Competition

  • August 30, 2024

    UK Drops Antitrust Probe Into School Software Co.

    A United Kingdom school software company is no longer facing antitrust scrutiny over alleged litigation threats against schools looking to switch providers, but the firm continues to suggest that it may take action against the "misuse of its intellectual property" that it says complaints to authorities were meant to hide.

  • August 30, 2024

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    Appeals courts have awakened from summertime slumber and crammed their early autumn calendars with arguments of national significance, which Law360 previews in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing. We're also recapping August's top appellate decisions, exploring new polling about U.S. Supreme Court opinions and testing your knowledge of Fifth Circuit history.

  • August 30, 2024

    Align Tech Cuts $27.5M Antitrust Deal With 1.45M Consumers

    A proposed class of nearly 1.45 million SmileDirectClub teeth-aligner buyers urged a California federal judge Thursday to preliminarily sign off on Align Technologies Inc.'s $27.5 million cash and coupon settlement to resolve antitrust claims alleging the company colluded with the now-bankrupt SmileDirecClub to illegally restrict competition.

  • August 30, 2024

    Semiconductor Co. Beats Investor Suit Over Failed $8B Merger

    A California federal judge has dismissed a proposed investor class action filed over semiconductor company MaxLinear Inc.'s decision to cancel a planned $8 billion merger with Silicon Motion Technology Corp., finding investors' claims against the former can't stand because they held shares in the latter.

  • August 30, 2024

    RTX Corp. To Settle Engineers' No-Poach Class Claims

    RTX Corp. on Friday announced a nascent class action settlement in a lawsuit accusing its Pratt & Whitney division of orchestrating an agreement among five aerospace engineering suppliers not to hire one another's employees, a move that follows a $26.5 million settlement between the employees and the five other firms.

  • August 30, 2024

    Judge Unsure Warehouse Antitrust Suit Belongs In Fed. Court

    An Illinois federal judge appeared skeptical Friday that a warehouse developer could unravel a municipal contract with several real estate companies accused of violating antitrust laws, questioning if the plaintiff was truly harmed by the deal or a related judgment its rivals later won in state court.

  • August 30, 2024

    Hotel Chains, Software Co. Fight Algorithmic Pricing Suit

    Major hotel chains and software provider SAS Institute Inc. have asked a California federal court to toss a proposed class action from hotel guests alleging the companies used a shared pricing algorithm to fix and raise room rates nationwide.

  • August 30, 2024

    Harris Admin Would Stay Course On Tough Antitrust Policy

    Just two days after food and candy giant Mars announced its blockbuster $35.9 billion Kellanova purchase, Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign indicated plans to “crack down” on mergers between large food companies. That would differ significantly from another Trump presidency, which could see a generally more relaxed antitrust environment. Here, Law360 explores anticipated policy differences between the two.

  • August 30, 2024

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    The Federal Trade Commission went to court against Kroger's $25 billion purchase of Albertsons and geared up for its looming handbags merger case, the Justice Department added to its case against Live Nation, and the sports-streaming juggernaut partnering ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery hit a significant roadblock.

  • August 29, 2024

    Doctor Wants Stepson Barred From Selling Medial Device

    A Texas doctor has asked a federal court to step in and stop his stepson from selling "micro-current therapy medical devices," saying in a motion this week that his stepson was still using his trademarks despite the fact that he had canceled his license.

  • August 29, 2024

    Broadcom Looks To Toss Samsung's Chip Antitrust Case

    Broadcom has urged a California federal court to toss a case from Samsung accusing the chipmaker of blocking competitors from the market, saying the companies' supply agreement was not exclusive and did not tie the sale of any product to another product.

  • August 29, 2024

    2nd Circ. Allows Google Advertisers To Wait To Appeal Loss

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday allowed a group of Massachusetts-based gym and spa businesses to drop their challenge of an order tossing their antitrust claims from multidistrict litigation accusing Google of monopolizing digital advertising, but permitted them to refile it once the trial judge decides the MDL's remaining claims.

  • August 29, 2024

    Comer Tells PBMs To Correct Record On Role In Drug Pricing

    Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, is demanding that the heads of three major pharmacy benefit managers "correct the record" on their testimony made before his committee in July about their roles in drug pricing, including company claims that the PBMs don't steer customers to in-house pharmacies and that they allow non-affiliated pharmacies to negotiate contracts.

  • August 29, 2024

    NLRB Partners With Other Feds In Merger Probes

    The National Labor Relations Board said it's teaming up with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate mergers that present competition concerns for workers.

  • August 29, 2024

    Nektar Can't Get Docs It Says Show Lilly As 'Thieves, Liars'

    A California federal judge Thursday rejected Nektar Therapeutics' request for internal Eli Lilly documents related to separate litigation as Nektar pursues allegations Eli Lilly ruined prospects for a drug the companies were developing together despite Nektar's counsel saying it would "expose Lilly for being thieves, liars."

  • August 29, 2024

    DOJ Calls Former Googler's Ad Tech Testimony 'Essential'

    The U.S. Department of Justice urged a Virginia federal judge Wednesday not to let former Google vice presidents and other company managers avoid testifying at next month's advertising technology monopolization trial, arguing their testimony is important and was properly subpoenaed.

  • August 29, 2024

    Albright Boots $8B EV Trade Secrets Suit For Improper Venue

    U.S. District Judge Alan Albright tossed out a $7.8 billion trade secrets dispute between two electric vehicle companies, adopting a federal magistrate judge's recommendation that the case should be handled in Israel where he said both companies and the majority of the individuals related to the matter already are.

  • August 29, 2024

    JPMorgan Says Ex-Adviser Poached Clients Worth $13M

    JPMorgan Chase has accused a former adviser of attempting to solicit clients for Wells Fargo, an effort JPMorgan alleged has so far been successful in converting 16 clients worth $13 million to its competitor.

  • August 29, 2024

    FTC Wants Kroger's Constitution Suit To Follow Merger Case

    The Federal Trade Commission is sparring with Kroger over where, and when, to handle the grocery giant's constitutional counterattack to the FTC's merger challenge, with the agency teeing up a bid to move the company's Ohio federal court suit to Oregon, where it's defending the proposed Albertsons purchase.

  • August 29, 2024

    4th Circ. Says CSX's Norfolk Southern Case Came Too Late

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Thursday that CSX's antitrust case against Norfolk Southern over "exclusionary" fees charged by a Virginia switching line they jointly own was filed outside the statute of limitations.

  • August 29, 2024

    Nippon Pledges $1.3B For US Steel In Quest For US Approval

    Nippon Steel Corp. has pledged to inject an additional $1.3 billion into United States Steel Corp. facilities as the Japanese company looks to get over the finish line with U.S. regulators on its controversial $14.9 billion merger proposal.

  • August 29, 2024

    Nasdaq To Pay $22M CFTC Fine Over Incentive Program

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission slapped Nasdaq Futures Inc. with a $22 million fine Thursday based on allegations that the now-shuttered derivatives exchange failed to disclose an incentive program for high-volume traders.

  • August 29, 2024

    Marathon Oil Stockholders Approve $23B ConocoPhillips Deal

    Marathon Oil Corp. said Thursday it has received the necessary stockholder approval for its pending $22.5 billion merger with ConocoPhillips, as the companies race to get the deal done amid an ongoing U.S. regulatory review.

  • August 28, 2024

    Merck Must Face Class Claims In Vaccine Antitrust Suit

    Merck cannot strike class claims in antitrust litigation over its rotavirus vaccine, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Wednesday, while also allowing the city of Baltimore to eliminate redundancies in its complaint.

  • August 28, 2024

    Dr.'s Suit Blames Practice's Buyer For Chaos After Sale

    A North Carolina doctor struck back in a lawsuit blaming him for business challenges following the sale of his practice to another physician, alleging in counterclaims that the purchasing physician lied about his intentions for the practice and ultimately led it to ruin.

Expert Analysis

  • How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FTC's 'Unfair Competition' Actions In Jeopardy

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference will have limited effect on the Federal Trade Commission's merger guidelines, administrative enforcement actions and commission decisions on appeal, it could restrict the agency's expansive take on its rulemaking authority and threaten the noncompete ban, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • How Generative AI May Aid Merger Clearance Process

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    Generative artificial intelligence capable of analyzing and searching large datasets stands to revolutionize the merger clearance process, including by significantly reducing the time and effort required to respond to Hart-Scott-Rodino second requests, say Kenneth Koch and Brian Blush at BDO USA.

  • Antitrust In Retail: The Meaning Of 'Accessible Luxury'

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    In order for the Federal Trade Commission to block a deal that would put six "accessible luxury" brands, including Coach and Michael Kors, under one roof, the agency will need to prove that this category is distinct from the true luxury or mass-market categories, says David Kully at Holland & Knight.

  • 4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review

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    The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.

  • FTC Focus: Competition And The Right To Repair

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    If the Federal Trade Commission includes commercial and industrial products as part of copyright exemptions that allow consumers to modify or repair products, then businesses and affected rights holders will need to consider copyrights' impact on infringement issues, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

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