United States Third Circuit

Plaintiffs sufficiently state an antitrust claim in that the national tobacco litigation Master Settlement Agreement creates an output cartel that on its face violates the Sherman Act, but state officials are entitled to immunity on the basis of the Noerr-Perrington doctrine.

Appellate Information

• Argued 03/12/2003
• Decided 07/30/2003
• Published 07/30/2003

Judges

• Before: SLOVITER, NYGAARD, and ALARCÓN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• David F. Dobbins,Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, New York, NY, Alan R. Wentzel (Argued), Leonard Violi, Windels, Marx, Lane & Mittendorf, New York, NY, William M. Wycoff, Thorp, Reed & Armstrong, Pittsburgh, PA, Dennis J. O'Brien, Pittsburgh, PA, Donald W. Ricketts, Santa Clarita, CA, Peter R. Mahler, Derfner & Mahler, New York, NY, for Appellants., Bill Lockyer, Attorney General of California, Richard M. Frank, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Dennis Eckhart, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Michelle L. Fogliani, Karen Leaf, Deputy Attorneys General, Office of the Attorney General of California, Sacramento, CA, for Amici Curiae Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Govt. V.I., Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.


• For Appellees:
  
• D. Michael Fisher (Argued), Attorney General of Pennsylvania, John G. Knorr, III, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Chief, Appellate Litigation Section, Joel M. Ressler, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Chief, Tobacco Enforcement Section Office of Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Department of Justice, Harrisburg, PA, for Appellees.