Competition

  • March 25, 2024

    3rd Circ. Won't Rethink AbbVie Privilege Ruling

    The Third Circuit refused Monday to reconsider a ruling that found AbbVie was unable to show a lower court went against precedent or made errors when ordering the drugmaker to turn over attorney communications from a patent case allegedly meant to delay an AndroGel rival.

  • March 25, 2024

    Google Faces Consolidated Trial Over Antitrust Claims

    Google will face a consolidated megatrial combining two lawsuits over alleged anti-competitive violations involving its app store, with the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruling Monday that factual evidence in the two major trials can be heard together.

  • March 25, 2024

    Owens Corning Extends $3.9B Masonite Deal Review

    Construction materials manufacturer Owens Corning has agreed to give antitrust enforcers more time to review a planned $3.9 billion deal to purchase door-maker Masonite International Corp.

  • March 25, 2024

    EU Says Lufthansa Deal Could Harm Air Transport Competition

    Europe's antitrust authority said on Monday that Lufthansa's plan to buy a 41% stake in ITA Airways for €325 million ($352 million) could lead to higher prices and poorer service for passengers taking flights in and out of Italy.

  • March 25, 2024

    Tech Giants Face 1st Probe Under EU Digital Markets Rules

    Alphabet, Apple and Meta are being investigated by the European Union over whether they comply with the Digital Markets Act, the first probes launched under regulations aimed at reining in the power of Big Tech, the bloc's executive arm said Monday.

  • March 22, 2024

    Meta Can't Stop FTC Privacy Tweaks, Feds Say

    The Federal Trade Commission told the D.C. Circuit that Meta Platforms Inc. cannot nitpick the agency's structure to dodge in-house proceedings over proposed revisions to a $5 billion data privacy settlement between the commission and the social media giant.

  • March 22, 2024

    Cheerleading Giant Varsity Spirit Must Face Antitrust Suit

    A Texas federal court has refused to toss a suit accusing Varsity Spirit of working with competitive cheerleading governance bodies to boycott potential rivals and maintain its dominance over the sport.

  • March 22, 2024

    Nexstar Faces $1.2M Fine For 'De Facto' Control Of NY Station

    The Federal Communications Commission has floated a $1.2 million fine against TV giant Nexstar Media Group Inc. after discovering it obtained "de facto" control of a New York City station and exceeded the FCC's 39% national ownership cap.

  • March 22, 2024

    Google Can Arbitrate Collusion Claims While Apple Beats Suit

    For the second time, a California federal judge has forced into arbitration antitrust claims brought by a Golden State crane operator training school accusing Google of paying off Apple to not develop its own search engine while dismissing the rest of the claims against both tech behemoths.

  • March 22, 2024

    Amazon, Apple Say Antitrust Attys Can't Ditch 'Fatal' Class Rep

    Amazon and Apple say plaintiffs' counsel in a proposed antitrust suit should be stuck with their class representative, who apparently ghosted his attorneys, arguing the lawyers should have to live with a plaintiff whose purchasing habits undercut the suit's very premise.

  • March 22, 2024

    Google Loses New Trial Bid After Epic Games' Antitrust Win

    A California federal judge denied Google LLC's bid for a new trial and teed up for a May hearing on a possible court-ordered injunction against the tech giant, following Epic Games' jury win on antitrust claims related to Google Play Store and Android apps.

  • March 22, 2024

    Flyers Say JetBlue-Spirit Deal Case Not Done, Push For Win

    The private plaintiffs challenging the failed JetBlue-Spirit merger indicated they're not done despite the companies' abandonment of the deal, pushing a Massachusetts federal court to grant them a win on their antitrust claims.

  • March 22, 2024

    Home Sellers Hope $58M Compass Deal Helps Spur Others

    Compass Inc. announced Friday that it would pay home sellers $57.5 million in the first settlement since the National Association of Realtors reached its own deal this month to pay $418 million and overhaul rules that have effectively restricted how brokers buy and sell homes and how they're paid.

  • March 22, 2024

    US Antitrust Enforcers Keep Big Tech Cases Coming

    A backlash against powerful tech companies is reaching a fever pitch in the U.S., as enforcers with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission now have pending lawsuits accusing Apple, Amazon, Google and Meta of monopolizing key digital markets.

  • March 22, 2024

    Off The Bench: Ohtani Lawyers Up, UFC Settles, ACC Clash

    MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani enlists a Hollywood boutique to advise him amid a still-unfolding sports betting scandal, UFC forks over $335 million to settle a wage class action and Clemson's bid to join a new conference spills into court. Catch up with the sports and betting stories that had Law360's readers talking with this week's Off The Bench.

  • March 22, 2024

    Commerce Lifts Block On Transnational Subsidy Probes

    The U.S. Department of Commerce erased a nearly 40-year-old regulation on Friday so it can impose countervailing duties on subsidies China provides its trade partners, despite opposition from foreign governments that the move would conflict with World Trade Organization obligations.

  • March 22, 2024

    US Greenlights Novartis' $2.9B MorphoSys Takeover

    Germany's MorphoSys AG said Friday it has received U.S. antitrust clearance for the biopharmaceutical company's planned $2.9 billion sale to Swiss Pharma giant Novartis AG, a development that clears the final regulatory hurdle needed before closing the deal. 

  • March 22, 2024

    UK Says £16.5B Vodafone-Three Deal May Hurt Consumers

    Britain's antitrust authority said Friday that plans by Vodafone and Three to merge their U.K. telecommunications networks to create a £16.5 billion ($20.8 billion) mobile operator could lead to higher prices for consumers.

  • March 21, 2024

    Burford, Sysco Get OK To Swap Bid In Price-Fixing Cases

    An Illinois federal judge on Thursday agreed to allow an affiliate of legal investment firm Burford Capital to substitute for food giant Sysco in price-fixing litigation against broiler chicken producers, a ruling that comes a month after a Minnesota federal judge refused to allow the same Burford unit to substitute for Sysco in similar pork and beef price-fixing litigation.

  • March 21, 2024

    Nexstar Ducks Antitrust Suit Over Retransmission Fees

    DirecTV says it refused to ink retransmission deals with two companies that were illegally collaborating with Nexstar Media Group Inc. to fix prices, resulting in massive channel blackouts and customer loss, but according to a New York federal judge, that refusal is why its antitrust claims fall flat.

  • March 21, 2024

    Colo. Distributor Seeks $2.3M Sanction For Stryker Spoilation

    A Colorado medical device distributor urged a federal judge to make Stryker and its lawyers pay $2.3 million in attorney fees as sanctions for "pervasive misconduct" throughout discovery and trial, arguing discovery violations will otherwise become the "cost of doing business" for the medical technology giant.

  • March 21, 2024

    9th Circ. Partially Backs Meta Class Cert. In Ad Reach Row

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday affirmed certification of a damages class of Meta Platforms advertisers who were allegedly deceived about Facebook's "potential reach" tool, but upended certification of an injunction class, telling the district court to take a fresh look at whether the lead plaintiff actually has standing.

  • March 21, 2024

    LinkedIn Must Face Monopoly Lawsuit

    A California federal judge refused Thursday to toss a proposed antitrust class action accusing LinkedIn of using online interface access to pay off would-be rivals, even as he signaled potential trouble ahead once the factual details of those access agreements come into play.

  • March 21, 2024

    4 Things To Know About DOJ's Apple Antitrust Showdown

    As Apple prepares to fight state and federal prosecutors' monopoly claims filed Thursday, consumer advocates say it's high time allegations that the company stifles competition in the smartphone and app markets be taken to court, but Apple warns that a win for the government would harm its users.

  • March 21, 2024

    Microsoft, Meta, Others Say Apple Violating Court Order

    Major developers including Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Spotify have told a California federal court that Apple is not complying with an order secured by Epic Games barring Apple's use of anti-steering rules in the App Store.

Expert Analysis

  • Challenging Standing In Antitrust Classes: The Uninjured

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    In virtually every antitrust class action, parties at the certification phase disagree about whether the proposed class includes uninjured members, but the goals of Rule 23 and judicial economy are best served by synthesizing two distinct approaches circuit courts take on this issue, say Michael Hamburger and Holly Tao at White & Case.

  • How 'Purely Legal' Issues Ruling Applies To Rule 12 Motions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Dupree v. Younger holding that purely legal issues resolved on summary judgment need not be reraised in post-trial motions guides litigators on when to preserve certain arguments for appeal, but raises the question of how Rule 12(b) and (c) motion denials will be affected, say Blaine Evanson and Jeremy Christiansen at Gibson Dunn.

  • Pros And Cons Of Top-Four Network Rule In The Digital Age

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    In the era of streaming, broadcasters have recently urged the Federal Communications Commission to remove the top-four network rule — which prohibits common ownership of any two major network stations — in some or all markets, but others argue the rule preserves competition and diversity, say Gregg Skall and Ashley Brydone-Jack at Telecommunications Law Professionals.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

  • How Merger Review Overhaul Could Affect Health Industry

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    For those in the health care industry considering growth and expansion strategies, the antitrust agencies' recent proposals for new Hart-Scott-Rodino rules and more complex merger guidelines will increase deal timelines, the merging parties' burden, and overall uncertainty and potential antitrust risk as to the outcome, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • A Closer Look At China's Landmark Pharma Antitrust Ruling

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    The Supreme People's Court's recent decision in Yangtze River Pharma v. HIPI Pharma — the first antitrust litigation in China's active pharmaceutical ingredient sector — indicates a balanced regulatory approach between competition concerns and intellectual property rights protection, say analysts at The Brattle Group.

  • Perspectives

    More States Should Join Effort To Close Legal Services Gap

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    Colorado is the most recent state to allow other types of legal providers, not just attorneys, to offer specific services in certain circumstances — and more states should rethink the century-old assumptions that shape our current regulatory rules, say Natalie Anne Knowlton and Janet Drobinske at the University of Denver.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • Steps To Take On AI Operations Amid FTC's ChatGPT Probe

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    Following the Federal Trade Commission's civil investigative demand for OpenAI, it is foreseeable that many more investigations into artificial intelligence and its impact on consumers are coming, but companies can be prepared, say David Shonka and Benjamin Redgrave at Redgrave.

  • More UK Collective Actions On The Horizon After Forex Ruling

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    A U.K. appeals court's recent decision in Forex case Evans v. Barclays is likely to significantly widen the scope of opt-out collective proceedings that can be brought, paving the way for more class actions by prospective claimants who have previously been unable to bring individual claims, say Robin Henry and Tamara Davis at Collyer Bristow.

  • Conn. Ruling Highlights Keys To Certificate-Of-Need Appeals

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    The Connecticut Supreme Court's recent decision in High Watch Recovery Center v. Department of Public Health, rejecting rigid application of statutes concerning certificate-of-need procedure, provides important guidance on building an administrative record to support a finding that a case is contested, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Opinion

    'US Cyber Trust Mark' Program Threatens Privacy, Innovation

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    The Federal Communications Commission's recently announced plan to create a "U.S. Cyber Trust Mark,” which would voluntarily affix to smart devices to boost consumer confidence and industry security standards, could lead to an erosion of consumer privacy, competition, innovation, and any firewall between the government and the individual, says attorney Donna Etemadi.

  • Opinion

    Has The NCAA Not Learned NIL Policy Lessons Of The Past?

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    The NCAA has applied its heavy hand — which has been slapped back by courts and legislatures — again, saying that colleges must comply with its name, image and likeness policies even if they conflict with state laws, but recent antitrust decisions might caution against its reasoning, says Kenneth Jacobsen at Temple University.

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