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Competition
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June 3, 2013
Random House, Penguin Merger OK'd By Chinese Regulator
The planned merger of Pearson PLC's Penguin Group with erstwhile competitor Random House, owned by media conglomerate Bertelsmann SE & Co. KgaA, came closer to becoming a reality after the Chinese antitrust authority cleared the deal, the parent companies announced Monday.
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June 3, 2013
Shire Says Patent Settlements Didn't Delay Generic Adderall
Shire LLC on Friday urged a California federal court to throw out putative class allegations that the drug company stifled competition for Adderall XR through patent settlements and supply agreements with generic-drug makers, saying its conduct did not delay entry of a generic.
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June 3, 2013
EU Court Rejects Antitrust Claims Against Microsoft
A European Union court Thursday upheld the European Commission's refusal to pursue an antitrust complaint from a Romanian software company against Microsoft Corp., finding no evidence contradicting the watchdog's conclusion that Microsoft did not dominate the business management software market.
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June 3, 2013
High Court To Weigh False Ad Standing In Lexmark Case
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would consider whether Static Control Components Inc. had standing to lodge false advertising counterclaims in response to a patent infringement lawsuit from Lexmark International Inc.
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June 3, 2013
FCPA Powerhouse: Gibson Dunn
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act team at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP has developed a reputation for being the experts whom corporations call when they’re dissatisfied with their initial counsel, landing the firm clients like Allianz SE and Allied Defense Group.
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June 3, 2013
Pfizer, GSK Price-Fixing Suit Won't Get High Court Review
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review a lower court's dismissal of a consolidated antitrust case alleging that Pfizer Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC and other drug companies conspired to inflate U.S. drug prices.
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June 3, 2013
FCA First-To-File Rule Sinks Kickback Suit, 1st Circ. Says
The First Circuit on Friday rejected a bid to revive a whistleblower suit alleging Boston Scientific Corp. offered kickbacks to doctors who pushed its heart devices, saying the False Claims Act’s first-to-file rules apply even when a prior complaint is legally insufficient.
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May 31, 2013
Husch Blackwell Snags Patton Boggs White Collar Pro
Husch Blackwell LLP has hired a former Patton Boggs LLP partner specializing in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters to its white collar criminal defense and government compliance, investigations and litigation groups in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Friday.
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May 31, 2013
FCPA Powerhouse: Debevoise
Attorneys at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP have for decades cultivated a deep familiarity with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, leading it to a string of favorable outcomes for several clients last year, including a rare complete victory for 3M Co.
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May 31, 2013
Judge's Alcon Dismissal Ends Drug Kickback Qui Tam Suit
Alcon Laboratories Inc. on Friday was released from a qui tam suit in New Jersey federal court, effectively ending the suit over whether drugmakers illegally marketed the ocular antibiotic Vigomox for off-label uses, and paid doctors kickbacks for prescribing it.
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May 31, 2013
Best Buy, Innolux To Settle LCD Price-Fixing Suits
Best Buy Co. Inc. has reached a preliminary deal with Chimei Innolux Corp. to settle multidistrict litigation accusing the electronics maker of fixing liquid crystal display prices, the retailer said Thursday.
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May 31, 2013
FTC Notches Another State Action Win In NC Dental Case
The Fourth Circuit ruled Friday that efforts by North Carolina's dental board to block nondentists from offering teeth-whitening services didn't merit antitrust immunity because it was not supervised by the state, handing another clear victory to the Federal Trade Commission in its long-running campaign to narrow the state action exemption.
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May 31, 2013
Class Too Narrow In PHH Reinsurance Suit, Court Told
A proposed class of borrowers who have accused mortgage lender PHH Corp. of a reinsurance kickback scheme objected Thursday to a California federal judge's recommendation to certify the suit, saying she improperly excluded more than 50,000 borrowers from the class definition.
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May 31, 2013
Boston Scientific Unit Can't Duck FCA Claims, DQ Blank Rome
A Boston Scientific Corp. unit failed Friday to shake whistleblower claims in New Jersey federal court alleging it illegally paid doctors to promote off-label uses of its spinal cord device and of billing Medicare and Medicaid for such uses, and couldn't stop Blank Rome LLP from representing former employees making the allegations.
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May 31, 2013
Kraft, Others Say Claims Not Too Late In Egg Cartel MDL
Kraft Foods Global Inc. and others told a Pennsylvania federal court Thursday that they should be allowed to recover damages stretching back to the start of an alleged egg price-fixing conspiracy, arguing that the egg producers involved had concealed the scheme until 2008.
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May 31, 2013
3rd Circ. Affirms Conviction Of Pa. County Commissioners
The Third Circuit on Friday refused to overturn the convictions of two former Pennsylvania county commissioners found guilty in a bribery and extortion scheme in June 2011 after ruling that there was nothing improper about jury instructions and cross-examinations during trial.
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May 31, 2013
EA Gets Nod For $27M Deal In Football Game Antitrust Row
A California federal judge on Thursday granted final approval to a $27 million Electronic Arts Inc. settlement, officially ending an antitrust class action accusing the company of using exclusive licensing pacts to block competitors from a lucrative football video game market and keep prices high.
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May 31, 2013
Baxter Relators Can't Reopen $30M Price Inflation Suit
A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday blocked a bid by two relators to reopen a $29.8 million lawsuit in multidistrict litigation accusing pharmaceutical companies of reporting inflated average wholesale prices of drugs to Medicaid and Medicare, finding the court lacked jurisdiction due to the first-to-file rule.
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May 31, 2013
EU Competition Regulators Probe Apple Distribution Deals
Antitrust regulators in the European Union have reportedly opened an inquiry to determine whether Apple Inc. harmed competition through distribution agreements with mobile network operators and by placing restrictions on certain technical features of the company's devices, according to a Friday report.
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May 31, 2013
Schering Says FCA Integrilin Kickbacks Suit Doesn't Stick
Schering-Plough Corp. and Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. asked a California federal judge Thursday to dismiss a whistleblower's False Claims Act suit accusing them of misbranding heart medication Integrilin and paying kickbacks to doctors, saying the plaintiff failed show any actual false claims.
Expert Analysis
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An Insider’s View Of The FCPA Resource Guide
Recent commentary from the deputy chief of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section, suggests that the government’s FCPA resource guide — rather than being an outgrowth of mounting criticism from the business community, defense bar and other legal commentators concerning the FCPA’s troubling ambiguity and opaque enforcement policies — was more a product of international treaty obligations, says Caryn Trombino of Perkins Coie LLP.
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Takeaways From The Microsoft Internet Explorer Saga
The European Commission recently imposed a fine on Microsoft Corp. of $730 million for failure to abide by a commitment made in 2009 to make a browser-choice screen available to PC users. The commission's huge fine sends a strong signal to companies that failure to comply with the terms of a settlement will not be tolerated in any circumstance, say attorneys with McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
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Higbee May Escalate Unfair Competition Claims In Calif.
Though the California Court of Appeal warned against the revival of shakedown lawsuits, its decision in Law Offices of Mathew Higbee v. Expungement Assistance Services may nonetheless trigger a blunderbuss of suits between business competitors seeking to police each other’s activities, say Seth Gerber and Candace Frazier of Bingham McCutchen LLP.
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How The Belgacom Ruling Will Impact Atty Privilege In EU
The recent Brussels Court of Appeal ruling in Belgacom Group represents an important rebuke to the presumption of the European Court of Justice's Akzo ruling that in-house counsels are insufficiently independent to enjoy the attorney-client and related privileges, say Donald Hawthorne and Timothy Hirsch of Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP.
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Supreme Court Tames Class Action Frankenstein's Monster
The unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles will be praised by class action defense counsel as comporting with the congressional intent of the Class Action Fairness Act and ramifying the pleading strategies used by putative class representatives to maximize the litigation leverage of the "Frankenstein's monster" created by class actions, say attorneys with Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.
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How To Read FTC's Recent Letter To Okla. Hospital
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission has issued a letter to a physician-hospital organization in Norman, Okla., setting out its analysis of how the organization's business plan violated the federal antitrust laws. The letter identifies important issues for provider-controlled networks looking to implement a clinical integration program but also leaves several issues unaddressed, says Mark Botti of Squire Sanders LLP.
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Where Privilege Protection Ends In Internal Investigations
Internal investigations by counsel into potentially illegal corporate conduct are generally considered to be protected by the attorney-client privilege and attorney work-product doctrine. It is less clear whether work that is unconnected or tangentially connected to such an investigation, including internal audits or anti-corruption risk assessments, may be conducted in a way that preserves privilege protections, say attorneys with Paul Hastings LLP.
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Do SEP Holders Seeking Injunctions Violate Section 2?
Recent U.S. Department of Justice speeches and statements indicate that the DOJ may be searching for ways to enforce a policy of using Section 2 of the Sherman Act to discourage standard essential patent holders who license their patents on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms from seeking injunctive relief against alleged infringers. This would be a significant development in its regulatory agenda, says Wendy Fu of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.
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7 Reasons To Do Pro Bono Work
Research shows that helping others and cultivating social relationships makes us happier and that generous people live longer, healthier lives. These are just a few of the countless reasons to create time in our busy schedules to do pro bono and charitable work this year, says Anne Brafford of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.
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Keep Watch Of French Authority's Pharma Sector Inquiry
On Feb. 25, 2013, the French Competition Authority announced the launch of a sector inquiry in the pharmaceutical sector to evaluate competition intensity, identify potential issues and make recommendations to improve the market. In recent years, the authority has been very active on this front, leaving a strong impact on enforcement actions, companies and manufacturers, say attorneys with Mayer Brown LLP.