Court packing: The Tipline for 9 July 2019

One year ago today, President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to fill the Supreme Court chair vacated by Justice Anthony Kennedy. While not previously known for his progressive antitrust record, Justice Kavanaugh delivered a victory for a class of iPhone owners in May after finding that they qualified as direct purchasers of software sold through Apple’s App Store under Illinois Brick. In writing for the majority in the five-to-four ruling, Justice Kavanaugh said the adoption of Apple’s arguments would create a “how-to guide for the evasion of antitrust laws” by retailers. Meanwhile, the latest addition to Qualcomm’s defence team may signal that the company is ready to fight the Federal Trade Commission all the way to the highest court in the land.