The American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law’s Consumer Protection Committee and The Canadian Bar Association’s Marketing Practice Committee Present a 90-Minute Brown Bag Program
Continuous Sales/Ordinary Sale Price Claims in the United States and Canada: Ensuring that Bargains Really Are Bargains Post-Sears and Jos. Banks
Wednesday, March 9, 2005 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM Eastern | 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Central 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Mountain | 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Pacific When is a bargain really a bargain? In the last year, businesses have come under fire for advertising continuous sales prices as special discounts, promotional prices compared to the “regular” price, and/or offers that are available for a limited time. In the recent Jos. Banks case, New York Attorney General Spitzer settled a claim against retailers based on allegations that the retailers promoted product discounts for a limited time when many of those items were on sale for 18 months. Moreover, in late January of this year, the Canadian Competition Tribunal released its reasons in the Sears case, the first case to be decided under the ordinary price provisions of the Canadian Competition Act. The Sears case has raised as many questions as it has settled in this critical area. These recent U.S. and Canadian cases suggest closer regulatory scrutiny and, in the U.S., at least, potential class action claims based on misleading and unsubstantiated discount price advertising and sales practices. This program, sponsored by the ABA Section of Antitrust Law’s Consumer Protection Committee and The Canadian Bar Association Competition Law Section’s Marketing Practices Committee, will provide a method of analysis for attorneys to successfully gage how to qualify discount claims for products and services, and how to ascertain when promotional price claims have become stale and thus deceptive. It will be of particular interest to counsel who are asked to give advice on pricing strategies. Topics Include: An overview of the relevant U.S. and Canadian law The rationale for increased enforcement Compliance strategies in the U.S. and Canada Panel Discussion of hypothetical continuous pricing scenarios Panelists: Robert Pitofsky, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center and Counsel, Arnold & Porter, Washington, DC Andrea Rosen, Assistant. Deputy Commissioner, Competition Bureau—Fair Business Practices Branch, Ottawa, Canada Brendan Ross, Senior Competition Law Officer, Competition Bureau—Fair Business Practices Branch, Ottawa, Canada Yasmin Kutty, Assistant Attorney General, State of New York, New York, NY Randal Shaheen, Counsel, Arnold & Porter, LLP, Washington, DC James Musgrove, Partner, Lang Michener LLP, Toronto, Canada Moderators: John E. Villafranco, Member, Collier Shannon Scott, PLLC, Washington, DC Subrata Bhattacharjee, Partner, Heenan Blaikie, LLP, Toronto, Canada Attendance is free and you may participate by phone. U.S. attendees should RSVP to Cathy Homer of Collier Shannon Scott PLLC at chomer@colliershannon.com or (202) 945-6630 (phone) or 202.342.8451 (fax). Canadian attendees should RSVP to Marilyn Nowak of Heenan Blaikie LLP at mnowak@heenan.ca or (416) 360-6336, ext.2570 (phone) or (416) 360-8425 (fax). The dial-in number will be e-mailed to you approximately three days before the program.