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Competition
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May 22, 2013
NLRB Poster Ruling Dooms Net Neutrality, Verizon Says
Verizon Inc. on Wednesday told the D.C. Circuit that its recent decision striking down a National Labor Relations Board rule compelling employers to display posters about workers' right to unionize should likewise prevent the Federal Communications Commission from applying its controversial net neutrality rules.
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May 22, 2013
Penguin To Pay $75M To Settle States' E-Book Antitrust Claims
Pearson PLC's Penguin Group USA Inc. has agreed to pay $75 million to resolve allegations, lodged by state attorneys general and a proposed consumer class, that it conspired with other publishers and Apple Inc. to fix e-book prices, Pearson said Wednesday.
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May 22, 2013
9th Circ. Squashes MGA Suit Over Robot Co.'s Toy Bug Claims
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a lower court ruling tossing MGA Entertainment Inc.’s lawsuit alleging Innovation First Inc. engaged in an anti-competitive scheme by making false statements about the design for a robotic insect toy, ruling IFI lacked jurisdictional ties with California for the suit to proceed.
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May 22, 2013
Hogan Lovells Partner To Run NY AG's Antitrust Unit
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has tapped a Hogan Lovells partner to serve as chief of the state's antitrust bureau, the AG's office said Tuesday.
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May 21, 2013
Incoming UK Antitrust Chief Vows More Efficiency
The U.K.'s Office of Fair Trading on Tuesday named four new directors to lead its cartels, mergers and economics units as the incoming leaders of the country's new competition regime continued to vow faster, more efficient enforcement.
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May 21, 2013
Rehab Co. Can't Use Public Disclosure Bar To Duck FCA Suit
A Missouri federal judge refused Monday to boot a relator from a False Claims Act suit accusing RehabCare Group Inc. of paying kickbacks for Medicare referrals, ruling that the relator — a competitor of RehabCare — had not solely relied on public information to bring the suit.
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May 21, 2013
Starbucks, Wal-Mart Reject $7B Swipe Fee Settlement
Nineteen of the nation's largest retailers, including Starbucks Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., announced Tuesday that they would opt out of a $7.25 billion settlement intended to resolve multidistrict antitrust litigation alleging Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. charged excessive fees to merchants that accept the companies' cards.
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May 21, 2013
EU Oil Price-Fixing Probe Could Rival Libor Scandal
The European Commission's probe of alleged manipulation of crude oil benchmark prices has expanded beyond major oil companies to include energy trading firms, in a crackdown experts say could echo the ongoing Libor scandal in both its sprawling scope and the avalanche of litigation it could bring from energy consumers.
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May 21, 2013
Kolon Asks 4th Circ. To Ax $920M DuPont Trade Secrets Award
Kolon Industries Inc. on Friday asked the Fourth Circuit to overturn a $920 million judgment, saying DuPont Co. should have been forced to individually address each trade secret it alleged Kolon had pilfered and the trial judge should have recused himself from the case and a related antitrust suit.
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May 21, 2013
Alioto Can't Unfreeze $28M LCD Fee Cut From Escrow
A California federal judge Monday refused lawyer Joseph M. Alioto's attempt to unfreeze $28.2 million in attorneys' fees for liquid crystal display multidistrict, price-fixing litigation while third party LFG National Capital LLC's lawsuit over a lien against his firm is still pending.
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May 21, 2013
Chimei Inks Initial Deal In Retailers' LCD Price-Fixing Case
Target Corp., Sears Roebuck and Co. and several other retailers in multidistrict litigation accusing a slew of electronics makers of fixing the price of liquid crystal display panels said Tuesday that they had reached a preliminary deal with Chimei Innolux Corp. to settle the dispute.
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May 21, 2013
Highmark Says UPMC Can't Fight Sanctions In Antitrust Row
Highmark Inc. on Tuesday defended its bid for sanctions against The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in the contentious antitrust battle over Highmark’s acquisition of West Penn Allegheny Health System Inc., saying UPMC has created an “alternate universe” by staunchly opposing the sanctions.
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May 21, 2013
Denso Execs To Plead Guilty In Auto Parts Cartel Probe: DOJ
Two more executives at Japan's Denso Corp. have agreed to cop to their roles in international plots to fix prices for auto parts and to serve more than a year in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.
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May 21, 2013
Q&A With Dow Lohnes' Parker Erkmann
Although aviation is the quintessential global industry, arcane laws prevent the flow of capital across international borders and constrain airlines’ ability to organize themselves in the manner they believe to be the most efficient, says Parker Erkmann, a partner with Dow Lohnes PLLC and former attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division.
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May 20, 2013
Strine Tells Wal-Mart To Dig Deeper For Mexican Bribery Docs
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. must conduct a more detailed search for documents requested by an institutional investor seeking information about how the retailer's board handled allegations of bribery by its Mexican affiliate, Delaware Chancellor Leo E. Strine Jr. said Monday.
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May 20, 2013
Brazilian Antitrust Watchdog Clears Merger Case Backlog
Brazil's antitrust watchdog proposed Friday blocking Armco Staco SA from buying Mangels Industrial SA's metallic barriers unit, clearing the final case from the agency's backlog of mergers filed almost a year ago as the country overhauled its merger regime.
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May 20, 2013
Pfizer Can't Shake Skelaxin Pay-For-Delay MDL
A federal judge on Monday refused to dismiss multidistrict litigation accusing Pfizer Inc.'s King Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. Inc. of keeping generic versions of the muscle relaxer Skelaxin off the market, finding Rite Aid Corp. and others had plausibly alleged a conspiracy.
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May 20, 2013
Fighting Agencies May Be Tougher After High Court Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's Monday ruling in favor of the Federal Communications Commission, which held that courts should apply a deferential standard of review when federal agencies interpret the limits of their own authority, may make it tougher for regulated businesses to fight agency actions, attorneys say.
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May 20, 2013
Penn State Sanctions Don't Affect Competition, NCAA Says
Attorneys for the National Collegiate Athletic Association asked a Pennsylvania federal judge on Monday to dismiss Gov. Tom Corbett’s suit challenging $60 million in fines levied against Penn State University, arguing that the complaint had failed to identify any relevant markets that would be impacted by the sanctions.
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May 20, 2013
Sony Wants Toshiba, HannStar Docs In LCD Cartel Suit
A California federal judge should force Toshiba Corp. and HannStar Display Corp. to produce evidence in a suit rolled into multidistrict litigation over alleged price-fixing of liquid crystal display panels, two Sony Corp. units said Friday.
Expert Analysis
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10 Steps To Effective Anti-Corruption Compliance
In order to implement the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act resource guide's critical instructions for corporate boards, senior executives and compliance professionals for designing an “effective” anti-corruption compliance program, companies must tackle 10 essential tasks, says Michael Volkov of The Volkov Law Group LLC.
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DOJ Biz Review Letter Highlights Patent Pool Concerns
The U.S. Department of Justice's unusual business review letter in response to Intellectual Property Exchange International Inc.'s proposed financial exchange for licensing and trading IP rights serves as a useful reminder of the benefits and drawbacks of the business review letter process and, perhaps, a cautionary note on group patent licensing activities, say William Dolan and Geoffrey Oliver of Jones Day.
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In FCPA Compliance, Don't Forget About The Travel Act
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guide highlighted the Travel Act and its applicability to FCPA cases. But the Travel Act, which can apply to bribery of foreign officials as well as private individuals, is often misunderstood and underappreciated by companies attempting to maintain robust compliance programs, say HL Rogers and Ellen Crisham of Sidley Austin LLP.
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Get Ready For A 'Substituted Compliance' Regime
In a complete 180-degree reversal of its previous position, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is on the verge of accepting an international financial regulatory regime of mutual recognition. "Substituted compliance" will help inform foreign market participants about which rules they must follow when their swap activities cross U.S. borders, says Bradley Dizik of Tiberian Regulatory Advisers LLC.
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Why The Libor Lawsuits Are Not Dead
In the wake of a recent court ruling in the Southern District of New York, many people have suggested that London Interbank Offered Rate litigations are now nearly over. Although the ruling represents a significant victory for the defendant banks, and a major challenge to the litigation strategy of many of the claimants, it is by no means the end of the Libor litigations, says Ilan Guedj of ARPC.
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Lessons From Philips FCPA Settlement Over Polish Bribes
While Poland has not received particular Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement focus over the years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent order against Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV over Polish bribes underscores the fact that, in given circumstances, any country can present high corruption risk, say attorneys with Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.
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No More 'Scarlet Letter' Policy At DOJ Antitrust
A recent policy change puts the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division in accord with other DOJ divisions that refrain from publicly identifying alleged wrongdoers, unless and until the individual is actually charged with a crime. Unfortunately, the division has shown no signs of amending another policy relating to its corporate leniency program, says Jeremy Evans of Paul Hastings LLP.
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Sui Generis At Supreme Court
Not since Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933 have we seen a Supreme Court so imbalanced that it would throw its own power away as it did in Twombly, Iqbal and Concepcion, or devalue its own authority through matters of little interest, simply for the benefit of large American corporations, says Fred Isquith of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP.
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Circuit Split On Market Share-Based Discounts Remains
The U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to review ZF Meritor LLC v. Eaton Transmission Corporation means that the Third Circuit’s less permissive view of dominant firm pricing conduct remains intact for now, and suggests that Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware federal courts will likely be the preferred venues for challenges to such conduct, says Eric Berman of Williams Mullen.
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Clear Business Logic Can Foil Parallel Conduct Claims
For practitioners defending conspiracy claims, the Second Circuit's recent decision in Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. Citigroup Inc. may provide the basis to argue that conduct solidly grounded by legitimate business interests should be sufficient to fend off allegations of collusion, says Bruce Colbath of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.