Briefing Notes
- Newsmax alleges Fox uses exclusionary contracts to block competitors from cable distribution networks in violation of Sherman Act Sections 1 and 2
- Recent federal ruling inVitamin Energy v. Bhargava dismissed similar antitrust claims against 5-Hour Energy for failing to prove market-wide harm versus mere competitive losses
- Newsmax faces comparable challenges proving actual antitrust injury rather than normal business competition under established legal precedent
Legal Vulnerability Analysis: Why Newsmax May Face Dismissal
After analyzing both the Newsmax complaint and Judge Grey’s dismissal order in Vitamin Energy, Inc. v. Manoj Bhargava, Case No. 24-13125 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 29, 2025), striking parallels emerge that suggest Newsmax’s antitrust claims face significant legal vulnerabilities.
Both cases center on Sherman Act violations, which require plaintiffs to demonstrate actual antitrust injury – harm to the competitive process itself, not merely harm to individual competitors. As the Sixth Circuit established in NicSand, Inc. v. 3M Co., 507 F.3d 442, 450 (6th Cir. 2007), “one competitor may not use the antitrust laws to sue a rival merely for vigorous or intensified competition.”
