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Competition
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February 29, 2024
Canada's Competition Watchdog Deepens Google Ad Probe
Canada's competition enforcer said Thursday the agency has expanded an investigation into whether Google is abusing its dominance over technology used to place ads on third-party websites and apps, adding to mounting global pressure on the tech giant's ad business.
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February 29, 2024
Feds Nab 2 More Guilty Pleas In Polar Air Cargo Fraud Case
Two more former executives of Polar Air Cargo Worldwide Inc. have pled guilty to participating in a scheme to accept kickbacks from vendors in exchange for favorable business arrangements.
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February 29, 2024
Chamber Of Commerce Backs Exxon In Activist Investor Row
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and lobbying group Business Roundtable on Thursday threw their weight behind Exxon Mobil Corp. in the company's bid to pursue its lawsuit against activist investors, a suit that some see as a proxy battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over shareholder proposals.
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February 29, 2024
Monthly Merger Review Snapshot
The Federal Trade Commission challenged Kroger's $24.6 billion bid for Albertsons, Microsoft and the FTC battled over plans to lay off nearly 2,000 video game workers amid the Activision merger fight, and the alliance of ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery drew its first challenger.
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February 29, 2024
Defense Contractor Says Ex-Exec Took Sensitive Data To Rival
A defense contractor accused a former executive of taking confidential business information and export-controlled data on the body armor it supplies to the U.S. military and local and state law enforcement to a rival, a foreign-owned business.
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February 28, 2024
Ariz. AG Says RealPage, Landlords Use Algo To Fix Rent Prices
Arizona's attorney general on Wednesday filed an antitrust suit in state court against RealPage and several landlords over an alleged conspiracy to illegally raise rents for hundreds of thousands of renters by using the software company's algorithms to quell competition.
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February 28, 2024
Google Search Judge Lets Rival's Keyboard Suit Proceed
The same D.C. federal judge presiding over the government's search monopolization suit against Google sent up a tantalizing smoke signal for that case Tuesday in refusing to toss an Android keyboard app developer's separate antitrust lawsuit against the technology giant, rejecting key defense arguments meant to cast doubt on Google's alleged dominance.
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February 28, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Undo Airline Price-Fixing Settlement Payout
The Ninth Circuit affirmed an order granting attorney fees and a secondary distribution of a $104 million settlement in a long-running airline price-fixing case, finding the objectors who claimed the funds were wrongly sent to those who already got their first-round share lacked standing to challenge the order.
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February 28, 2024
Objectors Want $1M Atty Fees In $5.6B Swipe Fees Settlement
Class members who initially objected to a $5.6 billion settlement with Visa and Mastercard have told a New York federal judge they are seeking nearly $1 million in legal fees for "enhancing the adversary process, sharpening the debate, and pursuing meritorious appeals in this litigation over the past eleven years."
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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."
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.