Competition

  • September 04, 2024

    Albertsons CEO Takes Stand On Kroger Merger, Missing Texts

    Federal Trade Commision attorneys on Wednesday pressed Albertsons Cos. Inc. CEO Vivek Sankaran in Oregon federal court about why he had such dire predictions about the company's future without a merger with Kroger despite previous statements about how his company had been crushing the competition.

  • September 04, 2024

    Nonsolicits Don't Need Geographic Terms, Ga. Justices Say

    The Supreme Court of Georgia said on Wednesday that restrictive covenants don't need to contain an explicit territorial component for them to be deemed reasonable under state law, reviving a marketing organization's attempt to enforce a nonsolicitation provision in its contracts with independent agents.

  • September 04, 2024

    Cheer Parents Request $35M In Fees, Costs For Antitrust Deal

    Three moms that reached an $82.5 million settlement with Varsity Brands in litigation claiming the cheerleading giant stifled competition and raised participation costs asked a Tennessee federal court Wednesday for $35 million of that fund to pay their attorneys' fees and costs.

  • September 04, 2024

    Towns Say Settlement Doesn't Limit Rail Merger Appeal

    A coalition of Illinois towns challenging the approval of Canadian Pacific's $31 billion merger with Kansas City Southern told the D.C. Circuit the federal government is trying to use a settlement struck by Chicago's commuter rail system to limit the issues in the case.

  • September 04, 2024

    Market Realities On, Merger Reviews Off Table In Ad Tech Trial

    A Virginia federal judge put slight limits Wednesday on the evidence the U.S. Justice Department and Google LLC can present in next week's advertising technology monopolization suit, allowing Google to push its own views of the market but limiting its ability to bring up past merger reviews.

  • September 04, 2024

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Blackbeard IP Fight, Firm Data Breach

    As summer winds down, the North Carolina Business Court tackled usage rights pertaining to footage and artifacts from Blackbeard's shipwreck while grappling with uncovering the details of a cyberattack that exposed the data of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP. In case you missed those and others, here are the highlights.

  • September 04, 2024

    OpenAI Wants News Org.'s Copyright Suit Cut To Core Issue

    OpenAI has asked a New York federal judge to dismiss multiple claims from a copyright suit brought against it and Microsoft Corp. by the Center for Investigative Reporting Inc., arguing the case should be pared down to the "core issue" of how the fair use doctrine applies to artificial intelligence training.

  • September 04, 2024

    Glenmark Will Pay $25M To End Feds' Price-Fixing Suit

    Glenmark Pharmaceuticals USA will pay $25 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by conspiring to fix the price of a generic high cholesterol drug, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

  • September 04, 2024

    NJ Health System Wins Access To Fraud File In Antitrust Fight

    A New Jersey federal judge Wednesday allowed health system RWJBarnabas Health Inc. to move ahead with a subpoena on the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation in a case in which RWJBarnabas is accused of antitrust violations by rival health system CarePoint Health Management Associates LLC.

  • September 04, 2024

    PVC Pipe Makers Accused Of Price-Fixing

    A Tennessee farmer has hit the country's biggest PVC pipe manufacturers with a proposed price-fixing class action, claiming that since at least 2021 they've been colluding through a reporting agency to raise prices for consumers.

  • September 04, 2024

    Weil Adds Longtime FTC Mergers Assistant Director In DC

    An almost 19-year veteran of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission who helped lead a group of attorneys focused on mergers has moved to private practice, joining Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP as an antitrust partner in the nation's capital, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • September 11, 2024

    Hausfeld Snaps Up Litigation Pro From Covington In London

    Hausfeld LLP has hired a partner from Covington & Burling LLP in London to boost its profile in commercial disputes, after its office in the U.K. capital recently underwent changes in leadership.

  • September 04, 2024

    US Steel, Nippon Defend Deal After VP Harris Voices Concern

    U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel on Wednesday reiterated the value they see in their planned $14.9 billion merger, despite opposition voiced by Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

  • September 04, 2024

    Microsoft Hiring Of Inflection AI Team Too Small To Worry UK

    The U.K.'s antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has ended its probe into Microsoft's hiring of Inflection AI staff, finding the U.S. machine learning specialist's operation was too small to trigger competition concerns.

  • September 04, 2024

    EU Scrambles To Close Competition Gap After Illumina Ruling

    The Europe Union's highest court has left the bloc's antitrust authorities struggling to find a way to close an enforcement gap that could make it easier for dominant companies to neutralize startups with its decision that the European Commission had no authority to probe Illumina’s $8 billion acquisition of Grail.

  • September 03, 2024

    Louisiana Frees Aurobindo, Sandoz From Price-Fixing Suits

    The state of Louisiana has dropped its remaining claims in three Connecticut-based lawsuits by a collection of state attorneys general against more than three dozen pharmaceutical companies alleging a generic drug price-fixing scheme, truncating assertions that accuse myriad drugmakers of Sherman Act violations.

  • September 03, 2024

    Energy Leasholders' RICO, Antitrust Suit Tossed After 9 Years

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by oil and gas leaseholders seeking $5 billion in damages for antitrust and racketeering violations, finding that the leaseholders lacked standing or hadn't adequately made their case for any of the suit.

  • September 03, 2024

    R.J. Reynolds Stresses Reason To End $95M Royalties To Altria

    Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds is pushing hard on a bid to end $95 million in royalty payments it owes to the parent company of Philip Morris after a patent infringement verdict, emphasizing to a North Carolina federal court that its deal with Juul to license vape pen technology can in fact be enforced retroactively.

  • September 03, 2024

    Alphabet Beats Investor Suit Over Antitrust Issues, For Now

    A California federal judge on Tuesday tossed a proposed securities fraud class action against Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc., saying investors failed to adequately allege that Google intended to deceive them when responding to a congressional query on concerns of anti-competitive ad tech practices.

  • September 03, 2024

    Ivy Leaguers Withdraw Opposition To NCAA's $2B NIL Deal

    Two Brown University athletes have withdrawn their opposition to the NCAA's proposed $2.78 billion name, image and likeness settlement, telling a federal judge in California on Tuesday that they've been assured it will not impact their own antitrust case against several Ivy League schools.

  • September 03, 2024

    Colo. Panel Doubts Jury Instruction Can Upend $1.8M Award

    Colorado appellate judges appeared skeptical Tuesday that a state trial court was responsible for what an investor described as poor jury instructions that resulted in a nearly $1.85 million civil theft judgment, which he insisted was far too high, with one judge asking why the investor didn't sue his trial counsel over the supposed error.

  • September 03, 2024

    FCC Moves Ahead On Indie Video Competition, Congress Told

    The Federal Communications Commission could soon advance new rules that would make it easier for independent video programmers to gain a foothold in the market, the FCC's chief has told a key Democratic senator on communications policy.

  • September 03, 2024

    Teva Patents Don't Belong In Orange Book, Fed. Circ. Told

    Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc. is urging the Federal Circuit to preserve a lower court decision ejecting inhaler device patents from an important government database, arguing that the delisting, won in an infringement lawsuit from Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., properly separated out device patents from drug patents.

  • September 03, 2024

    Aesthetic Laser Co. Tells Jury Of Rival's 'Corporate Raid'

    Medical aesthetic business Cynosure told a Boston federal jury Tuesday that two former employees and an industry rival launched a "calculated corporate raid" by poaching dozens of sales and marketing personnel, violating a host of noncompete and non-solicitation agreements while the departing workers pocketed trade secrets on their way out the door.

  • September 03, 2024

    Gov't Backs 9th Circ. Bid To Revive Invisalign Monopoly Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice has told the Ninth Circuit that a lower court applied the wrong standard when tossing a pair of class actions accusing the maker of Invisalign of monopolizing markets for clear dental aligners and teeth scanners.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: FTC's 'Unfair Competition' Actions In Jeopardy

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference will have limited effect on the Federal Trade Commission's merger guidelines, administrative enforcement actions and commission decisions on appeal, it could restrict the agency's expansive take on its rulemaking authority and threaten the noncompete ban, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • How Generative AI May Aid Merger Clearance Process

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    Generative artificial intelligence capable of analyzing and searching large datasets stands to revolutionize the merger clearance process, including by significantly reducing the time and effort required to respond to Hart-Scott-Rodino second requests, say Kenneth Koch and Brian Blush at BDO USA.

  • Antitrust In Retail: The Meaning Of 'Accessible Luxury'

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    In order for the Federal Trade Commission to block a deal that would put six "accessible luxury" brands, including Coach and Michael Kors, under one roof, the agency will need to prove that this category is distinct from the true luxury or mass-market categories, says David Kully at Holland & Knight.

  • 4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review

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    The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.

  • FTC Focus: Competition And The Right To Repair

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    If the Federal Trade Commission includes commercial and industrial products as part of copyright exemptions that allow consumers to modify or repair products, then businesses and affected rights holders will need to consider copyrights' impact on infringement issues, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

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