In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litig.

R. DAVID PROCTOR, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

I. Introduction

As the Supreme Court has observed, "the 'central evil addressed by Sherman Act § 1' is the 'elimin[ation of] competition that would otherwise exist.' " Am. Needle, Inc. v. Nat'l Football League , 560 U.S. 183, 195, 130 S.Ct. 2201, 176 L.Ed.2d 947 (2010) (quoting Areeda & Hovenkamp ¶ 1462b, at 193-194).

Currently before the court are (1) the parties' respective motions for partial summary judgment on the standard of review applicable to Plaintiffs' claims under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1 (Docs. # 1348, 1350, 1353),…