Competition

April 02, 2024
Consumers Ask To Update Amazon Antitrust Claims

Consumers seeking billions of dollars over allegations that Amazon's merchant contracts cause them to pay higher prices are asking a Washington federal court for permission to update their claims to include more details about the tactics the e-commerce giant allegedly used.
April 02, 2024
Fanatics Exec To Take Stand In DraftKings Noncompete Suit

A Boston federal judge said Tuesday she expects a former DraftKings executive to testify later this month in a hearing to sort out competing narratives and allegations of corporate espionage related to his abrupt departure to work for rival sportsbook Fanatics.
April 02, 2024
Qualcomm Says 9th Circ. Panel Already Heard Chip Claims

Qualcomm is urging the Ninth Circuit to assign an appeal from phone and tablet buyers looking to revive allegations that the chipmaker uses anti-competitive licensing practices to the same panel that nixed a class certification ruling in the long-running case.
April 02, 2024
Ohio Regulator Urges Justices To Review FERC Deadlock Rule

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Third Circuit's decision upholding a rule change from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that took effect despite a commissioner deadlock, arguing that the appellate court didn't apply a fitting standard.
April 02, 2024
Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

Kroger and Albertsons navigated merger challenges from the Federal Trade Commission and two separate state attorneys general, Nippon Steel tried to assuage concerns from the White House down about its planned purchase of U.S. Steel, and JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines abandoned their merger.
April 02, 2024
NFL Rips 'Unnecessary' Compel Motion In Sunday Ticket Spat

The NFL pushed back against the plaintiffs' efforts to revisit discovery documents in an antitrust class action over the league's Sunday Ticket broadcast package, arguing the motion to compel is a "manufactured and unnecessary dispute" over a discovery process that ended two years ago.
April 02, 2024
Hagens Berman To Lead Yardi Rent Price-Fixing Class Action

A Washington federal court tapped Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP as interim lead counsel for a putative class of renters amid a suit alleging that 11 property management companies are part of a price-fixing ring powered by an algorithm developed by Yardi Systems Inc.
April 02, 2024
Investment Adviser Wants Stolen Clients Suit Trimmed

An investment adviser and her new firm told a Florida court on Monday that the parent holding company of her former employer Mercer Global Advisors does not have standing to pursue its claims that she stole its clients and interfered with its business.
April 02, 2024
Proskauer Adds 13-Year Wilson Sonsini Vet, Ex-DOJ Leader

Proskauer Rose LLP has hired a longtime Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC partner who also has two decades of experience working with the U.S. Department of Justice on a range of antitrust matters, the firm announced.
April 01, 2024
Warner Bros. Directors Resign Amid DOJ Antitrust Concerns

A pair of Warner Bros. Discovery directors have resigned from the board of directors after the U.S. Department of Justice flagged potential antitrust concerns over them sitting on both the Warner Bros. board as well as the board of Charter Communications, the agency announced Monday.
April 01, 2024
RICO Claims Fail In Suit Against Developer, Judge Says

A Texas federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by real estate entities associated with a Dallas developer who accused the founders of Megatel Homes LLC of racketeering, saying that the lawsuit didn't plausibly state that the defendants had engaged in any unlawful racketeering activity.
April 01, 2024
Mixed Ruling Readies Vegas Newspapers For Trial

A Nevada federal judge has teed up the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Sun for a contentious trial with a decision nixing Review-Journal antitrust counterclaims, preserving core Sun antitrust claims and holding the Review-Journal to an agreement to distribute the papers as a single product.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Expert Analysis

3 Power Rulings Change Outlook For Transmission Cos.

The cumulative effect of three December power cases that halted state actions that gave preference to incumbent transmission providers could level the playing field for independent developers, say Harvey Reiter and John McCaffrey at Stinson.
4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.
Opinion

Waiving COVID-19 IP Protections Would Harm US Industry

President Joe Biden should turn down a World Trade Organization proposal to waive crucial intellectual property protections behind COVID-19 tests and diagnostics — protections that allow U.S. companies to sustain millions of jobs and develop life-saving treatments that benefit patients in every country, says former U.S. Circuit Judge Paul Michel, now at the Council for Innovation Promotion.
What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security

In 2024, expect the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, already at the forefront of addressing national security threats, to increase monitoring and enforcement related to outbound investment, focus on supply chain resilience in nondefense sectors, and heighten oversight of agricultural transactions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
Navigating Class Actions After Papa John's Settlement Denial

A Kentucky federal court's surprising denial of preliminary approval for a $5 million settlement in the Papa John's no-poach case may prove to be an outlier but suggests a class action settlement would only be approved when a plaintiff demonstrates that a litigation class would be certified, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.
4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
The Space Law And Policy Outlook For 2024

Expect significant movement in space law, regulation and policy in 2024, as Congress, the administration and independent federal agencies like the Federal Communications Commission address the increasingly congested, contested and competitive nature of space and the space industry, say Paul Stimers and Leighton Brown at Holland & Knight.
Antitrust Enforcement Initiatives To Watch In 2024

The U.S. Department of Justice is likely to prioritize information-sharing prosecutions in 2024, following last year's withdrawal of safe harbors, as well as labor market enforcement after trial losses forced a pullback in 2023, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
HHS Advisory Highlights Free Product Inducement Risks

A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advisory opinion highlights concerns that valuable free products and other inducements may influence patients and providers to choose one manufacturer’s product over another, notwithstanding that such free healthcare products may be a benefit, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
Opinion

Why Challenges To FTC Authority Are Needed

In spite of skepticism from courts, the Federal Trade Commission continues to advance novel legal theories — and Meta's recent federal suit against the agency over its alleged "structurally unconstitutional" administrative proceedings is arguably an expression of backlash to regulatory overreach, says Daniel Gilman at the International Center for Law & Economics.