Clifford Chance

Federal Trade Commission Revives Anti-Price-Discrimination Statute with First Enforcement Action in 24 Years

December 13, 2024

On December 12, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in federal court against Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, LLC, alleging that Southern engaged in illegal price discrimination in violation of Section 2(a) of the Robinson-Patman Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act. The lawsuit is the government’s first enforcement action under the RPA in decades. The FTC’s complaint alleges that Southern harmed small, independent retailers of wine and spirits by charging them higher prices and depriving them of the same discounts and rebates it provided to larger national and regional chains. The Commission’s vote to file the complaint was along party lines, with both Republican Commissioners filing lengthy dissents on the grounds that the suit was unlikely to succeed and would be a suboptimal use of the FTC’s resources even if successful. Regardless of whether the FTC’s suit is an anomaly or foretells future RPA enforcement by the FTC, it is likely to draw increased attention to the RPA and could drive an increase in the use of private RPA actions in response to perceived illegal price discrimination.

Download PDF