The Jack Russell Terrier Network of Northern California v. the American Kennel Club, Inc.

We must decide whether a complaint alleging a national dog club’s policy banning members that register their dogs with an alternative club raises cognizable claims of group boycott pursuant to the Sherman Act. We must also decide whether Appellants’ claim of false advertising pursuant to the Lanham Act was properly dismissed for lack of standing after trial.

The Jack Russell Terrier Network of Northern California (“JRTNNC”) and individual Jack Russell Terrier owners and breeders Claudia Sprague and Georgia Fisher (collectively “Appellants”) appeal the district court’s judgment, following a dismissal of antitrust claims on motion, and a dismissal of false advertising claims after bench trial, in favor of the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America (“JRTCA”). The JRTNNC, a former regional affiliate of the JRTCA, seeks declaratory and injunctive' relief regarding a JRTCA policy known as the “Conflicting Organization Rule” (“COR”), which provides that JRTCA affiliates and members will recognize only the JRTCA registry of Jack Russell Terriers, and will not register their dogs with conflicting organizations such as the American Kennel Club (“AKC”). The Appellants argue that the COR and…