Rex Heeseman had a column in the Daily Journal last Friday called “Price Fixing” (subscription required) which discusses the Holdgrafer v. Unocal opinion. His primary contention is that the Court of Appeal’s opinion is a departure from the approach taken by other courts in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Philip Morris v. Williams. This is similar to the argument raised by plaintiffs in their petition for review. However, as we set forth in our answer to the petition for review, we believe the opinion simply applies the principles set by the United States Supreme Court in Campbell v. State Farm in precluding plaintiffs from seeking to punish a defendant for its dissimilar conduct toward non-parties.
