Previous antitrust victories in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit likely spurred the Department of Justice to bring its claim against Apple in federal court in New Jersey, antitrust experts said this week.

In the early 2000s, the Third Circuit ruled in favor of the DOJ’s claim that Dentsply, a maker and supplier of dental supplies, violated antitrust law through exclusive dealing. The Third Circuit in those years also upheld LePage’s claim that 3M maintained a monopoly in the transparent tape market through bundling.