United States Fourth Circuit

Surreptitiously financing citizen group litigation in state court to prevent or delay another company's entry into the market does not violate the Sherman Act because the Noerr-Pennington doctrine provides an exception for the First Amendment right to petition the government for redress.

Appellate Information

• Argued 11/01/2000
• Decided 01/18/2001
• Published 01/18/2001

Judges

• Before WILKINSON, Chief Judge, WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge, and MAGILL, Senior Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, sitting by designation.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• ARGUED:  Lewis A. Noonberg, Piper, Marbury, Rudnick & Wolfe, L.L.P. , Baltimore, MD, for Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• G. Jack Donson, Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, L.L.P., Cincinnati, Ohio;  Carter G. Phillips, Sidley & Austin, Washington, DC, for Appellees., ON BRIEF:  Kathleen A. Ellis, Piper, Marbury, Rudnick & Wolfe, L.L.P., Baltimore, MD;  Charles S. Hirsch, Robert A. Scott, Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll, L.L.P., Baltimore, MD, for Appellant.  Daniel R. Warncke, Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, L.L.P., Cincinnati, OH;  Robert J. Carson, Gary R. Jones, Baltimore, MD, for Appellees;  Thomas M. Wood, IV, Allan P. Hillman, Neuberger, Quinn, Gielen, Rubin & Gibber, P.A., Baltimore, MD, for Appellees.