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Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction

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The Robinson-Patman Act is one of the nation's "antitrust statutes" and as such the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction to handle cases brought under the statute. There is some interplay, however. When a manufacturer countersues a plaintiff for unpaid invoices, the manufacturer will generally sue in state court to try to get a judgment quickly, long before the plaintiff is able to get a judgment in the federal case. In the past, one of my clients in just such a situation asked the state court for an order preventing the manufacturer from getting a judgment in the state case until the federal action was resolved. This state-court order was based on the argument that the manufacturer owed money under federal law to the plaintiff, and that it was unjust for the manufacturer to be able to get a state court judgment on related matters until the antitrust issues were heard and decided.

The attorney who did this for my client was the client's regular counsel, who was also "local counsel" for the plaintiff in my Robinson-Patman Act case.