Health Care Antitrust Advisory: Noerr-Pennington Immunizes Hospital From Antitrust Liability For Lobbying Campaign Against Competitor
6/7/2011
The Noerr-Pennington doctrine, which protects the First Amendment right to petition the government, has traditionally been used to shield lobbying activity from antitrust liability, even when such activity’s intent is to harm a competitor. In a recent decision, the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of an antitrust suit, holding that the Noerr-Pennington doctrine protected the defendant hospital’s deceitful and objectionable tactics employed in lobbying to prevent the construction of a competing medical facility.
