Fierce business competitors have to step lightly to avoid liability under American antitrust law and 'commercial interference' torts. A recent report takes a comprehensive look at where the line is when it comes to stopping a development project.
Fierce business competitors have to step lightly to avoid liability under expansive American antitrust law and Anglo-American ‘commercial interference’ torts. However, both federal and state courts have increasingly interpreted the American constitutional guarantee of the freedom to petition the government as shielding competitors who engage each other in political or legal contexts. In-house practitioners should be aware of the shifting boundaries of First Amendment protection of these activities and develop in-house best practices to ensure both compliance and encourage engagement. Competition law in the United States, primarily the Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-7, fosters fair competition in part by proscribing ‘anticompetitive behavior’. A set of Supreme Court cases, and their progeny in the lower courts, have clarified for business competitors that there can be no ‘anticompetitive behavior’—and thus no antitrust liability—in the political arena. At company headquarters, the relationships your regional offices build and maintain with local government and the local community can seem abstract. And it is probably good practice to leave local government and community affairs work to the local offices, who have requisite sensitivity and knowledge to deal with local law and regulations. Advocacy at the local level is key.
FULL STORY: Advocacy or Antitrust? Competitive Engagement and Political Advocacy Under the First Amendment
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.