Matthew L. Cantor

Matthew L. Cantor is a partner in the law firm of Constantine Cannon LLP. He is a well-recognized expert in antitrust litigation and counseling, including matters that specifically concern the health services, financial services, telecommunications and media industries. He has substantial antitrust trial experience.

In the health services arena, Mr. Cantor has represented Ortho Biotech, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, in a litigation with Amgen, Inc. concerning exclusionary bundling practices related to pharmaceutical products. That case resulted in a settlement in August 2008 under which Ortho Biotech was awarded $200 million.  Mr. Cantor also represented several radiology practices that brought Sherman Act §1 claims against an alleged radiologist cartel that prevented Mr. Cantor’s clients from treating insured patients.  In one such case, Mr. Cantor, as lead trial counsel, secured a jury verdict for his client — an outcome not achieved by many antitrust practitioners.  Mr. Cantor has also represented pharmacies in matters concerning the actions of Pharmacy Benefit Managers.

In 2018, Mr. Cantor represented Tracelink, Inc. – a supplier of innovative software that tracks and traces pharmaceutical products through the supply chain – in a Sherman Act § 1 case brought against the Healthcare Distribution Alliance – a trade association for drug wholesalers.  That matter, which was pending in the Eastern District of Virginia, was resolved.

On the transaction front in healthcare, Mr. Cantor recently represented CareCore National, LLC — a provider of specialty benefit management services — in its acquisition of MedSolutions, Inc. — another provider of these services.

Mr. Cantor is currently lead counsel for the plaintiffs in a substantial indirect purchaser class action in a case against the Sutter Health system concerning tying arrangements and anti-steering provisions imposed by Sutter on health plans.

In the financial services/electronic payments arena, Mr. Cantor was on the lead counsel team for the plaintiffs in a major antitrust dispute concerning electronic payment systems entitled Wal-Mart, The Limited, Sears, Safeway, Circuit City, et al. v. Visa and MasterCard and In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation. That matter resulted in the largest settlement in antitrust history, valued conservatively at approximately $28 billion in April 2003. He also acted as one of the lead attorneys for Morgan Stanley/Discover in its Sherman Act §1 action against Visa and MasterCard for damages caused by their rules that precluded financial institutions from offering Discover cards to consumers. This action resulted in a settlement in October 2008 under which Discover was awarded $2.75 billion.

Mr. Cantor has displayed his antitrust and telecommunications expertise by representing parties that own or wish to acquire substantial telephony assets and operations, cable properties, television broadcast stations, satellite television providers and video-programming services. He represented The News Corporation Limited in connection with numerous transactions, including its sale of its DirecTV assets to Liberty Media Corporation, its $5 billion acquisition of Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., its $5 billion sale of Fox Family WorldWide, Inc. to The Walt Disney Company. He actively opposed the proposed merger of Echostar Communications and DirecTV — a transaction eventually opposed by the United States and 23 states Attorneys General — and the sale of cable assets from Adelphia Communications to Time Warner Cable and Comcast Corporation — a transaction that was only approved after the Federal Communications Commission placed substantial conditions upon the acquiring parties that Mr. Cantor advocated. He also represented Nexstar Broadcasting in an antitrust case involving the monopolization or a market related to television broadcasting that successfully settled.

Mr. Cantor has also represented eBay, Inc. subsidiary, StubHub, Inc. on antitrust issues related to electronic ticketing.

Mr. Cantor has broad experience in federal and state general commercial litigation and arbitration. Mr. Cantor has litigated disputes involving, among other things, real estate, partnership, contract and securities law.

Mr. Cantor graduated from the New York University School of Law in 1995 and from the University of Michigan in 1992, with High Distinction and with a major in English. Prior to joining Constantine Cannon, Mr. Cantor was associated with the firm of Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLP.

Mr. Cantor has been a member of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association and the Antitrust Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is admitted to practice before New York State courts, the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second, Fifth and Ninth Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Cantor has also spoken and written numerous times about antitrust and litigation topics, including the application and relevance of the antitrust laws to businesses involved in health services, Internet, video-programming, video-distribution and telephony.  His publications are listed below.

Matthew L. Cantor's Publications & Speeches

Jun172021
Federal Bar Council: Antitrust & Big Tech

Partner Matthew Cantor was a panelist at the June 17, 2021 Federal Bar Council webinar titled, Antitrust & Big Tech. Click here to read more.

Read More
Sep252019
A Rerun That Deserves to be Cancelled: DirectTV-DISH Merger Would Still Likely be Anticompetitive After All These Years

Partner Matthew L. Cantor publishes article for Antitrust Today.  Click here to read the article.

Read More
Mar122019
Antitrust Merger Remedies Should Address Potential Ills

Law360 publishes article by partners Matthew Cantor and Ankur Kapoor.  Click here to read the article.

Read More
Apr82015
Pharma Distribution Deals Raise Concerns

Pharmaceutical Executive (April 8, 2015) Click here to read the article.

Read More
Nov72014
Benching Adam Smith: The Increased Use of Price Controls in Antitrust Remedies

Partners Matthew Cantor and Daniel Vitelli were published in Bloomberg BNA, Benching Adam Smith: The Increased Use of Price Controls in Antitrust Remedies (November 7,...

Read More
Feb62014
Wal-Mart Decision Illustrates Merchants' New Debit Power

American Banker, (February 6, 2004) download PDF

Read More
Nov132013
Defending Hospital Mergers: 4 Antitrust Defenses

Becker’s Hospital Review (November 13, 2013). Click here to read the article

Read More
Sep252013
Antitrust Implications of Exclusive Dealing Arrangements in HealthCare

A presentation by Matthew L. Cantor (Sept. 25, 2013).

Read More
Sep182013
Protect the Little Guy from "Too Big to Fail"

The Hill's Congress Blog publishes article concerning the Supreme Court's decision in Amex v. Italian Colors by partner Matthew Cantor and associate Daniel Vitelli. Click...

Read More
Jun72013
Antitrust Ramifications of Exclusivity in Health Care

BNA Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report (with Axel Bernabe) (June 7, 2013) download PDF

Read More
Apr42013
Antitrust Implications of Health Care Provider Consolidation

The National Law Journal (April 4, 2013). Click here to read the article.

Read More
Dec72012
A Watchful Antitrust Eye in Healthcare

BNA Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report (December 7, 2012) download PDF

Read More
Jun262012
Visa, Returning to Old Ways, Squelches Competition in Debit

American Banker (June 26, 2012)

Read More
Mar292011
Antitrust Issues Faced by Accountable Care Organizations

download PDF

Read More
May242010
Feedback: Interchange Amendments is Pro-, Not Anti-Consumer

American Banker (May 24, 2010)

Read More
May102010
Hospitality Merchants at Legal Crossroads

Lodging Hospitality (May 10, 2010).

Read More
Apr272009
Let Innovators Flourish

National Law Journal (with Axel Bernabe) (April 27, 2009) Click here to read the article.

Read More
Feb202009
Rethinking M&A Antitrust Enforcement

American Banker (February 20, 2009)

Read More
Jan202009
Boosting the Economy by More Use Of the 'Weakened Firm Defense'

New York Law Journal (January 20, 2009)

Read More
Nov262008
Taking Long-Term Antitrust Potential Seriously

American Banker (November 26, 2008)

Read More
Feb182008
Joint Inspection Antitrust Review of a Microsoft-Yahoo Merger Might Go Like This

Legal Times (February 18, 2008)

Read More
Nov12007
Antitrust Class Actions: Lessons From the U.S.

download PDF

Read More
Jul202007
Class Potential for Interchange Lawsuit

American Banker (July 20, 2007) download PDF

Read More
Jan12007
Antitrust and Telecom Presentation

download PPT presentation

Read More
Sep62005
Vague Law Leads to Havoc

National Law Journal (September 6, 2005).

Read More
Jun72005
Congress Limits Antitrust Liability for Standard-Setting Groups

New York Law Journal (with Adam Nyhan) (June 7, 2005) download PDF

Read More
Jun62005
Dominating Digital Music

The National Law Journal  (June 6, 2005), vol. 27, no. 39 download PDF

Read More
May242005
Overview of Antitrust-Intellectual Property Intersect

download PPT presentation

Read More
Jun72004
How Powerful Are Broadcasters?

Multichannel News (June 7, 2004) download PDF

Read More
Jun12004
Rigging the System? Permitting Anticompetitive Settlements

The Health Lawyer (June 2004) download PDF

Read More
May192004
Is ‘Trinko’ the Last Word on a Telephone Monopolist’s Duty to Deal?

New York Law Journal (May 19, 2004) download PDF

Read More
Dec112003
Do Federal Securities Regulations Trump State Antitrust Law?

New York Law Journal (December 11, 2003) download PDF

Read More
Aug182003
Let's Not Overregulate

National Law Journal (August 18, 2003) download PDF

Read More
Aug12003
Preliminary Relief is Difficult, But Not Impossible, to Obtain

Los Angeles Daily Journal (August 1, 2003) download PDF

Read More
Jul12003
Connecticut’s Bid to Stop an Oracle/PeopleSoft Deal

New York Law Journal (July 1, 2003) download PDF

Read More
Jul242002
Local Carriers Charge Regional Bells with Antitrust Violations

Los Angeles Daily Journal (July 24, 2002) download PDF

Read More
Jun262002
Merger Review Presentation

download PPT presentation

Read More
Jun172002
Consolidation Raises Antitrust Issues

Multichannel News (June 17, 2002) download PDF

Read More
Apr222002
The Southern Strategy

Legal Times (April 22, 2002) download PDF

Read More
Jan12002
Smart Antitrust Compliance Programs

The Corporate Board (January/February 2002), pg 7 download PDF

Read More
Nov142001
Calling the Shots

Los Angeles Daily Journal (November 14, 2001) download PDF

Read More
Sep12001
When Can an Action Be Brought to Enjoin a Merger?

Insight (September 2001) download PDF

Read More
Jul302001
Antitrust's Role In Overbuilder/Franchise Dealings

Multichannel News (July 30, 2001) download PDF

Read More
Jul12001
An Expulsion Remedy Provision: A Clear and Straightforward Penalty

Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce (July 2001) download PDF

Read More
Mar52001
Do Internet Portals Bar The Door To Competition?

New York Law Journal (Monday, March 5, 2001), Outside Counsel, pg.1 download PDF

Read More
Dec21999
Curtailing Monopoly Leveraging In Long Distance Markets

New York Law Journal (Thursday, December 2, 1999), Corporate Update, pg.5 download PDF

Read More