On May 23, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the ruling of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denying a preliminary injunction to block the merger of Cravath client, United Airlines, and Continental Airlines, which closed on October 1, 2010. Plaintiffs asserted claims under Section 7 of the Clayton Act seeking to enjoin the merger. The District Court denied plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction on September 27, 2010, after a two-day evidentiary hearing, and plaintiffs appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction in the Section 7 case and rejected plaintiffs’ assertion that the “national market in air travel” is a relevant market for analysis of the merger.
The Cravath team included partner Stuart W. Gold and associates Rebecca Rettig, Hector J. Valdes, Karl C. Huth and Sarah S.B. Kessler.