Weinberg v. Chicago Blackhawk Hockey Team
Illinois Appellate Court, First District, Third Division
653 N.E.2d 1322 (1995)
Weinberg (plaintiff) sold an unofficial program, The Blue Line, outside the Chicago Blackhawks' (defendant) arena that began outselling the team's own official program; the Blackhawks repeatedly denied Weinberg media and press credentials, and a team official linked that denial directly to how well The Blue Line competed with the official publication. Weinberg sued under Illinois's state antitrust monopoly statute; the trial court dismissed the suit, and Weinberg appealed.
Whether, under Illinois antitrust law, a plaintiff adequately alleges monopoly leveraging by pleading that a defendant with monopoly power in one market used that power to gain a competitive advantage in a second market through coercion rather than competition, with intent, resulting in reduced competition.