Washington – The Supreme Court pressed both sides Monday in the opening arguments of a case that businesses of all stripes care deeply about: how difficult should it be to get evidence that a company might be violating antitrust laws?
The case, Bell Atlantic vs. Twombly, stems from the deregulation of the telecommunications industry in the 1980s and 1990s, with some experts citing it as the most important antitrust case to reach the Supreme Court in 20 years.
The case is being watched closely by numerous companies, including airlines, credit card issuers and trade associations representing the wireless communications and pharmaceutical industries, all of whom have submitted or signed onto friend-of-the- court briefs.
The suit alleges that local telephone companies, the “Baby Bells,” illegally conspired to prevent competition by excluding new local phone companies from their territories and agreeing not to compete in each other’s markets.
