Anti-Trust Lawsuits Againts Qualcomm Dismissed

Qualcomm has announced that the United States District Court for the Southern District of California granted Qualcomm's motions to dismiss three consumer class action lawsuits alleging antitrust violations and unfair competition by Qualcomm.

U.S. District Court Judge William Q. Hayes held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring antitrust claims because their alleged injuries were too remote to be traced to the allegedly anticompetitive conduct. As to the plaintiffs' other claims, the court held that the allegations in the complaint did not give them any right to compensation from Qualcomm under California's unfair competition law.

The three cases, filed in 2008, are Meyer v. Qualcomm, Case No. 08cv655 WQH; Valikhani v. Qualcomm, Case No. 08cv786 WQH; and Lorenzo v. Qualcomm, Case No. 08cv2124 WQH.

In all three cases, the plaintiffs had alleged that Qualcomm violated antitrust laws by its claimed illegal and anticompetitive conduct in licensing certain patented technology that is essential to the operation of cell phones. As a result of this conduct, it was claimed that Qualcomm has gained monopoly over the market for this technology and coerced device manufacturers and cellular service providers into paying supracompetitive prices.

Posted to the site on 4th March 2009