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Competition
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May 01, 2024
Colorado Asks Judge To Review New Kroger Spinoffs At Trial
Kroger can't throw a new divestiture plan on the table two months before discovery closes and then ask the court to consider it when deciding whether to hand down a preliminary injunction blocking its $25 billion union with Albertsons from moving forward, the state of Colorado says.
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May 01, 2024
Chancery Nixes Amazon.com Investor's Antitrust Docs Probe
An Amazon.com stockholder on Wednesday lost a Delaware Court of Chancery suit seeking court-ordered access to company records to probe claims that the online retailing giant engages in anti-competitive practices, with a court magistrate finding the evidence insufficient to justify the demand.
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May 01, 2024
Bayer Can't Scratch Off Antitrust Suit Over Flea, Tick Meds
A California federal judge has largely declined Bayer's bid to dismiss generics competitor Tevra's pet medication antitrust suit, saying in an order released Wednesday that there are factual disputes about whether Bayer's exclusivity deals with distributors and retailers significantly foreclosed Tevra's potential sales in the market.
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May 01, 2024
Sony, PlayStation Users Spar Over Early Antitrust Cert. Denial
Sony and PlayStation Store users fought before a California federal judge Wednesday over the company's bid to deny class certification to users who claim it overcharged them through a monopoly on downloadable game cards, with the users arguing that Sony waived its arbitration arguments under the Ninth Circuit's recent Hill ruling.
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May 01, 2024
Chamber Must Name Cos. It Reps In Noncompete Suit, FTC Says
The Federal Trade Commission has asked a Texas federal judge to limit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to representing only named members in its challenge to the agency's pending noncompetes ban, arguing the trade group can't hide behind the First Amendment to represent "millions of undisclosed members."
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May 01, 2024
Hotel Chains Hit With Algorithmic Pricing Collusion Suit
A group of hotel-goers has hit six major hotel chains with a proposed class action, alleging that the companies used a shared pricing algorithm to fix and raise hotel prices nationwide.
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May 01, 2024
Apple Users Defend Web Apps Antitrust Case
Consumers urged a California federal court not to toss their case accusing Apple of violating antitrust law by preventing iPhones from running web-based apps that don't need to be downloaded, saying Apple used deals with Google and others to protect its dominance.
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May 01, 2024
Meta's Privacy Fight With FTC Paused For High Court Ruling
The D.C. Circuit has pressed pause on Meta's bid to block the Federal Trade Commission from pursuing modifications to the parties' $5 billion privacy settlement to await the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a case challenging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house courts.
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May 01, 2024
Fla., NY, DC Join Suit Demanding Halt To NCAA's NIL Policies
Florida, New York and the District of Columbia on Wednesday joined Tennessee and Virginia in their antitrust lawsuit challenging the NCAA's policies on name, image and likeness rights, asking that the preliminary injunction barring enforcement of its NIL rules be made permanent.
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May 01, 2024
Top Groups Lobbying The FCC
The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates well over 200 times in April as they sought to sway the FCC on net neutrality rules, junk calls and texts, bulk billing deals for broadband service in apartment buildings, and many other issues.
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May 01, 2024
5th Circ. Judge Skeptical Of Medicare Drug 'Price-Setting'
A Fifth Circuit judge on Wednesday sharply criticized the Biden administration's Medicare drug pricing program, characterizing it as government "price-setting" and questioning "what possible procompetitive justification" there can be for penalizing companies that don't participate.
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May 01, 2024
Food Supplier Can't Shake Off $5M DOD Bid-Rigging Claim
A food supplier must face a U.S. Department of Defense agency's efforts to recoup the purported $5 million lost to an ex-employee's bid-rigging scheme, after a contract appeals board ruled the contractor was required to provide fair, unrigged prices.
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May 01, 2024
Attys Seek $95M In Fees For Elite Schools' Aid-Fixing Deals
Class counsel representing students who accused 17 top universities of colluding to fix student aid packages have asked an Illinois federal judge to award them $94.7 million in fees plus $3.5 million in expenses for securing $284 million in settlements with 10 schools.
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May 01, 2024
CMA Worries DJs Might Pay More If Equipment Makers Merge
The antitrust regulator of the U.K. on Wednesday said that DJ equipment maker AlphaTheta's proposed acquisition of audio technology company Serato could increase costs for DJs in the country to keep partygoers entertained.
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April 30, 2024
5th Circ. Nixes Software Co.'s $1.6B Win In IBM Contract Row
The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday reversed a Texas federal court's $1.6 billion ruling against IBM, finding that Houston-based software company BMC lost out to IBM "fair and square" when IBM fulfilled a request by their mutual client AT&T to replace BMC's software in AT&T's mainframe with IBM's.
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April 30, 2024
Where VLSI-Intel's High-Stakes Patent Battle Stands Now
Intel has managed to turn the tide on litigation where it had faced the daunting possibility of owing VLSI Technology more than $3 billion for infringing microchip patents, with the tech company winning patent invalidations and a large verdict do-over. Here's a look at where the multifaceted litigation between the companies stands.
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April 30, 2024
7th Circ. Backs Costco's Win In Gas Price-Matching Feud
The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld Costco's victory against a dozen Wisconsin gas stations that claimed the warehouse giant sold regular unleaded fuel below a statutory minimum markup price that allegedly caused a decline in revenue, finding no evidence showing that Costco's pricing practices caused the stations a single lost sale.
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April 30, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Kavanaugh Classmate Takes On HuffPost
The Third Circuit's May lineup will find the court weighing HuffPost's battle with an allegedly libeled former classmate of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and claims by consumers alleging they bought defective Bayer antifungal medicine.
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April 30, 2024
FTC Puts $26B Permian Basin Gas Deal Under Scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission is taking an in-depth look at the proposed oil and gas merger between Diamondback Energy and Endeavor Energy Resources by issuing a second request for additional information about the deal, according to new securities filings.
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April 30, 2024
Monthly Merger Review Snapshot
The U.S. Department of Justice pressured the abandonment of a nearly $1 billion insulation deal while the Federal Trade Commission challenged, scrutinized, and battled, deals in the private equity, fashion, grocery, energy and healthcare spaces. Here are some of the major merger review developments from April.
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April 30, 2024
Ex-Enforcers Back CoStar At 9th Circ. Against Antitrust Claims
Several former antitrust enforcers told the Ninth Circuit that a lower court was right to toss a rival's claims that CoStar monopolizes commercial real estate information markets despite concerns from the Federal Trade Commission about the allegations.
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April 30, 2024
$626M Fee Award In BCBS Deal Is Unjust, High Court Told
A member of the class that settled multidistrict litigation with Blue Cross Blue Shield for $2.67 billion over anti-competitive practices has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his challenge to the $626 million attorney fees award in the settlement, arguing the Eleventh Circuit's approval of the award runs counter to high court precedent.
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April 30, 2024
FTC To Help FCC Enforce 'Net Neutrality' Rules
The Federal Communications Commission has called on a sister agency, the Federal Trade Commission, to cooperate on enforcing the FCC's restored "net neutrality" rules to require the free flow of network traffic.
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April 30, 2024
Kroger, Albertsons Say FTC Distorts Markets In Merger Case
Kroger and Albertsons told an Oregon federal court to reject a pending merger challenge by the Federal Trade Commission and a group of states, saying it distorts the competitive landscape for the grocery and labor markets.
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April 30, 2024
FTC Continues To Target 'Junk' Drug Patents
Federal trade officials told a series of pharmaceutical companies — including the makers of the controversial diabetes and weight loss drug Ozempic — that they may have listed faulty patents in a key register of a federal drug database.
Expert Analysis
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How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy will likely spare the U.S. International Trade Commission from major operative changes, the ITC’s ability to issue penalties for violations of its orders may change, say Gwendolyn Tawresey and Ryan Deck at Troutman Pepper.
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HR Antitrust Compliance Crucial Amid DOJ Scrutiny
The Justice Department's Antitrust Division recently announced a required human resources component for antitrust compliance programs, which means companies should evaluate their policies to prevent, detect and remediate potential violations as they add training for HR professionals, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Mass Arb. Rule Changes May Be A Hindrance For Consumers
The American Arbitration Association's recent changes to its mass arbitration supplementary rules and fee schedule, including a shift from filing fees to initiation and per-case fees, may reduce consumers' ability to counteract businesses' mandatory arbitration agreements, say Eduard Korsinsky and Alexander Krot at Levi & Korsinsky.
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ChristianaCare Settlement Reveals FCA Pitfalls For Hospitals
ChristianaCare's False Claims Act settlement in December is the first one based on a hospital allegedly providing private physicians with free services in the form of hospital-employed clinicians and provides important compliance lessons as the government ramps up scrutiny of compensation arrangements, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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The Latest Antitrust Areas For In-House Counsel To Watch
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission's increasingly aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement means in-house counsel should closely monitor five key compliance issues, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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NCAA's Antitrust Litigation History Offers Clues For NIL Case
Attorneys at Perkins Coie analyze the NCAA's long history of antitrust litigation to predict how state attorney general claims against NCAA recruiting rules surrounding name, image and likeness discussions will stand up in Tennessee federal court.
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Opinion
Proposed Rule Could Impair MDL Flexibility, Harm Plaintiffs
While proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 is intended to enhance the management of multidistrict litigation proceedings, its one-size-fits-all requirements could stifle the flexibility that judges need to address the varying circumstances of MDLs effectively, and jeopardize plaintiffs' ability to pursue justice, say Christopher Seeger and Jennifer Scullion at Seeger Weiss.
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Litigation Funding Implications Amid Post-PACCAR Disputes
An English tribunal's recent decision in Neill v. Sony, allowing an appeal on the enforceability of a litigation funding agreement, highlights how the legislative developments on funding limits following the U.K. Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Paccar v. Competition Appeal Tribunal may affect practitioners, say Andrew Leitch and Anoma Rekhi at BCLP.
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Healthcare Collabs Can Alleviate Labor, Antitrust Challenges
Two major challenges facing hospitals and health systems include labor shortages and increased antitrust scrutiny at both federal and state levels, but collaborative efforts may help with addressing these difficulties, says Sumaya Noush at McDermott.
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FTC AI Inquiry Signals Intensified Focus On Emerging Tech
The Federal Trade Commission's recent inquiry into investments and partnerships between Big Tech companies and artificial intelligence startups appears to be directed at guiding future enforcement decisions in competition, privacy and consumer protection — and three principles discussed at a related tech summit give insight on the agency's approach, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Assessing Merger Guideline Feedback With Machine Learning
Large language modeling appears to show that public sentiment matches agency intent around the new merger control guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department, says Andrew Sfekas at Cornerstone Research.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.