rule against resale price maintenance ("RPM"). Maryland has already enacted such a law with respect to its state antitrust laws. This hearing came within a few weeks of the Justice Department announcing a more aggressive approach to enforcing antitrust laws.