Competition

May 07, 2025
FDA Gets Win In Eli Lilly Weight Loss Drug Shortage Fight

A Texas federal judge on Wednesday refused to reverse a U.S. Food and Drug Administration decision to remove Eli Lilly & Co.'s popular weight loss drug from a national shortage list, denying a request from pharmacies that produce copycat doses of the drug and entering judgment in favor of the FDA.
May 07, 2025
Senate Backs Bid To Scrap Biden-Era OCC Bank Merger Rule

Senators voted Wednesday to repeal the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's Biden-era revamp of its bank merger review standards, advancing an effort to undo a rule that banks criticized as creating more complication and uncertainty for their deals.
May 07, 2025
Google Is 'What's Best' For Users, Apple Exec Tells Judge

A top Apple executive forcibly defended the company's pick for its default search engine Wednesday, telling a D.C. federal judge that Google is the only real option, as the U.S. Justice Department looks to ban Google from paying the iPhone maker and others for default search engine placement.
May 07, 2025
Racing Teams Drop Suit Seeking Formula One's Financials

Michael Jordan's stock car racing team has dropped its lawsuit seeking financial records from the owners of Formula One, according to a filing in Colorado federal court.
May 07, 2025
DOJ, FTC Seek Public Input On Live Event Ticketing Abuses

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday they are seeking input from the public about potential abuses in the live ticketing industry, which comes after President Donald Trump's March executive order that looks to enforce "transparency at all stages of the ticket-purchase process."
May 07, 2025
$525M Nuke Services Deal Faces Canada Competition Probe

Canada's competition regulator said Wednesday it has obtained court orders to get information from several companies as part of its investigation of nuclear technology firm BWX Technologies Inc.'s proposed $525 million acquisition of nuclear engineering company Kinetrics Inc.
May 07, 2025
Insulet Pursues EOFlow's Finances After $60M Ruling

A Massachusetts federal judge has ordered a Korean wearable insulin patch maker to respond to discovery requests as Insulet Corp. looks to collect a nearly $60 million trade secrets judgment, including information concerning an ongoing arbitration with Medtronic PLC stemming from a nixed acquisition deal.
May 07, 2025
Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates dozens of times throughout April about their concerns, from T-Mobile's planned takeover of UScellular's wireless operations to Native American tribes' needs for licensed spectrum, phone "unlocking" mandates to spur competition, satellite power limits and more.
May 07, 2025
Ex-Enforcers Back Higher Standard For Google Breakup

A bipartisan group of former federal antitrust enforcers stretching back to the Nixon administration has told the D.C. federal court overseeing the government's search monopolization case against Google that a high standard needs to be met when divestitures are sought.
May 07, 2025
Boston Judge Tosses Mastercard Payments Monopoly Claims

Payments giant Mastercard Inc. no longer faces a cross-platform tap & pay mobile wallet company's monopolization claims after a Massachusetts federal judge found, among other things, that Mastercard doesn't actually dominate the relevant market.
May 07, 2025
Tennis Group Told Not To Try To Sway Players In Antitrust Suit

A New York federal judge on Wednesday rebuked the Association of Tennis Professionals for making coercive statements to players about joining a proposed antitrust class action against various professional groups within the sport, saying it is improper because of its interest in the outcome of the case.
May 07, 2025
Judge Rejects New Trial Over Antitrust Loss To US Soccer

A Brooklyn federal judge denied a defunct soccer league's request for a new antitrust trial against MLS and the U.S. soccer governing body, rejecting a challenge to a jury instruction that asked about the existence of a relevant market.
May 07, 2025
AWOL Plaintiff Dropped From Apple, Amazon Antitrust Case

A Washington federal judge has ousted the lead plaintiff in a proposed antitrust class action against Apple and Amazon, after deciding last month to sanction the firm bringing the case for failing to tell the court the client had abandoned the case.
May 07, 2025
Chemours Pans 'Perplexing' Patent Claim In Distribution Row

The Chemours Co. FC LLC has ripped a competitor's amended antitrust suit against it and its distributor for adding a "perplexing claim" for a declaratory judgment that the chemical company does not have any patents on a refrigerant, arguing that patents are a matter of public record and that the suit should be tossed.
May 07, 2025
Baking Co. Says Trade Secret Sanctions Bid Is Undercooked

An Ohio baking products company says it shouldn't be sanctioned for sharing some of the ingredients in one of its products in a temporarily public court filing, since the same ingredients had been discussed in open court during testimony about how that product allegedly differed from the trade-secret recipe a rival was trying to protect.
May 07, 2025
9th Circ. Affirms FTC Loss In Microsoft-Activision Case

The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court's ruling in a Federal Trade Commission case that refused to block Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of game developer Activision Blizzard Inc.
May 07, 2025
$13B Omnicom, Interpublic Deal Faces UK Enquiry

Britain's competition watchdog said Wednesday that it has decided to take an initial look at the approximately $13 billion merger of U.S.-based marketing communications giants Omnicom and Interpublic, as the mega-deal faces scrutiny in the U.S. as well.
May 06, 2025
Ruling Doesn't Bind FERC Auction Approval, DC Circ. Told

A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission determination that a court ruling required it to let a grid operator proceed with a flawed electricity capacity auction cannot be squared with its duty to modify unjust or unreasonable rates, consumer advocates and public utilities told the D.C. Circuit.
May 06, 2025
Fed. Circ. Asks What Law Applies For Sleep Drug Injunction

The Federal Circuit lifted an injunction Tuesday that had placed limits on Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals' clinical trials for sleep disorder treatments, but sent the infringement case back to Delaware to determine whether a future injunction should be governed by the Hatch-Waxman Act.
May 06, 2025
T-Mobile Attys Get $2.9M In Fees In Arbitration Award Suit

A mobile phone dealer that accused T-Mobile of tricking it into "false and oppressive" service agreements is on the hook for $2.9 million of the mobile titan's attorney fees after an Ohio federal judge refused to vacate the arbitration award that directed Preferred Wireless to pay up.
May 06, 2025
NY Says Owner Has To Sell Ski Resort After Antitrust Loss

A New York ski resort operator who a state judge has ruled violated antitrust law by buying a rival and shutting it down should have to sell off one of its properties, preferably the one it shut down, so it can be reopened for next winter, the Empire State is arguing.
May 06, 2025
Google Says DOJ's Monopoly Fixes Could Reveal 'Essential IP'

The head of Google's search engine warned a D.C. federal judge Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed data sharing mandates would allow rivals to clone nearly everything that makes up Google, dramatically changing the company's incentives to innovate and pulling away key resources.
May 06, 2025
League Reps Grilled By Senators Over Sports Streaming Deals

Broadcast executives from three of the four biggest U.S. pro sports leagues answered bipartisan grilling by a Senate committee Tuesday over spiraling costs and scattered availability of games brought on by the increased use of streaming services, insisting that they were improving access and would improve it more in the near future.
May 06, 2025
FTC Commissioner Throws Cold Water On Antitrust Defenses

Newly minted Federal Trade Commissioner Mark R. Meador criticized several arguments frequently raised in antitrust cases during a speech Monday, including that company breakups are too extreme and that innovation can justify anticompetitive conduct.
May 06, 2025
Tennis Players Push For Cert. In NCAA Prize Money Battle

College tennis players are again seeking class certification in their lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association over its prize money restrictions, pushing back on the organization's arguments that the case is too flimsy and anecdotal.

Expert Analysis

Algorithm Price-Fixing Ruling May Lower Antitrust Claims Bar

A Washington federal court's refusal to dismiss Duffy v. Yardi Systems, an antitrust case over rent prices allegedly inflated by revenue management software, creates an apparent split in the lower courts over how to assess such claims, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
Series

Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
How FTC Sent A $5.6M Warning Against Jumping The Gun

The Federal Trade Commission's recent record $5.6 million "gun jumping" action against Verdun Oil, for allegedly exerting control over EP Energy before the mandatory waiting period under U.S. antitrust law expired, warns companies that they must continue to operate independently during review, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
Predicting Where State AGs Will Direct Their Attention In 2025

In 2025, we expect state attorneys general will navigate a new presidential administration while continuing to further regulate and police financial services, artificial intelligence, junk fees and antitrust, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
A Look At FDA's Plans To Establish New OTC Drug Category

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule, creating a new over-the-counter pathway for drugs when patients satisfy certain conditions, may be useful for off-patent drugs with established safety records, though switching to OTC comes with additional costs and considerations, say attorneys at Skadden.
Chancery May Have Raised Bar For Books, Records Requests

The Delaware Court of Chancery recently approved the denial of a books and records demand against Amazon, raising important questions about what evidence and purpose a stockholder is required to show to succeed on such a request, say attorneys at Selendy Gay.
FTC Privacy Enforcement Takeaways From 2024

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission distinguished three prominent trends in its privacy-related enforcement actions: geolocation data protections, data minimization practices, and artificial intelligence use and marketing, say Cobun Zweifel-Keegan at IAPP and James Smith at Dechert.
Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
Mass Arbitration Procedures After Faulty Live Nation Ruling

Despite the Ninth Circuit's flawed reasoning in Heckman v. Live Nation, the exceptional allegations of collusive conduct shouldn't be read to restrict arbitration providers that have adopted good faith procedures to ensure that consumer mass arbitrations can be efficiently resolved on the merits, says Collin Vierra at Eimer Stahl.
How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
Small Biz Caught In Corporate Transparency Act Crossfire

Despite compliance being put on hold due to a nationwide preliminary injunction, small businesses have been caught in the middle of the legal battle over the Corporate Transparency Act — and confusion over the law's requirements could result in major penalties, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
Forecasting The Future Of The FTC Post-Inauguration

The incoming Federal Trade Commission leadership's agenda, which is expected to be in sharp contrast with the Biden administration's enforcement posture, will be noticeable right away in the first few weeks of the Trump administration, say attorneys at Cooley.
US-China Deal Considerations Amid Cross-Border Uncertainty

With China seemingly set to respond to the incoming U.S. administration's call for strategic decoupling and tariffs, companies on both sides of the Pacific should explore deals and internal changes to mitigate risks and overcome hurdles to their strategic plans, say attorneys at Covington.
Series

Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.