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Competition
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February 28, 2024
Elite Schools Get OK For $166M More Aid-Fixing Deals
An Illinois federal judge handling student aid-fixing allegations against 17 top universities gave his initial blessing to another $166 million in settlements Wednesday, the day after he ordered three universities to produce documents that could show they handled certain students' admissions differently from others.
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February 28, 2024
Indivior's $385M Suboxone Antitrust Deal Gets Final OK
A Pennsylvania federal judge has granted final approval to Indivior's $385 million settlement with direct purchasers in antitrust litigation over its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone and awarded roughly $120 million in attorney fees to the purchasers' counsel.
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February 28, 2024
Conn. Mortgage Co. Says Partner Defected With Cash, Data
A prospective business partner agreed to commit $100,000 to join a mortgage company and promised to bring along 15 employees, but once inside, they raided business assets for information and quickly left to start a competing venture, according to a lawsuit in Connecticut state court.
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February 28, 2024
Fish & Richardson Adds Ex-Jenner & Block Life Sciences Duo
Global intellectual property law firm Fish & Richardson PC announced on Wednesday that two Chicago-based litigators from Jenner & Block LLP have joined the firm's life sciences team as partners.
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February 28, 2024
Scrubs Co. Must Arbitrate With Its Ex-Atty Over False Ad Loss
A healthcare apparel company that lost its Lanham Act false advertising suit against a competitor in California federal court must pursue claims against its former lawyer in arbitration, while the company agreed to pursue claims against the lawyer's firm, Michelman & Robinson LLP, a Los Angeles judge ruled Wednesday.
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February 28, 2024
Google Attys' 'Fake Privilege' Comments Cited In Search Suit
The U.S. Justice Department and states accusing Google of monopolizing the online-search market have asked a D.C. federal judge to consider internal chats disclosed in Epic Games' antitrust lawsuit that revealed Google's lawyers discussing "fake privilege" — a practice of unnecessarily involving a lawyer to make an exchange confidential.
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February 28, 2024
Anderson Kill Litigator To Co-Lead GRSM50 Antitrust Group
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP has tapped a former Anderson Kill PC litigator with more than three decades of civil and criminal experience to co-chair its antitrust practice group, the firm announced on Wednesday.
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February 28, 2024
Novant In-House Attys Want Access To Confidential FTC Info
Novant Health has asked to tweak a protective order in the Federal Trade Commission's merger challenge regarding its $320 million plan to buy two hospitals in North Carolina, saying the current order designates nearly the entire investigative file confidential and is "unworkable."
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February 28, 2024
6 Firms Guiding Disney And Reliance On $8.5B Indian Media JV
The Walt Disney Co. and Reliance Industries Ltd. said Wednesday they have agreed to merge their media operations in India, combining Disney's Star India with Reliance's Viacom18 to create a leading TV and digital streaming enterprise in the country, valued at roughly $8.5 billion.
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February 28, 2024
DOJ Atty, University Of Chicago Prof Returns To MoloLamken
National boutique firm MoloLamken said Tuesday that legal scholar and University of Chicago law professor Eric Posner will return to the firm after a stint as counsel in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.
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February 27, 2024
WWE Says Deal To End Rival's Antitrust Suit Was Worth $20M
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. on Tuesday disclosed details of a settlement ending rival MLW Media LLC's lawsuit accusing the entertainment giant of monopolizing pro wrestling broadcasts in the U.S., saying in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the December deal was worth $20 million.
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February 27, 2024
NY Hospital Says PE-Owned Anesthesia Co. Monopolizes Care
A hospital based in New York state says a private equity company that manages anesthesia services is exercising monopoly power and putting the hospital at risk of facing a "crippling shortage" of anesthesia providers, according to a suit filed in federal court.
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February 27, 2024
Ohio, Google Trade Barbs Over 'Common Carrier' Designation
Google and the state of Ohio have taken aim at each other's dueling motions for summary judgment in a case seeking to have the tech titan's search engine declared a common carrier under state law for the purposes of antitrust regulation.
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February 27, 2024
$11M Meat Co. Deals Get Early OK In Colo. Wage Fixing Suit
A Colorado federal judge Tuesday gave initial approval to class settlements with two meat producers and a consulting company, requiring $11.25 million in payments to resolve claims that they participated in a nationwide scheme to fix and depress wages for meat plant workers.
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February 27, 2024
FTC Puts Labor Focus In Merger Basket For 1st Time
Higher consumer prices and reduced choice are no longer the only reasons the Federal Trade Commission will challenge mergers after the agency contested Kroger's planned $24.6 billion purchase of Albertsons based in part, for the first time ever, on allegations the deal will reduce competition for employees.
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February 27, 2024
GM Calls Auto Parts Co.'s Raid Conspiracy Claim 'Delusional'
General Motors argued Monday that a Michigan federal judge should toss "delusional" counterclaims from an aftermarket auto parts company in a suit that claims the company is selling replica parts with no license, saying accusations the auto giant lied to spark a government raid are "facially implausible."
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February 27, 2024
Consumers Ask 9th Circ. To Revive Qualcomm Antitrust Case
Cellphone buyers are hoping to revive their beleaguered antitrust case accusing Qualcomm of illegal tying schemes to inflate the price of their chips, telling the Ninth Circuit in their new opening brief to reverse the district court's ruling from September or, at a minimum, toss it to the California Supreme Court to decide whether their state law claims are viable.
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February 27, 2024
TV Station Can't Kill Verizon Counterclaims In Carriage Fight
A Rhode Island television station can't dodge counterclaims that it was the one responsible for letting Verizon know that it had been paying retransmission fees to the wrong company, the Massachusetts federal judge overseeing the TV station's lawsuit against Verizon and Nexstar has ruled.
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February 27, 2024
FCC OKs T-Mobile's 2.5 GHz Licenses Over AT&T Objection
The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday signed off, over an objection from AT&T, on a raft of new T-Mobile licenses in the 2.5 gigahertz spectrum band with the condition that T-Mobile divest some spectrum holdings in Hawaii.
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February 27, 2024
Make Sure Net Neutrality Covers Wholesale Service, FCC Told
The Federal Communications Commission needs to ensure wholesale broadband access services are covered by net neutrality rules the commission is expected to adopt soon, a trade group for competitive networks told the agency Monday.
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February 27, 2024
Chevron's $53B Hess Buy Hits Snag Over Guyana Oil Dispute
Chevron has revealed in a regulatory filing that Exxon Mobil Corp. and the China National Offshore Oil Corp. believe they have preemptive rights to buy Hess' stake in a lucrative oil project off the coast of Guyana, a hitch Chevron said could lead to failure to close its planned $53 billion acquisition of Hess.
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February 27, 2024
Anesthesia Group Settles Colo. AG's Monopoly Claims
U.S. Anesthesia Partners has said it would cede control of deals with several Colorado hospitals and pay $200,000 in legal fees to settle the state attorney general's allegations that the practice group had anti-competitive control of the market.
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February 27, 2024
Energy Co. Asks 8th Circ. To Revive Lease Termination Suit
A Denver-based energy company has told the Eighth Circuit that a North Dakota federal judge was wrong to dismiss its lease termination suit and hold that it had not exhausted its administrative remedies when its appeal of the Bureau of Indian Affairs decision had dragged on for nine-plus years.
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February 27, 2024
UFC, Fighters In Mediation Ahead Of Wage Suppression Trial
Ultimate Fighting Championship has entered private mediation with a group of fighters suing the promotion in Nevada federal court for suppressing their wages by up to $1.6 billion, adding a new wrinkle to the case just weeks ahead of trial.
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February 27, 2024
Deal-Makers Expect Further Uptick In M&A-Related Disputes
Global deal-makers expected increases in mergers and acquisitions-related disputes moving into 2024 after high interest rates and financing constraints created challenges to sealing deals, according to Berkeley Research Group's M&A Disputes Report 2024, which was reviewed by Law360 on Tuesday and is expected to be released in the coming days.
Expert Analysis
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EU Case Shows Wide Approach To Blocking Telecom Mergers
The EU court's recent judgment in Commission v. CK Telecoms may make it more challenging to secure clearance for telecom and other companies pursuing mergers, illustrating its broad approach to mergers that risk harming competition without creating a dominant position, say Dominic Long and Christopher Best at Allen & Overy.
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Opinion
Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory
Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.
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Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid
As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.
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Colorado Antitrust Reform Carries Broad State Impact
Colorado recently became the latest state to update and expand its antitrust laws, and the new act may significantly affect enforcement and private litigation, particularly when it comes to workers and consumers, says Diane Hazel at Foley & Lardner.
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Regulating AI: An Overview Of Federal Efforts
The U.S. has been carefully managing a national policy and regulatory ecosystem toward artificial intelligence, but as AI technology continues to expand into our everyday lives, so too has its risks and the need for regulation, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.
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Opinion
Merger Guidelines Should Provide For Competition Trustees
Following the U.S. antitrust agencies' release of draft merger guidelines, retired U.S. Court of Federal Claims Chief Judge Susan Braden suggests a court-appointed competition trustee would help ensure U.S. competition without impairing economic prosperity.
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Senate Hearing Highlights Antitrust Hazards In PGA-LIV Deal
The U.S. Senate's recent questioning of PGA Tour COO Ron Price on the proposed deal with LIV Golf and its release of a dossier of framework agreements covered a variety of issues that could exacerbate antitrust concerns, including the predatory purchasing theory of competitive harm, free-riding and alternate funding, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Indivior Ruling May Affect Rebate Wall Litigation
A New Jersey federal court's recent decision in Indivior v. Alvogen, in which a claim that an alleged rebate wall anti-competitively blocked generic competition survived summary judgment, may provide a blueprint for successfully challenging other drug rebating practices, say Peter Herrick and Monsura Sirajee at O'Melveny.
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Investors With ESG Aims Should Heed Antitrust Reporting Rules
As investors globally are embracing environmental, social and governance investing, regulatory agencies have made clear that ESG initiatives are not immune from antitrust scrutiny, and investors cannot count on receiving special exemptions from the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act reporting requirements, say Jonathan Gleklen and Francesca Pisano at Arnold & Porter.
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US Antitrust Approach Toward ESG Clashes With EU Stance
A comparison between how EU and U.S. antitrust enforcers have approached companies' cooperative environmental, social and corporate governance efforts highlights America's comparatively harsh stance, contributing to a difficult compliance climate for international businesses, say attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson.
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Merger Guidelines' Broad Tack Ignores Recent Precedent
The U.S. Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission's new proposed merger guidelines are consistent with the Biden administration's expansive approach to antitrust enforcement, but they fail to grapple meaningfully with much of modern economic precedent and court decisions requiring greater agency rigor in merger analysis, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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What's Causing EU-US Impasse On Steel And Aluminum
The EU and the U.S. have made limited progress in negotiating for a Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum, and they face high obstacles to meeting the fast-approaching October deadline, say attorneys at Akin.
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Parsing FTC's Intercontinental-Black Knight Merger Challenge
The Federal Trade Commission's recent Article III case challenging a merger between Intercontinental Exchange and Black Knight suggests the agency is using a structuralist approach to evaluate the merger's potential anti-competitive harm, says David Evans at Kelley Drye.
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Perspectives
Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice
Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.
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FERC Order Affirms Increased Scrutiny Of Investor-Utility Ties
A recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order confirming more aggressive scrutiny of investors' exercise of control over public utilities through representation on their boards or the boards of companies holding interests in them means that both investors and utilities face significantly heightened compliance obligations, say attorneys at Akin.