Court allows hotly disputed discount contact lens price law

Headline Legal News

A federal appeals court ruling has cleared the way for discount contact lens retailers to drop prices while a legal battle is waged between the state of Utah and manufacturers who want to impose minimum prices on their products.
 
The decision handed down from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Friday comes after three of the nation's largest contact lens manufacturers sued to halt a hotly contested law.

Supporters, including Utah-based discount seller 1-800 Contacts, say the newly enacted legislation bans price fixing for contact lenses. But opponents, including Alcon Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson and Bausch & Lomb, say it's a brazen overreach that allows discount sellers to violate interstate commerce regulations and skirt industry price standards.

Utah's attorney general has said the companies are wrongly driving up prices, and the law is a legitimate antitrust measure designed to enhance competition and help customers. Attorney General Sean Reyes' office didn't have a comment on the decision Friday.

The ruling allows the law to go into effect while a legal battle over the measure works its way through the courts. The appeals court did agree to fast-track the case and new briefs are due in the case later this month.

Donna Lorenson, a spokeswoman for Alcon, says the company is "extremely disappointed" and maintains the law violates interstate commerce rules.

Related listings

  • Court says net neutrality rules will go into effect Friday

    Court says net neutrality rules will go into effect Friday

    Headline Legal News 06/12/2015

    Rules that treat the Internet like a public utility and prevent companies from blocking or slowing down some online traffic will go into effect Friday after a federal appeals court refused to delay them. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appea...

  • Oscar Pistorius case: Court sets November for appeal

    Oscar Pistorius case: Court sets November for appeal

    Headline Legal News 06/08/2015

    Oscar Pistorius' case will go in front of South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal in November, the court said Monday, when prosecutors will challenge the decision to acquit him of murder for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius would again f...

  • Brazil court convicts 2 firefighters in nightclub fire

    Brazil court convicts 2 firefighters in nightclub fire

    Headline Legal News 06/04/2015

    A court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced two firefighters to a year behind bars in connection with a 2013 nightclub fire that killed more than 200 people in southern Brazil. The two and six other firefighters had been charged with negligence and ...

Experienced Business Law Attorneys - Business Law Attorneys in Chicago, Illinois

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is clarifying policy guidance (PDF, 71 KB) on the specific work activities its officers should consider when determining whether an individual qualifies for TN nonimmigrant status as an economist.

Companies of all sizes have to deal with a lot of bureaucracy and paperwork just to do business. Long gone are the days of simply designing and manufacturing a great product and putting it out there. It can be incredibly overwhelming trying to do business without making yourself vulnerable to a lawsuit.

If you need to craft an agreement between you and investors or business partners, it is prudent to have it reviewed by a business attorney before you sign anything. You may also want to have your vendor contracts, office leases, sales agreements, and other types of agreements looked over as well. From start-ups to established corporations, the Chicago business attorneys at the Roth Law Group have the know-how to help businesses keep legal trouble at bay.

The attorneys at the Roth Law Group have helped their clients at every stage of the business creation and operation process. From registering as a legally-recognized business entity to hiring employees and then copywriting or trademarking a product idea, the right guidance in the beginning can keep you out of trouble later on.