Competition

  • May 07, 2024

    Fashion Cos. Say FTC Bid To Ax $8.5B Deal 'Makes No Sense'

    The Federal Trade Commission's move to block the owner of Coach and Kate Spade from buying the owner of Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo for $8.5 billion "makes no sense," the companies argued in response, saying they aren't the only handbag brands in the game.

  • May 07, 2024

    Duke Energy Rival Stresses Holistic View Of Monopoly Suit

    Duke Energy's contract snub and price drops reveal a bid to monopolize the North Carolina market when the conduct is viewed holistically rather than in piecemeal fashion, a rival told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday in an attempt to revive antitrust claims.

  • May 07, 2024

    New IPad Buyers And Complaint OK'd In Amazon-Apple Suit

    Two new iPad buyers filed an amended antitrust complaint Tuesday over the Amazon-Apple pact restricting iPhone and iPad sales to approved vendors after a Washington federal judge overrode defense arguments that the named plaintiff swap is too late and replaces an unsuitable class representative.

  • May 07, 2024

    MultiPlan, Insurance Cos. Accused Of Algorithmic Collusion

    A medical provider has lodged a proposed class action in Illinois federal court accusing MultiPlan and major insurance companies, including UnitedHealth, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente and Cigna, of using pricing tools to systematically underpay out-of-network providers.

  • May 07, 2024

    Venable Trade Co-Chair Shares Hot Takes On US Steel-Nippon

    Back in December, Venable LLP partner Ashley Craig, co-chair of the firm's international trade group, spoke with Law360 just after U.S. Steel disclosed its agreement to be sold to Nippon Steel. Now, he shares his thoughts on the latest developments, including the White House coming out forcefully against the deal and the U.S. Department of Justice launching a probe into it.

  • May 07, 2024

    DOJ Says Cross-Border Antitrust Trial Must Stay In Houston

    Prosecutors have advised Houston's federal court against transferring a criminal case closer to the border, saying their witnesses fear testifying against defendants charged with using violence to control the cross-border sale of used vehicles and other goods in Central America.

  • May 07, 2024

    Amazon Says Zulily Lacks Standing To Bring Antitrust Claims

    Amazon is asking a Washington federal court to throw out now-defunct online retailer Zulily's lawsuit accusing it of using its monopoly power to shut out competition from other online retailers, arguing that Zulily merely "parrots" allegations made by regulators and has singled out "plainly procompetitive practice."

  • May 07, 2024

    Colo. Judge Iffy On DOJ's Missive In Kroger Merger Challenge

    A Colorado state judge said he was unsure Tuesday about how to handle the Department of Justice's recent filing defending the state's authority to challenge Kroger's $24 billion merger with Albertsons, as Kroger claimed federal regulators were flip-flopping their antitrust stance.

  • May 07, 2024

    Tax Software Co. Still Can't Trim Rival's Trade Secrets Suit

    A corporate-focused tax preparation software company still can't pare back a suit alleging that it poached workers from its rival's recently acquired company, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Tuesday.

  • May 07, 2024

    $55M Hospital Merger Suit Deal OK'd, UHC Objection Rejected

    An Illinois federal judge has given final approval to a $55 million class settlement, with $23.5 million in legal costs and attorney fees, resolving patient antitrust claims over a NorthShore University HealthSystem merger, all while finding that United Healthcare Services had no standing to object to the deal.

  • May 07, 2024

    Hytera Sanctions Show Strength Of Antisuit Injunctions

    The Seventh Circuit's decision upholding $1 million a day in sanctions against Hytera Communications for violating an order to drop trade secrets and copyright litigation in China highlights the difficulty for lawyers when working alongside Chinese courts, while affirming to patent attorneys how powerful antisuit injunctions can be.

  • May 07, 2024

    Apple Seeks To Block 'Hopeless' £853M Battery Class Action

    Apple urged an appeals court on Tuesday to allow it to challenge a £853 million ($1 billion) proposed class action that accuses it of concealing problems with batteries in the phones of 24 million customers, arguing there is no evidence to support the "hopeless" claim.

  • May 06, 2024

    Judge Weighs Discovery Need On McD's No-Poach Standard

    No-poach antitrust litigation against McDonald's is getting back underway in Illinois federal court following the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal of the fast food giant's appeal, spurring the district court judge to consider whether more discovery might be needed to determine the appropriate standard that will govern the case.

  • May 06, 2024

    Judge Turns Down Realtek's Patent 'Conspiracy' Case

    A California federal judge has found that Taiwanese chipmaker Realtek can't use the federal courts to sue one of its major rivals for allegedly using a "bounty" to fund "patent troll" litigation against it because that doesn't break any federal antitrust laws.

  • May 06, 2024

    Fed Law Doesn't Preempt Colo.'s Kroger Deal Challenge: DOJ

    The U.S. Department of Justice weighed in on Kroger and Alberton's arguments that the Colorado attorney general should not be able to challenge their national merger, arguing instead that states have an important solo role and there is nothing stopping a state court judge from blocking a deal regionally.

  • May 06, 2024

    Biotech Co. Wants To Appeal Red Cross Antitrust Immunity

    A biotech company has told a Massachusetts federal court that giving the American Red Cross immunity from claims that it smothered competition in the platelet bacteria mitigation market is unprecedented and leaves the organization free to fix prices or buy up its competitors.

  • May 06, 2024

    FCC Only Commits To Normal Review Of Soros-Audacy Deal

    The FCC has informed two Republican lawmakers worried about Soros Fund Management's acquisition of an ownership interest in radio station owner Audacy that it will conduct a regular license review, but stopped short of promising the foreign ownership review that the legislators want due to their concerns about the fund's "deeply partisan" billionaire owner.

  • May 06, 2024

    Paul Weiss Lands M&A Pro Who Sees Strong Deals Pipeline

    James "Jim" Langston has joined Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP as a partner in its mergers and acquisitions practice in New York, telling Law360 the move presented an irresistible opportunity to team up with attorneys he previously admired from across the bargaining table. 

  • May 06, 2024

    Fashion Cos. Aim To Make FTC Define Market In Merger Suit

    Fashion companies Tapestry Inc. and Capri Holdings Ltd. have asked a New York federal court to order the Federal Trade Commission to define the proposed relevant market in its suit attempting to block the companies' planned $8.5 billion merger, saying they need a specific definition of the market in order to properly defend the deal.

  • May 06, 2024

    Chamber's Noncompete Challenge On Hold For Earlier Case

    A Texas federal court has paused the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's case challenging the Federal Trade Commission's pending ban on noncompetes and encouraged the group to join a case filed a day earlier by tax services and software company Ryan LLC.

  • May 06, 2024

    Ga. Judge Blows Whistle On Football Squad's League Flip

    After a false start last month, a Georgia federal judge on Monday granted an indoor football league's request to block one of its former teams from jumping ship and competing in the rival Arena Football League, adding to the AFL's growing troubles just two weeks into its season.

  • May 03, 2024

    Meta Asks 9th Circ. To Revisit Predominance In Ad Class Cert.

    Meta Platforms Inc. on Friday asked the Ninth Circuit to take a fresh look at a split panel decision affirming certification of a damages class of potentially millions of advertisers who were allegedly deceived about Facebook's "potential reach" tool, taking issue with the panel majority's "sweeping" interpretation of the predominance requirement.

  • May 03, 2024

    Judge Asks About Ad Quality As Google Search Trial Wraps

    The D.C. federal judge overseeing the government's search monopolization case against Google peppered attorneys from both sides on Friday during the final day of trial arguments about how to address Google's contention that it raises ad prices to coincide with product improvements.

  • May 03, 2024

    Hospital In Novant Merger Beset By Staff Turnover, Court Told

    The Federal Trade Commission and two healthcare companies used witness testimony Friday to paint competing pictures of a North Carolina hospital at the center of a $320 million merger dispute: one in which the hospital has focused on making quality improvements, and another where it's been plagued by poor ratings and high staff turnover.

  • May 03, 2024

    Goldman Settles Decade-Old Metal-Rigging Class Action

    Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has settled a decade-old putative class action claiming the investment bank and others conspired to manipulate platinum and palladium market values, according to a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Expert Analysis

  • What's At Stake In Bystolic 'Side Deals' Litigation

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    In re: Bystolic Antitrust Litigation, which has oral argument set for next month, will likely shed light on how the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit views side deals, and could create a circuit split in pleading standards for reverse payment cases, say attorneys at Axinn.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Cross-Market Implications In FTC's Anesthesia Complaint

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent complaint against a private equity firm's acquisition of anesthesiology practices highlights the controversial issue of cross-market harm in health care provider mergers, and could provide important insights into how a court may view such theories of harm, say Christopher Lau and Dina Older Aguilar at Cornerstone Research.

  • FTC Orange Book Move Signals New Pharma Patent Scrutiny

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent dispute against improper listing of drug patents in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book indicates heightened surveillance of the pharmaceutical industry, particularly where competition-related consequences of patent or regulatory processes are concerned, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Competition Considerations From Biden's AI Executive Order

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    In light of President Joe Biden's recent executive order on artificial intelligence and the antitrust agencies' expansive enforcement posture, businesses in the technology and related industries should expect scrutiny, and avoid interactions that could be perceived as unlawful collaborations or exchange of competitively sensitive information, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • First-Of-Its-Kind Artist AI Ruling Offers Liability Guidance

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    A California judge recently became the first federal judge in Andersen v. Stability AI to rule at the pleading stage on a challenge to claims that training artificial intelligence models involves mass-scale copyright infringement, providing insight into the potential legal exposure of AI-enabled products, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • How 'Safe Harbor' Policy Will Modify M&A Processes

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    Legal practitioners should be aware that the Justice Department's "safe harbor" immunity will change the typical M&A process significantly as acquirers start embedding fraud detection into their due diligence, including a broader scope of examinations and interviews, says Jesse Silvertown at The Ledge.

  • Earnout Contract Considerations After NC Good Faith Ruling

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    The North Carolina Supreme Court's recent Value Health Solutions v. Pharmaceutical Research decision, holding the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing did not apply in an earnout dispute related to an asset sale, demonstrates the need for practitioners to pay careful attention to milestone concepts in M&A transactions, says Benjamin Hicks at Wagner Hicks.

  • Reading Between The Lines Of HHS' National Lab Opinion

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General recently rejected a national laboratory's request to pay a referring lab to process specimens, but the request might have been an attempt to exploit the OIG's advisory opinion process for a competitive advantage, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.

  • ITC Ban On Apple Watch Could Still Be Reversed

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    The U.S. International Trade Commission's recent final decision that the Apple Watch infringed two patents owned by Masimo Corp. was a rare instance of a popular consumer product being hit with an absolute importation ban, but it's possible that President Joe Biden could assert his power to reverse the ITC decision, says Benjamin Horton at Marshall Gerstein.

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