Hèrmes Bags Antitrust Win That Clarifies Luxury Tying Claims

Antitrust attorneys David Kully and Jennifer Lada co-authored a Law360 article analyzing the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California's dismissal with prejudice of Cavalleri v. Hermès, a closely watched challenge to Hermès' Birkin sales practices. The court held that selective sales tactics and scarcity do not amount to per se illegal tying absent plausible allegations of harm to competition in the tied-product market, and it rejected plaintiffs' "elitist luxury handbags" market definition as unsupported. The authors explain that exclusivity alone does not confer antitrust market power and that plaintiffs must show competitive injury, not just consumer disappointment, to prevail. They add that though per se tying remains viable after Jefferson Parish, it still requires proof of market power in a properly defined market.

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