On December 12, 2024, following a nearly two-year-long investigation, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated its first litigation under the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) in more than two decades. The FTC sued Southern Glazer’s, a large wine and spirits distributor, alleging the company charged higher prices to smaller retailer customers than it did to large chains, violating the RPA.
The litigation, filed in the last days of the Biden administration’s antitrust regime, may ultimately end with a whimper under the next administration. But for companies managing modern pricing systems, the complaint and the controversy surrounding it provide important insights into how complainants could seek to advance RPA suits in today’s retail environment. The complaint illustrates how current FTC leadership intended to operationalize its new focus on price discrimination and provides a roadmap for how state regulators and private plaintiffs can litigate the issue regardless of how the FTC proceeds under the new administration. Perhaps even more useful, the dissents filed by FTC Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Andrew Ferguson suggest a blueprint for a legal response to future actions that may resonate with other regulators – and more importantly, with federal and state judges.
