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On November 26, 2012  the Supreme Court heard oral argument in FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health Systems, Inc.  The question in this case is whether a local government entity that helped a private actor acquire its only competitor can invoke the “state action doctrine” as a shield against federal antitrust laws.  Under the state action doctrine, federal antitrust laws do not apply to public actions taken pursuant to a clearly articulated and affirmatively expressed state policy of displacing competition.

To discuss the case, we have Aaron Nielson, who is a Partner in the Washington, DC office of Kirkland and Ellis.

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