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Competition
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April 10, 2024
UGG, Wal-Mart Ordered To File More Details On Slipper Patent
A California federal judge has ordered Deckers Outdoor Corp. and Wal-Mart Inc. to submit joint briefing on claim construction for an UGG slipper design patent that Deckers alleges the big-box retailer is infringing, saying there is insufficient information for the court to make a decision on summary judgment.
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April 10, 2024
PGA Tour-LIV Merger Questions Swirl As Masters Tees Off
With a trial attorney from the entertainment section of the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division sitting quietly by, sports law experts speculated Wednesday at the American Bar Association's spring antitrust meeting whether — and how — the agency might challenge the $3 billion merger between the PGA Tour and LIV.
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April 10, 2024
Insurer Slams 'Price-Gouging' Doctor's COVID Billing Suit
Health plan administrator United Medical Resources Inc. fired back at a doctor's $783,000 suit claiming that he and his practice firms were shortchanged for COVID-19 testing services, with multiple counterclaims alleging that the doctor billed for unnecessary extra testing and put in claims for services that were never rendered.
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April 10, 2024
Merger Notification Overhaul 'Pretty Close,' DOJ Official Says
A senior U.S. Department of Justice antitrust official predicted Wednesday that the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission are likely just weeks away from issuing the final version of a major overhaul to the filing requirements of companies notifying mergers to the agencies.
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April 10, 2024
NYSE Seeks To Provide SPACs More Time To Close Mergers
A New York Stock Exchange proposal would provide special-purpose acquisition companies with six more months to complete mergers while remaining listed — assuming relevant parties have signed a definitive agreement before a three-year deadline — potentially providing market participants more flexibility to close deals.
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April 10, 2024
Past Violations To Get Close Eye With New Merger Filing Rules
Changes proposed to Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice merger reporting requirements would impose significant document submission obligations on merging parties, such as past violations of antitrust and labor law, practitioners and an agency deputy said Wednesday.
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April 10, 2024
Freshfields Guides EBay On Multipronged Trading Card Deal
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is guiding eBay Inc. on new agreements with collectibles grading company Collectors that include eBay acquiring Collectors' Goldin auction house, in what the companies said Wednesday is an effort to streamline the trading card hobby in the U.S.
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April 09, 2024
After Uproar, New MDL Rule Advances With Attys Assuaged
Following years of debate and months of outcry, a judicial panel Tuesday approved the first formal rule aimed at improving efficiency and fairness in the nation's burgeoning realm of multidistrict litigation, earning plaudits from placated lawyers in the defense and plaintiffs bars.
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April 09, 2024
Why IP Attys Are Watching This $2B Trade Secrets Battle
A case of alleged corporate espionage involving two software companies that resulted in a $2 billion verdict has all the hallmarks of a legal thriller, and attorneys are watching the appeal closely to see how it could impact trade secrets litigation.
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April 09, 2024
Nikola Investors' SPAC Fraud Suit Moves Ahead
Board directors of electric truck maker Nikola Corp. and the blank-check company that took it public for $3.3 billion in 2020 must face shareholders' derivative claims of insider trading, securities fraud and merger-related breaches after Delaware's Court of Chancery on Tuesday denied more than half of the defense's motions to dismiss.
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April 09, 2024
StarKist, PE Co. Settle Tuna Price-Fixing Claims For $3.9M
Canned tuna buyers are hoping to settle their long-running price-fixing suit with StarKist and Bumble Bee, asking a California federal judge for preliminary approval of two class action payouts worth a total of $3.87 million.
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April 09, 2024
Real Brokerage $9.2M Settlement Is Latest In Agent Fee Suit
The Real Brokerage Inc. will pay $9.2 million in a settlement to exit a class action in Missouri federal court over broker fees that prompted other big brokerages to change how they charge agent fees.
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April 09, 2024
How Imminent Is 'Imminent,' Judge Asks In Supply Chain Fight
A Colorado federal judge asked an auto parts supplier Tuesday how quickly a Michigan company's alleged violation of an exclusivity deal would have tangible effects, as he considered temporarily stopping the Michigan firm from using other suppliers.
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April 09, 2024
FTC Pressures Global Partners, Gulf Oil Into Reducing Deal
The Federal Trade Commission took credit Tuesday for raising antitrust concerns spurring the late-February reduction of Global Partners LP's purchase of Northeast U.S. gas terminals from Gulf Oil, cut from five terminals with a $273 million price tag to four terminals and a $212.3 million payment.
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April 09, 2024
FIFA Settles Claims Over Foreign League Match Ban
FIFA will consider changing its rule prohibiting soccer matches outside a league's home territories, after settling antitrust claims brought against it by a sports promotion company that challenged the policy in court, a document filed in Manhattan federal court recently showed.
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April 09, 2024
Fragrance Giants Want Out Of 'Threadbare' Price-Fixing Suit
Four international fragrance giants urged a New Jersey federal court to toss a proposed class action accusing them of conspiring to reduce competition in the multibillion-dollar fragrance market, saying plaintiffs are struggling to point to any price-fixing agreement.
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April 09, 2024
Printer Buyers Defend HP Ink Cartridge Antitrust Claims
HP printer buyers told an Illinois federal court they've done enough to show that HP monopolized the market for replacement ink cartridges by alleging the company used firmware updates to lock them into purchasing HP ink cartridges.
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April 09, 2024
Apple To Appeal Funding OK For IPhone Users' £853M Claim
Apple has won permission to appeal a decision to let an £853 million ($1 billion) class action claim go ahead for allegations the tech giant concealed problems with iPhone batteries, despite challenges to the funding arrangements.
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April 08, 2024
Gamers Can't Block Microsoft From 'Dismantling' Activison
A California federal judge on Monday refused to block Microsoft from further integrating Activision Blizzard into its business after it acquired the gaming titan last year, saying the gamers who are still challenging the union between the companies have a similar motion pending before the Ninth Circuit.
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April 08, 2024
ACC Can Keep ESPN Deal Under Wraps In FSU Suit
A North Carolina Business Court judge has allowed the Atlantic Coast Conference to file some contract terms under seal in its fight over whether Florida State University can leave the conference without facing a hefty fine, reasoning that such terms have been considered sealable trade secrets by state courts.
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April 08, 2024
FTC's Slaughter Defends International Cooperation
Several federal agency leaders said Monday they are working across the government to help boost competition, as Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter touted the importance of cooperation on competition issues at home and abroad.
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April 08, 2024
La. Drug Caps Conflict With Federal Law, AbbVie Says
Drugmaker AbbVie is asking a Louisiana federal judge to grant its summary judgment motion and block new state-level pharmaceutical caps for the federal 340B drug discount program, calling the state's competing summary judgment motion arguments "legally and factually wrong."
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April 08, 2024
Consumers Fight Amazon's E-Book Appeal Ask
Amazon shouldn't get to go to the Second Circuit after a federal judge refused to toss a proposed class action accusing the e-commerce giant of monopolizing the e-book market, according to consumers who have urged that judge not to seek another opinion on whether they lack standing.
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April 08, 2024
Judge Urged To Reject UnitedHealth's Antitrust Deal Qualms
Patients who cut a $55 million antitrust settlement with NorthShore University HealthSystem are urging an Illinois federal court to reject objections by United Healthcare Services, arguing that the insurer has no standing to derail the deal and that its challenge to the agreement could dilute their recovery.
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April 08, 2024
PE Firm Calls FTC's Antitrust Claims 'Many Yesterdays' Old
A Texas anesthesiology company and the private equity firm that created it told a Houston federal judge Monday that the Federal Trade Commission has gone back "many yesterdays ago" in making its antitrust case, arguing that there's no imminent threat of a monopoly in an attempt to get the case dismissed.
Expert Analysis
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OECD Gender Inclusive Toolkit May Inform Competition Policy
A toolkit recently released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development offers a potential framework for guiding competition regulators and practitioners to better understand how market dynamics affect different gender groups, and could potentially be applied to other demographic lenses as well, say analysts at Analysis Group.
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Insights From The NAD Annual Law Conference
Discussions at the National Advertising Division's recent annual conference featured emerging areas of focus in ad law, NAD process and procedure, and a bullish summary of Federal Trade Commission activity that revealed industry outlooks on investigations and demands, says Christopher Cole at Katten.
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Calif. Law Tests Noncompete Prohibitions' Potential Reach
California’s newly enacted law, which voids employee restrictive covenants, whether signed in or out of the state, has the potential to upend typical agreement negotiations, and highlights ongoing questions concerning how California's worker protections fare in other jurisdictions, says Sarah Tishler at Beck Reed.
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5 DOJ Enforcement Priorities To Note From Recent Remarks
Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Marshall Miller’s recent speech provided a glimpse into the U.S. Department of Justice’s corporate criminal enforcement priorities — from national security concerns to mergers and acquisitions — with takeaways for companies’ compliance programs, say Joseph Jay and Jennifer Le at Sheppard Mullin.
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5th Circ. Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices
The Fifth Circuit’s recent Malik v. Department of Homeland Security decision adds to the chorus of federal courts holding that border agents don’t need a warrant to search travelers’ electronic devices, so attorneys should consider certain special precautions to secure privileged information when reentering the U.S., says Jennifer Freel at Jackson Walker.
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5 Takeaways From Bellwether AI Copyright Case
A Delaware federal court's ruling last week in Thomson Reuters v. ROSS is the first summary judgment ruling regarding fair use of copyrighted material to train generative artificial intelligence models and provides an early glimpse of how an appeals court judge views key generative AI copyright issues, says Michael Justus at Katten.
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How Gov't Agencies Will Fare In The Event Of A Shutdown
With a federal shutdown potentially set to begin at the end of this month, it may be useful to consider the approximate timelines that agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and IRS have announced for curtailing operations, and potential strategies for mitigating challenges that may arise while agency functions are limited, say attorneys at Cleary.
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Avoiding The Ethical Pitfalls Of Crowdfunded Legal Fees
The crowdfunding of legal fees has become increasingly common, providing a new way for people to afford legal services, but attorneys who accept crowdsourced funds must remember several key ethical obligations to mitigate their risks, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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4 Pharma Industry Arguments Against CMS Drug Pricing Plan
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is facing significant pushback regarding its plans for implementing the Inflation Reduction Act's Medicare drug price negotiation program, due to a number of potential repercussions for manufacturers, say attorneys at Mintz Levin.
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As AI Pricing Tools Evolve, So Does Antitrust Risk
As the use of pricing algorithms has given rise to regulatory scrutiny and civil actions, such as RealPage Rental Software Antitrust Litigation in the Middle District of Tennessee and Gibson v. MGM in the District of Nevada, independent pricing decisions and other best practices can help limit antitrust risk, say attorneys at Axinn.
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Preparing Your Legal Department For Pillar 2 Compliance
Multinational entities should familiarize themselves with Pillar Two of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s BEPs 2.0 project and prepare their internal legal tracking systems for related reporting requirements that may go into effect as early as January, says Daniel Robyn at Ernst & Young.
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10th Circ. ERISA Ruling Is Promising For Self-Funded Plans
Though some recent appellate decisions have seemingly narrowed application of Employee Retirement Income Security Act preemption, which generally helps protect self-funded health plans from state regulation, the Tenth Circuit's decision in PCMA v. Mulready takes a big step toward reaffirming preemption, say attorneys at Bass Berry.
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What Large Language Models Mean For Document Review
Courts often subject parties using technology assisted review to greater scrutiny than parties conducting linear, manual document review, so parties using large language models for document review should expect even more attention, along with a corresponding need for quality control and validation, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Tossed FIFA Bribery Convictions May Spur New DOJ Offense
After a New York federal court vacated the bribery convictions of two defendants in the U.S. Department of Justice’s sprawling FIFA probe, prosecutors may continue to pursue foreign commercial corruption through other means, albeit with some limitations, say attorneys at Cleary.
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Series
Participating In Living History Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My role as a baron in a living history group, and my work as volunteer corporate counsel for a book series fan association, has provided me several opportunities to practice in unexpected areas of law — opening doors to experiences that have nurtured invaluable personal and professional skills, says Matthew Parker at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.