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Competition
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April 12, 2024
US Steel Stockholders Greenlight $14.9B Sale To Nippon
U.S. Steel said Friday that its shareholders have "overwhelmingly" approved the American steel company's nearly $15 billion takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel, a positive development in a deal that's otherwise received a high degree of political and regulatory scrutiny.
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April 12, 2024
Make Clear Neutrality Exempts Content Storage, Akamai Says
Akamai Technologies is asking the FCC to make it crystal clear in the net neutrality orders that are set to be voted on this month that information storing agreements between internet service providers and content delivery networks are still above board.
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April 12, 2024
Credit Suisse, Lloyds, Others Ink $3.5M Libor Deal
Plaintiffs in the yearslong suit alleging various big banks manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, have reached a $3.45 million settlement with Credit Suisse AG, Lloyds Bank and others, bringing the total settlement recovery amount to more than $780 million.
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April 12, 2024
Off The Bench: Ohtani 'Victim' In Theft, Arbitration Nod To NFL
In this week's Off The Bench, Shohei Ohtani looks to get off the hook on sports-betting allegations while his former interpreter faces charges, the NFL wins a critical court victory in the Brian Flores lawsuit, and troubled WWE founder Vince McMahon cuts even more financial ties with the company.
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April 12, 2024
EU Approves Biotech Co. Illumina's Plan To Divest Grail
European Union antitrust authorities on Friday approved Illumina's plan to sell off Grail, the latest development in a saga that saw the biotech company reverse course and agree to offload the cancer-screening company after authorities claimed the reacquisition was completed "unlawfully."
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April 12, 2024
Apple Loses Bid To Toss $1B App Maker Charges Case
The Competition Appeal Tribunal refused on Friday to toss a £785 million ($996 million) proposed class action by app developers against Apple over commission payments after finding that the claimants had a real shot at showing that the case was governed by U.K. law.
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April 12, 2024
UK To Probe Norwegian Oil & Gas Data Mega-Merger
The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority said on Friday it has launched an inquiry into the proposed purchase of Norwegian seismic data specialist PGS by a subsidiary of its domestic rival TGS, which supplies data to energy companies.
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April 11, 2024
FTC's Bedoya Looking For Market Power In Pricing Cases
Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya said Thursday he is most interested in bringing potential cases under the Robinson Patman Act when a company is using its market power to gain an unfair advantage over smaller rivals.
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April 11, 2024
Price-Fixing Cartel Self Reporting On 'Steady Uptick,' Panel Says
U.S. and European antitrust enforcers touted a turnaround Thursday in the number of companies self-reporting price-fixing, bid-rigging and market allocation schemes in the search for "leniency" from financial and criminal penalties over the last three years.
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April 11, 2024
Shops Fight Altria Unit's Bid To Block Flavored Vape Sales
A group of smoke shops urged a California federal judge to reject a bid by vape manufacturer NJOY, a subsidiary of tobacco giant Altria Group, Inc., seeking to block the retailers from selling Elf Bar branded flavored vapes, arguing that consumers won't flock to NJOY's tobacco flavored products even if Elf Bar is off the market.
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April 11, 2024
FTC 'Hopeful' Merger Judges Can See Past Market Definition
The Federal Trade Commission's top antitrust enforcer emphasized Thursday that the FTC and Justice Department's new merger guidelines could facilitate transaction challenges based solely on "direct" competitive effects, regardless of what market definition numbers indicate.
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April 11, 2024
Visa Beats Some Merchant Claims In Antitrust MDL
A New York federal judge has trimmed claims lodged by Home Depot and other merchants against Visa and several banks in sprawling multidistrict antitrust litigation dating back to 2005 over network rules forcing merchants to accept the companies' cards.
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April 11, 2024
NCAA Athletes Can't Get MDL Over Compensation Rules
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation denied the request of NCAA athletes to centralize two suits accusing the organization and five major college sports conferences of exercising a monopoly over labor in Division I sports by not allowing student-athletes to be compensated for their performances.
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April 11, 2024
Pool Co. Gets Rival's Assets Frozen After False Ads Verdict
A North Carolina federal judge on Thursday temporarily froze the assets of a Chinese manufacturer of pool products and its American subsidiary after they were hit with a multimillion-dollar verdict for false advertising and unfair business practices, citing a concern they may move assets to try and duck payment.
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April 11, 2024
Deals Rumor Mill: US Steel, Germany's Stada, Paramount
The DOJ opens a probe into Nippon’s proposed $14.9 billion takeover of US Steel, German drugmaker Stada explores a sale, and Paramount and Skydance are hashing out potential deal terms. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
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April 11, 2024
State Enforcers: Not Joining Fed Cases No Sign Of Opposition
Several state enforcers said Thursday they choose which antitrust cases being brought by federal enforcers they join based on a number of factors, and it doesn't mean they are opposed to a case if they decide not to join.
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April 11, 2024
Cable Co. Says Funding For Price Fixing CPO Lacks 'Visibility'
A major European power cable supplier questioned Thursday whether a representative seeking damages on behalf of U.K. electricity customers had allocated enough money to cover their costs during a hearing to decide whether the mass claim should be certified.
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April 11, 2024
Dough-Maker Loses Fight Against Order To Reverse Merger
Dough maker Cérélia on Thursday lost its fight to avoid being forced to sell its Jus-Rol brand, with a London appeals court upholding a decision that the sale is necessary to protect retailers and shoppers from paying higher prices.
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April 10, 2024
Pfizer Unit Cuts $39M Deal Ending Effexor Antitrust Claims
A proposed class of direct buyers asked a New Jersey federal judge on Tuesday to approve a $39 million settlement to end allegations that Pfizer Inc. unit Wyeth engaged in a scheme with Teva Pharmaceuticals to delay generic competition for the antidepressant drug Effexor XR.
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April 10, 2024
DOJ's Apple Antitrust Suit Gets New Judge After Recusal
The New Jersey federal judge overseeing the U.S. Department of Justice's recent iPhone antitrust case against Apple recused himself from the litigation Wednesday, according to a text order posted to the docket reassigning the case.
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April 10, 2024
Smaller May Be Better For NCAA, Sports Antitrust Experts Say
Sports law experts at the American Bar Association's spring antitrust meeting said Wednesday that for top-level college sports to survive the wave of antitrust litigation that it faces, colleges and universities may need to think small.
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April 10, 2024
Enforcers Are Learning How To Pursue Suits Against Big Tech
The pending antitrust cases targeting large technology platforms in the U.S. and Europe, including those against Google, Amazon and Apple, offer important lessons about digital markets, enforcers said Wednesday.
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April 10, 2024
Colo. AG Says Kroger Divestiture Plan Is Best Left For Trial
Colorado's attorney general wants a state judge to block Kroger and Albertsons from presenting evidence about a new divestiture plan at an upcoming hearing on the state's motion to temporarily block the grocers' merger, claiming the yet-to-be revealed plan is a strategy to "win by ambush."
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April 10, 2024
Dubious Merger Bid? 'Find A Different Deal,' DOJ Official Says
A U.S. Department of Justice antitrust official on Wednesday stood by the hardline Biden-era stance against most merger clearance settlements, saying that companies coming forward with potentially problematic transactions should rethink doing the deals at all or at least come with strong upfront divestiture proposals.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.
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Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power
In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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What To Know About OCC Proposals For Bank Merger Review
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposed changes to the agency's bank merger review process could exacerbate industry concerns with long and unpredictable processing periods because the proposal is ambiguous with respect to how the OCC will view certain transactions, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.
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Opinion
Biden Admin's March-In Plan Would Hurt Medical Innovation
The Biden administration's proposal to reinterpret the Bayh-Dole Act and allow the government to claw back patents when it determines that a commercialized product's price is too high would discourage private investment in important research and development, says Ken Thorpe at the Rollins School of Public Health.
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A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise
After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.
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Reassessing Trade Secrets Amid Proposed Noncompete Ban
The Federal Trade Commission's proposed ban on noncompete agreements as well as state bans make it prudent for businesses to reevaluate and reinvigorate approaches to trade secret protection, including knowing what information employees are providing to vendors, and making sure confidentiality agreements are put in place before information is shared, says Rob Jensen at Wolf Greenfield.
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Mitigating The Risk Of Post-Closing M&A Earnout Disputes
Today's uncertain deal environment makes a well-crafted earnout an excellent way for parties to accomplish a desired transaction that would not otherwise occur, but transacting parties also need to take key steps to avoid the risk of post-closing disputes that earnouts can present, say Chad Barton and Claire Lydiard at Holland & Knight.
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What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement
A look at recent attorney general actions, especially in the areas of antitrust and artificial intelligence, can help inform businesses on what they should expect in terms of enforcement trends as 10 attorney general races play out in 2024, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.
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Planning For Stymied HSR Filings At FTC If Shutdown Occurs
If the government were to shut down in early March, the inability to submit Hart-Scott-Rodino filings with the Federal Trade Commission would grind transactions to a halt, and parties should consider numerous implications as they are negotiating or planning to close pending transactions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy will likely spare the U.S. International Trade Commission from major operative changes, the ITC’s ability to issue penalties for violations of its orders may change, say Gwendolyn Tawresey and Ryan Deck at Troutman Pepper.
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HR Antitrust Compliance Crucial Amid DOJ Scrutiny
The Justice Department's Antitrust Division recently announced a required human resources component for antitrust compliance programs, which means companies should evaluate their policies to prevent, detect and remediate potential violations as they add training for HR professionals, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Mass Arb. Rule Changes May Be A Hindrance For Consumers
The American Arbitration Association's recent changes to its mass arbitration supplementary rules and fee schedule, including a shift from filing fees to initiation and per-case fees, may reduce consumers' ability to counteract businesses' mandatory arbitration agreements, say Eduard Korsinsky and Alexander Krot at Levi & Korsinsky.
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ChristianaCare Settlement Reveals FCA Pitfalls For Hospitals
ChristianaCare's False Claims Act settlement in December is the first one based on a hospital allegedly providing private physicians with free services in the form of hospital-employed clinicians and provides important compliance lessons as the government ramps up scrutiny of compensation arrangements, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.