Competition

  • March 13, 2024

    AI Auto Damage-Assessing Giant Accused Of Monopoly

    Tractable Inc. is hitting back at CCC Intelligent Solutions with counterclaims in an ongoing trade secrets spat, alleging in a new motion CCC has leveraged its dominant share of the auto collision-assessment market to stifle consumer choice and increase prices in violation of antitrust laws.

  • March 13, 2024

    Meta's 'Expense & Annoyance' Not Enough To Stop FTC Tweak

    A D.C. Circuit panel refused late Tuesday to temporarily block proposed Federal Trade Commission tweaks to a $5 billion data privacy settlement aimed at blocking Meta's monetization of children's data — finding the social media giant has not shown it is likely to succeed in its appeal of the changes, nor that it will suffer irreparable harm.

  • March 13, 2024

    Jury Must Weigh Willfulness In Secrets Case, Calif. Court Says

    A California state appellate court has found a jury will have to decide whether a former director at Applied Medical Distribution Corp. willfully misappropriated trade secrets from his former employer.

  • March 13, 2024

    HP Says It's Upfront About Blocking Ink Cartridges

    HP has urged an Illinois federal judge to throw out consumers' claims that it has a monopoly over the replacement-ink cartridge market and used software updates to block consumers from using cheaper rival cartridges in HP printers, saying it "goes to great lengths" to disclose that its printers are intended to work only with cartridges that have an HP security chip.

  • March 13, 2024

    FTC Bid To Block Kroger's $25B Albertsons Deal Set For Aug.

    An Oregon federal court has scheduled an August hearing on the Federal Trade Commission's challenge of Kroger's planned $24.6 billion purchase of fellow grocery store giant Albertsons, a deal also under attack by state enforcers in Washington and Colorado.

  • March 13, 2024

    Ex-VP's 'Dereliction' Provokes Default Judgment As Sanction

    An exasperated judge in North Carolina gave an HVAC company an early win by default against a former executive accused of stealing trade secrets, calling his failure to meet discovery demands "dereliction" and granting his former employer's request for sanctions as a result.

  • March 13, 2024

    40-Nation Noncompete Must Be Nixed, Conn. Trader Says

    A Connecticut trader who quit his job at Rowayton-based Graham Capital Management LP is seeking a quick win on arguments that his two-year noncompete agreement, which he says bans him from working in more than 40 nations worldwide, is too broad to be enforced under Nutmeg State law.

  • March 13, 2024

    EB-5 Suit Says Hotel Project Tricked Non-English Speakers

    A real estate investment company is facing a proposed class action in California federal court alleging it took advantage of immigrant investors' limited English by fraudulently making them agree that the company and an Embassy Suites project could keep their investments indefinitely.

  • March 13, 2024

    CMA Fights Decision To Block Raid On Home In Cartel Probe

    Britain's antitrust watchdog challenged on Wednesday the refusal by a tribunal to grant a warrant to raid the home of an individual connected to a chemicals cartel investigation, claiming the decision could make it impossible for enforcers to search domestic properties.

  • March 13, 2024

    House OKs TikTok Divestment Bill Despite Free Speech Worry

    The House voted 352-65 on Wednesday to pass legislation that would require ByteDance Ltd. to divest TikTok or face a ban in the United States, in a vote that transcended party lines.

  • March 12, 2024

    ISPs, Public Advocates Debate Need For FCC's Equity Rule

    Two major broadband providers on Tuesday disputed the need for the federal government's new, far-reaching rule barring discrimination in broadband deployment, even as public and consumer advocates argued that equitable rollout of high-speed internet remains a national priority.

  • March 12, 2024

    Yardi, Landlords Say Hagens Berman Can't Lead Antitrust Suit

    Property management software company Yardi Systems Inc. and multiple landlords are fighting a putative class's bid to appoint Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP as interim lead counsel for a rent price-fixing class action in Washington federal court.

  • March 12, 2024

    Amazon Fights FTC Bid To Split Antitrust Trial

    Amazon is urging a Washington federal court to reject a bid from the Federal Trade Commission to split the monopolization case against it into two phases, saying the court will have to consider any potential fixes when deciding if the company violated antitrust law.

  • March 12, 2024

    FTC Appoints Another ALJ To Handle 'Increased Workload'

    The Federal Trade Commission announced the appointment Tuesday of a second administrative law judge, naming a former top antitrust lawyer with the New York Attorney General's Office, with experience representing the left-leaning Open Markets Institute, as the agency presses forward with its aggressive enforcement approach.

  • March 12, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives Parts Of McKesson Whistleblower Suit

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday revived parts of a lawsuit brought by a McKesson Corp. whistleblower who accuses the pharmaceutical company of a kickback scheme, finding that the lower court should reconsider the claims that were brought under state anti-kickback laws.

  • March 12, 2024

    Startup Founder's Attys Come 'Very Close' To More Sanctions

    A Colorado federal judge has said a geothermal startup founder's arguments for why one of his attorneys should not be sanctioned for discovery violations were "preposterous" and warned his lawyers that they came "very close" to being penalized again.

  • March 12, 2024

    Porn Stars Seek To Drop Meta Suit Due To Lack Of Evidence

    Three adult entertainment performers told a California federal court on Monday that they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans' parent to block ads for the risqué platform's competitors, saying Meta told their counsel that there's no evidence that the women's social media accounts were blacklisted.

  • March 12, 2024

    Feds Cement Plea Deals In Ready-Mix Bid Rig Case

    A Georgia concrete company and an executive accused of participating in a price-fixing and bid-rigging scheme have reached plea agreements with the federal government, according to notices filed Tuesday.

  • March 12, 2024

    Court Bars Ex-Exec From Sharing Info On Co.'s Body Armor

    A North Carolina federal court granted a defense contractor's request to stop a former sales executive from sharing confidential information and export-controlled data with a foreign rival, while the court reviews the contractor's allegations.

  • March 12, 2024

    Crocs Can't Poke Holes Through IP Defamation Case

    A Colorado federal judge has refused to grant the bulk of Crocs' bid to toss a suit from a Canadian company that settled a patent dispute with the footwear maker, but agreed to trim the case by one count.

  • March 12, 2024

    DC Circ. Questions MPLX Alternatives In FERC Decision

    D.C. Circuit judges on Tuesday pressed attorneys for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the agency's decision allowing crude oil transportation company MPLX to charge market rates on its Ozark Pipeline, questioning in particular how much capacity would be available on other lines if shippers needed an alternative to supracompetitive pricing.

  • March 12, 2024

    Apple To Allow Direct Downloads Of Apps In EU

    Apple will start allowing developers to distribute apps directly from their websites in Europe, the latest in a string of changes by the tech giant as it comes into compliance with expansive new regulations under the Digital Markets Act.

  • March 12, 2024

    IPhone Users' £853M Battery Suit Gets OK On Funding Revamp

    Apple must face an £853 million ($1 billion) class action claim alleging it concealed problems with iPhone batteries after Britain's antitrust tribunal said Tuesday that a revised litigation funding deal overcomes the hurdle recently thrown up by the country's highest court.

  • March 12, 2024

    GOP's Crapo Wants Quick Resolution Of Tax Relief Package

    The Senate Finance Committee's top Republican tax writer said Tuesday that he wants to quickly resolve sticking points in pending bipartisan tax legislation that contains key incentives for families and businesses in order to advance a bill that would boost U.S. manufacturing.

  • March 12, 2024

    FTC Welcomes Choice Hotels Dropping Wyndham Hostile Buy

    The Federal Trade Commission's top antitrust staffer said Tuesday that he was "pleased" Choice Hotels International Inc. had given up on a hostile takeover of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, warning that the deal had "posed serious competition questions."

Expert Analysis

  • Mitigating The Risk Of Post-Closing M&A Earnout Disputes

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    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.

  • What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement

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    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.

  • Planning For Stymied HSR Filings At FTC If Shutdown Occurs

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    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.

  • How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC

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    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.

  • HR Antitrust Compliance Crucial Amid DOJ Scrutiny

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    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.

  • Mass Arb. Rule Changes May Be A Hindrance For Consumers

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    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.

  • ChristianaCare Settlement Reveals FCA Pitfalls For Hospitals

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    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.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • The Latest Antitrust Areas For In-House Counsel To Watch

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    The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission's increasingly aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement means in-house counsel should closely monitor five key compliance issues, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • NCAA's Antitrust Litigation History Offers Clues For NIL Case

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    Attorneys at Perkins Coie analyze the NCAA's long history of antitrust litigation to predict how state attorney general claims against NCAA recruiting rules surrounding name, image and likeness discussions will stand up in Tennessee federal court.

  • Opinion

    Proposed Rule Could Impair MDL Flexibility, Harm Plaintiffs

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    While proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 is intended to enhance the management of multidistrict litigation proceedings, its one-size-fits-all requirements could stifle the flexibility that judges need to address the varying circumstances of MDLs effectively, and jeopardize plaintiffs' ability to pursue justice, say Christopher Seeger and Jennifer Scullion at Seeger Weiss.

  • Litigation Funding Implications Amid Post-PACCAR Disputes

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    An English tribunal's recent decision in Neill v. Sony, allowing an appeal on the enforceability of a litigation funding agreement, highlights how the legislative developments on funding limits following the U.K. Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Paccar v. Competition Appeal Tribunal may affect practitioners, say Andrew Leitch and Anoma Rekhi at BCLP.

  • Healthcare Collabs Can Alleviate Labor, Antitrust Challenges

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    Two major challenges facing hospitals and health systems include labor shortages and increased antitrust scrutiny at both federal and state levels, but collaborative efforts may help with addressing these difficulties, says Sumaya Noush at McDermott.

  • FTC AI Inquiry Signals Intensified Focus On Emerging Tech

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent inquiry into investments and partnerships between Big Tech companies and artificial intelligence startups appears to be directed at guiding future enforcement decisions in competition, privacy and consumer protection — and three principles discussed at a related tech summit give insight on the agency's approach, say attorneys at Skadden.

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