Competition

  • October 21, 2025

    Southern Glazer's Settles Online Alcohol Co. Antitrust Suit

    Online alcohol marketplace Provi's lawsuit against major alcohol distributors is over after an Illinois federal judge entered judgment following the completion of a second settlement resolving claims that Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits LLC conspired with Republic National Distributing Co. LLC to shut it out of the market.

  • October 21, 2025

    Chamber Survey Says Overhaul Doubled Merger Filing Burden

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday released the results of a small survey indicating that an overhaul of U.S. merger notification requirements, which it's challenging in court, has created a dramatic increase in the time spent by outside counsel and the costs associated with preparing transaction paperwork.

  • October 21, 2025

    9th Circ. Urged To Revive 5-Hour Energy Price Bias Suit

    Family-owned wholesalers have told the Ninth Circuit that a lower court added new requirements with its latest ruling rejecting allegations that the maker of 5-Hour Energy violated price discrimination law by providing Costco with disproportionate promotional support.

  • October 21, 2025

    Vivid Seats Faces Class Action Claiming 'Drip Pricing' Tactics

    Ticket reseller Vivid Seats is facing a proposed class action alleging that it used "drip pricing" to illegally deceive consumers by advertising artificially low ticket prices before revealing mandatory fees at checkout.

  • October 20, 2025

    Calif. Credit Cardholders Can't Get Swipe Fee Case Do-Over

    A New York federal judge who was recently assigned to a putative interchange fee class action lawsuit from California cardholders against Visa, Mastercard and major banks in long-running multidistrict litigation has denied their motion for reconsideration of another judge's reconsideration denial.

  • October 20, 2025

    Judge Blocks Ohio Ban On NIL For High School Athletes

    An Ohio judge on Monday opened the door to high school athletes in the state to begin receiving name, image and likeness compensation, granting a request by the mother of a star football player to immediately block a ban on such payments.

  • October 20, 2025

    OpenAI Says It Owes Musk Nothing In For-Profit Move

    OpenAI and Microsoft have asked a California federal court to avoid trial on claims that OpenAI duped Elon Musk into donating $45 million with false promises of remaining a nonprofit, arguing no such promises were made and that the billionaire's money came without strings or control.

  • October 20, 2025

    Jack Nicklaus Wins $50M In Fla. Defamation Trial

    A Florida jury on Monday awarded Jack Nicklaus $50 million in his defamation lawsuit against the company named after him, finding it made false statements in a 2022 New York lawsuit over the golf legend's interest in a Saudi Arabian league and disseminated those claims to news organizations.

  • October 20, 2025

    Ski Equipment Makers Targeted In EU Antitrust Probe

    The European Union's executive branch on Monday said it, along with local competition authorities, is conducting unannounced inspections at ski equipment companies it believes have formed an illegal cartel in violation of antitrust laws.

  • October 20, 2025

    Radio Co. Challenges Nielsen's National-Local Data 'Tying'

    Cumulus Media sued Nielsen in New York federal court last week, as the local and national radio network owner seeks temporary and lasting blocks on a new ratings data policy Cumulus says entrenches Nielsen's monopolies by conditioning comprehensive nationwide data on subscriptions to the data for local geographies.

  • October 20, 2025

    AI-Driven Marketing Biz Says Ex-Workers Lifted Trade Secrets

    Artificial intelligence-integrated marketing and advertising venture AIquire Inc. sued a newer, climate-focused marketing business in Delaware federal court on Friday, accusing former employees and affiliated companies of misappropriating trade secrets to build the new business, Climaty.

  • October 20, 2025

    UK Steps Up Antitrust Probe Into Getty-Shutterstock Merger

    The U.K. antitrust regulator escalated its investigation into Getty's proposed acquisition of Shutterstock, citing on Monday "realistic" risks that a combined $3.7 billion entity could harm competition.

  • October 20, 2025

    UK Clears $24.2B Global Payments Deal For Worldpay

    Britain's antitrust authority said Monday that it has given the green light to Global Payments' planned acquisition of payments giant Worldpay for $24.25 billion after finding that it will not harm competition in any U.K. markets.

  • October 20, 2025

    UK Retailers Add To £675M Salmon-Farming Cartel Claim

    A group of major U.K. supermarkets has added a new part to its £675 million ($905 million) cartel claim against salmon producers, according to an entry on an online filing system that has now been made public.

  • October 20, 2025

    Justices Won't Review Optional NAR Rule In Zillow Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review claims that Zillow and the National Association of Realtors blocked competition through an optional association rule that relegated a defunct brokerage platform's listings to a secondary tab on Zillow's site.

  • October 20, 2025

    Justices Won't Review Merck's Immunity From Vaccine Claims

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review a decision immunizing Merck & Co. from claims that it blocked competition by making false submissions to federal regulators for its mumps vaccine.

  • October 17, 2025

    Nursing Exec Denied New Trial On Wage-Fixing Claims

    A Nevada federal judge has denied a new trial to a nursing executive convicted of wage-fixing conspiracy and wire fraud after he claimed the U.S. Department of Justice misled the jury about sweetheart terms of a cooperation deal with another company.

  • October 17, 2025

    Fragrance Co. Cuts $26M 'Icebreaker' Deal In Price-Fixing Suit

    A proposed class of direct purchasers asked a New Jersey federal judge Friday to preliminarily sign off on International Flavors and Fragrances Inc.'s $26 million settlement, the first "icebreaker" deal cut in sprawling price-fixing antitrust litigation against four major fragrance ingredient makers.

  • October 17, 2025

    Altria, Juul May Face Certified 'Frankenstein' Antitrust Class

    A California federal judge indicated on Friday that he will likely certify classes of direct and indirect purchasers accusing e-cigarette makers Juul and ex-rival Altria of violating antitrust laws by conspiring to reduce product variety on the market, although Altria's lawyer urged the judge to reconsider and avoid a "Frankeinstein" for damage calculations.

  • October 17, 2025

    Charter-Cox Deal Called Rational, Given Cable Biz Decline

    Conservative think tank Free State Foundation thinks the Federal Communications Commission should give Charter Communications' $34.5 billion plan to merge with Cox Communications the green light, given the fact that "cable television is deep in decline."

  • October 17, 2025

    Major Banks Colluded For 30 Years To Fix Rates, Suit Says

    Several major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, have been hit with a proposed class action in Connecticut federal court alleging that for the past 30 years, they have been artificially inflating interest rates on variable-rate loans to consumers and small businesses.

  • October 17, 2025

    Cornerstone, Peoples Bank To Form $3.1B Texas Lender

    Houston-based Cornerstone Capital Bancorp Inc. said Friday that it has agreed to acquire Peoples Bancorp Inc. of Lubbock, Texas, in a deal that will deepen its Texas presence and unite two community banks into a $3.1 billion-asset franchise.

  • October 17, 2025

    Federal Courts To Scale Back Operations Amid Shutdown

    The federal court system has run out of money and will scale back operations beginning Monday as a result of the ongoing government shutdown, possibly leading to case delays.

  • October 17, 2025

    2 Deals Totaling $2.5M Advance In Meat Industry Wage Case

    Two settlements can move forward in a suit brought by workers at red meat processing plants who alleged that Agri Beef Co., Indiana Packers Corp. and Washington Beef LLC engaged in a conspiracy to suppress wages, a Colorado federal judge ruled, finding the deals totaling $2.5 million are fair.

  • October 17, 2025

    DaVita, Fresenius Seek Dismissal Of Dialysis Price-Fix Suit

    The nation's two biggest dialysis providers are looking to get a price-fixing class action accusing them of carving up geographic markets tossed, telling a Colorado federal judge that similar pricing is a natural competitive outcome in a highly concentrated market like that for dialysis, not evidence of a conspiracy.

Expert Analysis

  • Compliance Steps To Take As FCRA Enforcement Widens

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    As the Fair Credit Reporting Act receives renewed focus from both federal and state enforcers, regulatory and litigation risk is most acute in several core areas, which companies can address by implementing purpose processes and quick remediation of consumer complaints, among other steps, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • 6 Shifts In Trump Tax Law May Lend A Hand To M&A Strategy

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    Changes in the Trump administration's recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act stand to create a more favorable environment for mergers and acquisitions, including full bonus depreciation and an expanded code section, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Navigating The SEC's Evolving Foreign Private Issuer Regime

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    As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reevaluates foreign private issuer eligibility, FPIs face not only incremental compliance costs but also a potential reshaping of listing strategies, capital access, enforcement exposure and global regulatory coordination, potential unintended effects that deserve further exploration, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • How Calif. Law Cracks Down On Algorithmic Price-Fixing

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    Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two laws this month significantly expanding state antitrust enforcement and civil and criminal penalties for the use or distribution of shared pricing algorithms, as the U.S. Department of Justice has recently wielded the Sherman Act to challenge algorithmic pricing, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Hermes Bags Antitrust Win That Clarifies Luxury Tying Claims

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    A California federal court recently found that absent actual harm to competition in the market for ancillary products, Hermes may make access to the Birkin bag contingent on other purchases, establishing that selective sales tactics and scarcity do not automatically violate U.S. antitrust law, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

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    As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • FTC's Consumer Finance Pivot Brings Industry Pros And Cons

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    An active Federal Trade Commission against the backdrop of a leashed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be welcomed by most in the consumer finance industry, but the incremental expansion of the FTC's authority via enforcement actions remains a risk, say attorneys at Hudson Cook.

  • Amazon Ruling Marks New Era Of Personal Liability For Execs

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    A Washington federal court's recent decision in FTC v. Amazon extended personal liability to senior executives for design-driven violations of broad consumer protection statutes, signaling a fundamental shift in how consumer protection laws may be enforced against large public companies, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Series

    Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

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    Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • How The FTC Is Stepping Up Subscription Enforcement

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    Despite the demise of the Federal Trade Commission's click-to-cancel rule in July, the commission has not only maintained its regulatory momentum, but also set new compliance benchmarks through recent high-profile settlements with Match.com, Chegg and Amazon, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How Trump Admin. Is Shifting Biden's Antitrust Merger Enforcement

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    Antitrust enforcement trends under the Trump administration have included a moderation in the agencies' approach to merger enforcement as compared to enforcers compared to the prior administration, but dealmakers should still expect aggressive enforcement when the agencies believe consumers will be harmed and they expect to win in court, say attorneys at Rule Garza.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: 3 Tips On Finding The Right Job

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    After 23 years as a state and federal prosecutor, when I contemplated moving to a law firm, practicing solo or going in-house, I found there's a critical first step — deep self-reflection on what you truly want to do and where your strengths lie, says Rachael Jones at McKool Smith.

  • Strategies For Defending Banks In Elder Abuse Cases

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    Several recent cases demonstrate that banks have plenty of tools to defend against claims they were complicit in financial abuse of older adults, but financial institutions should also continue to educate customers about third-party scams before they happen, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • Mich. Ruling Narrows Former Athletes' Path To NIL Recovery

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    A federal judge's recent dismissal of a name, image and likeness class action by former Michigan college football players marks the third such ruling this year, demonstrating how statutes of limitation and prior NIL settlements are effectively foreclosing these claims for pre-2016 student-athletes, say attorneys at Venable.

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