Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh spoke with The Verge on the recent Live Nation-Ticketmaster antitrust settlement with the Department of Justice.
In reaction to the settlement, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) plans to introduce a new bill to strengthen courts’ review of antitrust settlements, including by empowering states to have a greater role and making sure courts can’t approve agreements that fail to resolve antitrust issues.
Reviews under the Tunney Act (Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act of 1974) are already meant to ensure that antitrust settlements are in the public interest, though Ghosh says it’s rare for a judge to throw out a deal altogether. Under the Tunney Act review, the court will evaluate whether the parties are likely to return over the same issues, and if the proposal creates new problems, he said.