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Competition
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April 01, 2024
NY Bill Threatens Public Broadband Networks, Advocates Say
Public broadband advocates are saying new language in a New York state bill would undermine their push for locally owned and operated wireless networks by requiring that state funding only go to projects for "unserved and underserved" areas instead of making the grant money available to any locality that wants to own its own network.
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April 01, 2024
Split 9th Circ. Says Court Can Void Pot Co.'s TM Applications
A Ninth Circuit majority affirmed on Monday the cancellation of cannabis grower Central Coast Agriculture's trademark applications for its "Raw Garden" brand due to its lack of bona fide intent to use the marks commercially, with one judge dissenting, saying district courts can't interfere with and prematurely cancel trademark applications.
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April 01, 2024
Wireless Cos. Push Back On Neutrality For Network 'Slicing'
The mobile services industry is fighting public advocates' efforts to make sure so-called network "slicing" is covered by net neutrality rules the Federal Communications Commission is planning to reimpose on internet providers.
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April 01, 2024
'Unreliable' Theory Dooms City's Acthar Antitrust Cert. Bid
The city of Rockford has presented "unreliable" damages evidence that cannot warrant giving class treatment to its claim that pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts engaged in a scheme to fix prices for the seizure medication Acthar, an Illinois federal judge has said.
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April 01, 2024
Fed. Circ. Revives Challenges To J&J Schizophrenia Drug
A Federal Circuit panel on Monday gave generics-makers Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. and Viatris Inc. a new chance to prove that a patent on Johnson & Johnson's blockbuster schizophrenia drug Invega Sustenna is invalid, saying a lower court used an "erroneously rigid" analysis when rejecting their challenge.
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April 01, 2024
Pool Co. Seeks $4.36M In Atty Fees After False Ad Verdict
Attorneys from McCarter & English LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson LLP are seeking more than $4 million in fees following a multimillion-dollar verdict in a North Carolina false advertising and unfair business practices suit involving rival pool supply companies.
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April 01, 2024
Ford Can Keep Pursuing Narrowed BCBS Antitrust Suit
A Michigan federal judge has trimmed some of Ford Motor Co.'s time-barred claims alleging Blue Cross Blue Shield engaged in an anti-competitive scheme to drive up prices, but said the auto giant established it had standing to pursue allegations it was injured by market-restricting agreements among insurance licensees.
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April 01, 2024
Digital Trade Groups Keep Pressing Biden To Oppose Barriers
U.S. technology industry groups are maintaining pressure on the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to stand up to foreign policies that limit or jeopardize access to export markets, especially in the burgeoning digital trade space.
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April 01, 2024
One Set Of Amazon Buyers Can't Cancel Later Antitrust Case
Antitrust lawsuits against Amazon.com in New York and Washington federal court will remain separate after a New York federal judge refused Friday to let online shoppers in the earlier-filed Washington case intervene in — and junk — the other proposed class action filed two years later.
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April 01, 2024
DOJ Antitrust Enforcement Vets Jump To Skadden, Foley
Two veterans of the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division have headed to private practice in Washington, D.C., with one joining Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and another leaving the government for Foley & Lardner LLP, the firms said Monday.
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April 01, 2024
Global Tensions Stall Cross-Border Deals As Gov'ts Regroup
Global cross-border mergers and acquisitions activity has fallen steadily from its 2021 peak, in part due to geopolitical issues that attorneys say are causing governments across the globe to bolster foreign investment policies and could lead investors to shift their geographic focus.
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March 29, 2024
DC Circ. Rejects Meta's Bid To Delay FTC Privacy Tweaks
A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday refused Meta Platforms Inc.'s bid to delay the Federal Trade Commission from pursuing changes to a $5 billion privacy settlement, saying the social media giant failed to show why it's entitled to an emergency injunction while it's challenging the FTC's structure.
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March 29, 2024
Silicon Valley Co. Planning New City Can Sue Landowners
A California federal judge has refused to throw out a suit claiming that landowners conspired to drive up the cost of land in Solano County near Sacramento as a mysterious entity backed by Silicon Valley bigwigs attempted to buy up land to build a brand new, sustainable city.
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March 29, 2024
Home Depot Asks High Court To Block $2.67B BCBS Deal
Home Depot has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its challenge of a $2.67 billion settlement in antitrust litigation targeting Blue Cross Blue Shield, saying the deal immunizes activity that hurts competition.
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March 29, 2024
Dem Cites 'Secret' Report Against Ticketmaster 'Rebates'
A major congressional critic of Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Ticketmaster highlighted an expert report from a long-running lawsuit as further proof of the ticketing juggernauts' "rampant, corrupt and abusive practices," although assertions that the report was secret and only newly unearthed may be overblown.
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March 29, 2024
'Antiquated' Doctrine Can't Cut Burford Unit From Turkey Suit
An Illinois federal judge has refused to block a Burford Capital investment unit from pursuing price-fixing allegations in a consolidated case against major turkey producers, saying federal law largely no longer recognizes the "antiquated" doctrine the producers cited to invalidate the claim.
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March 29, 2024
Lowe's Lies 'Destroyed' Vendor's Business, NC Suit Says
A home accents company alleged that Lowe's sought to "destroy" it with "bogus" complaints about product quality and the business' financial health, costing it tens of millions of dollars while usurping its business model.
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March 29, 2024
Gambling Co. To Face Most Card Shuffle Tech Antitrust Claims
An Illinois federal judge largely refused to let Scientific Games Corp. duck monopolization claims over its automatic card shufflers dominance, finding that with the exception of two out of six asserted patents, a would-be rival has adequately alleged the company tricked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office into granting those patents.
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March 29, 2024
US Trade Report Excludes Barriers With 'Legitimate' Purposes
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative left out foreign trade barriers that the Biden administration believes serve "legitimate public purposes" from this year's National Trade Estimate report Friday, rejecting pressure from domestic industry associations.
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March 29, 2024
Klehr Harrison Exits Athlete-Poaching Claims, Citing Conflict
Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg LLP has ended its representation of sports memorabilia brokers ensnared in two sports agencies' battle in Pennsylvania federal court over a contract with former Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay, citing concerns about an unspecified conflict of interest.
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March 29, 2024
Ferrosilicon Cos. Accuse Russia, 3 Others Of Unfair Trade
Two American ferrosilicon producers called for anti-dumping and countervailing duties on rival products from Russia and three other countries, which they said were underselling domestic ferrosilicon by unfair margins in the U.S. market.
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March 29, 2024
Lawmakers Call For Robinson-Patman Act Revival
A group of lawmakers is urging the Federal Trade Commission to reinvigorate enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act, a Roosevelt-era wholesale pricing statute that fell out of use in the 1970s, to help small businesses and stem the power of dominant grocery chains.
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March 29, 2024
US Steel-Nippon Merger Gets Thumbs Up From ISS, Glass Lewis
U.S. Steel said Friday that proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services have recommended that U.S. Steel shareholders vote in favor of its planned $14.9 billion sale to Nippon Steel Corp.
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March 28, 2024
Penile Implant Doc Awarded $18.3M After Trade Secrets Trial
A California federal judge on Thursday awarded more than $18.3 million in royalties and damages to a urologist who won a jury trial verdict last year over a competitor's theft of penile implant trade secrets.
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March 28, 2024
DOJ, FTC Weigh In On Another Pricing Algorithm Case
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission intervened in another alleged algorithmic collusion case Thursday with a statement of interest arguing that Atlantic City casino-hotels can't duck room rate price-fixing allegations simply by arguing there's no evidence they communicated directly or that pricing recommendations were binding.
Expert Analysis
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Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD
Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.
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How 'Safe Harbor' Policy Will Modify M&A Processes
Legal practitioners should be aware that the Justice Department's "safe harbor" immunity will change the typical M&A process significantly as acquirers start embedding fraud detection into their due diligence, including a broader scope of examinations and interviews, says Jesse Silvertown at The Ledge.
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Earnout Contract Considerations After NC Good Faith Ruling
The North Carolina Supreme Court's recent Value Health Solutions v. Pharmaceutical Research decision, holding the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing did not apply in an earnout dispute related to an asset sale, demonstrates the need for practitioners to pay careful attention to milestone concepts in M&A transactions, says Benjamin Hicks at Wagner Hicks.
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Reading Between The Lines Of HHS' National Lab Opinion
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General recently rejected a national laboratory's request to pay a referring lab to process specimens, but the request might have been an attempt to exploit the OIG's advisory opinion process for a competitive advantage, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.
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ITC Ban On Apple Watch Could Still Be Reversed
The U.S. International Trade Commission's recent final decision that the Apple Watch infringed two patents owned by Masimo Corp. was a rare instance of a popular consumer product being hit with an absolute importation ban, but it's possible that President Joe Biden could assert his power to reverse the ITC decision, says Benjamin Horton at Marshall Gerstein.
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Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence
Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Biden Admin's M&A Rhetoric Outpaces Enforcement Numbers
Despite the Biden administration's rhetoric about the need to reinvigorate antitrust efforts, merger enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division are at 20-year lows, with the agencies opting for deterrence instead, says Ryan Quillian at Covington.
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Best Practices For Cos. Navigating US-China Investigations
Given recent enforcement trends and the broad jurisdictional reach of U.S. laws, companies with operations in China must enhance their compliance programs in order to balance new corporate enforcement expectations with Chinese data protection and privacy requirements, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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5 Ways To Leverage Recent DOJ 'Safe Harbor' M&A Policy
Companies can take a series of practical steps both before and after closing to gain maximum advantage from the recently announced U.S. Department of Justice merger and acquisition safe harbor policy and minimize enforcement risk, say Jonny Frank and Jeremy Hirsch at StoneTurn.
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Get Ready For Calif.'s Expanded Restrictive Covenant Ban
California recently passed the second of two new laws that together largely prohibit restrictive covenants, even for certain out-of-state employers — and since there's not much time before the statutes become effective, now is the time for companies to revisit how their confidential information will be protected, says Russell Beck at Beck Reed.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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Avoiding Bribery, Corruption And Sanctions Risks In Int'l M&A
Given the evolving merger and acquisition landscape — as evidenced by the Justice Department’s recently announced safe harbor policy — acquirers conducting international transactions must build bribery, anti-corruption and sanctions risk considerations squarely into their due diligence processes, say Brian Markley and Jennifer Potts at Cahill Gordon.
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What To Watch As The FCC Leans Into National Security
Information and communications technology and services operators and investors should keep a close eye on the Federal Communications Commission's increasing activity in national security matters, which could slow transactions and subject providers to additional oversight, say David Plotinsky and Patricia Cave at Morgan Lewis.
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Series
Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.