Competition

  • May 09, 2024

    Google Slams Maps Antitrust Suit As 'Cut-And-Paste Job'

    Google's counsel urged a California federal judge Thursday to permanently toss a proposed antitrust class action over its Maps product, calling the complaint a "cut-and-paste job" from a 2020 House report and accusing plaintiffs of "trying to gin up an antitrust claim" where one doesn't exist.

  • May 09, 2024

    Amazon, Walmart Face Dem Questions Over 'Dynamic Pricing'

    Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown on Thursday raised concerns to Amazon and Walmart about corporations hiking prices by exploiting customer data and pricing algorithms, saying it undermines consumers' ability to comparison shop and save money.

  • May 09, 2024

    FTC Says Handbag Cos. Have Info Needed To Defend $8B Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission assailed Tapestry and Capri on Wednesday for demanding more details on the market allegedly threatened by their planned $8.5 billion merger, which would pair the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade with that of Versace and Michael Kors, arguing the firms have the information they need.

  • May 09, 2024

    Attys Want $102M In Fees In Stock Loan Antitrust Deal

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC attorneys asked for $102 million in fees for settling claims from investors that major banks colluded to avoid modernizing the stock loan market, saying the long and complex nature of the case warrants the payout.

  • May 09, 2024

    Nintendo Gets Switch Suit Stay Pending Patent Review

    A Seattle federal judge agreed Thursday that Nintendo could pause an intellectual property suit against it while it seeks to challenge the validity of the patents at issue, saying the plaintiff could not now complain about delays since it waited six years to file its complaint.

  • May 09, 2024

    Hermes Seeks Exit From Antitrust Suit Over Birkin Bag Sales

    Hermès urged a California federal judge on Thursday to toss an antitrust class action accusing the luxury fashion retailer of tying the sale of its iconic Birkin and Kelly handbags to other items, saying the plaintiffs' assertion that the handbags constitute their own market minimizes the "fierce competition" across the luxury goods industry.

  • May 09, 2024

    Chicken Farmers Win Cert. Of 24K Class In No-Poach Suit

    An Oklahoma federal judge has certified a class of more than 24,000 broiler chicken farmers accusing Pilgrim's Pride of conspiring with others to suppress grower compensation through no-poach agreements, noting the plaintiffs provided direct and circumstantial evidence to show the existence of an antitrust conspiracy affecting all farmers.

  • May 09, 2024

    DOJ Task Force To Target Healthcare Monopoly, Collusion

    The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division sharpened its focus Thursday on healthcare platforms that combine doctors with insurers, data and more in what the administration's top competition official called the "alarming" accumulation of assets.

  • May 09, 2024

    FICO Blasts Discovery 'Sideshows' In VantageScore Suit

    An Illinois federal judge handling antitrust claims targeting the credit-scoring market should disregard the "sideshows" customers lodged by requesting confidential settlement records and other documents that are too far removed from the case's core issues, Fair Isaac Corp. argued on Wednesday.

  • May 09, 2024

    GOP Sens. Call Biden's Bluff On US Steel-Nippon

    Three Republican senators urged President Joe Biden on Thursday to block Nippon Steel's planned $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, calling his prior comments opposing the deal "worthless" while claiming he has the authority to terminate the deal immediately under laws that address "a national emergency." 

  • May 09, 2024

    Watchdog Seeks Texas Judge's Recusal In Noncompete Case

    An industry watchdog is calling on U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker to step away from the U.S. Chamber's lawsuit in Texas federal court challenging the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's new noncompete rule, citing "ample financial conflicts" including his investments in Amazon, Apple and IBM, two of which are members of the Chamber.

  • May 09, 2024

    FTC's Exxon-Pioneer Nod Sets New Tone For Oil & Gas M&A

    The close of Exxon Mobil Corp.'s $60 billion purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources shows that even the largest oil and gas deals can overcome heavy regulatory and political scrutiny, but an agreement Exxon struck with the Federal Trade Commission puts other energy companies pursuing deals on notice about their public communications.

  • May 09, 2024

    Sports Direct Seeks To Revive Newcastle Injunction Bid

    Sports Direct urged an appeals court on Thursday to grant it an injunction to force Newcastle United to stock its store with replica kits of the Premier League football club, arguing that the antitrust tribunal was wrong to refuse its request.

  • May 09, 2024

    Google Fights To Shut Down Advertising Antitrust Case

    Tech giant Google asked a London tribunal on Thursday to strike out a proposed class action brought on behalf of website publishers who run advertisements over alleged anti-competitive practices, arguing the claim is not properly pleaded and does not sufficiently set out damages.

  • May 09, 2024

    Deals Rumor Mill: Paramount, Peloton, International Paper

    Sony and Apollo plan to break up Paramount if their $26 billion bid prevails, private equity firms are eyeing a Peloton buyout, and International Paper gets a $15 billion bid from Brazil's Suzano. Here, Law360 breaks down the notable deal rumors from the past week.

  • May 08, 2024

    AI Art Cos. Fight Uphill To Toss Artists' Copyright Suit

    Attorneys for four companies that make or distribute software that creates images with text prompts urged a California federal judge Wednesday to rethink his tentative opinion to allow some claims by a proposed class of artists to move forward, with one warning it could lead to hundreds of thousands of similar suits.

  • May 08, 2024

    Apple Judge Skeptical Tech Giant Complying With Epic Order

    The California federal judge overseeing Epic's antitrust suit against Apple reacted skeptically Wednesday to an Apple executive's claim that it has fully complied with her order aimed at allowing app developers to send users to outside payment platforms, saying some of Apple's new rules appear to "stifle competition."

  • May 08, 2024

    Fuel Truck Exec Cops To Rigging Firefighting Contract Bids

    An Idaho fuel truck company executive accused of conspiring with others to manipulate bids for U.S. Forest Service firefighting contracts to suppress other competitors in the market over an eight-year period pled guilty Wednesday in federal court, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • May 08, 2024

    BIA Tells 8th Circ. Energy Co. Can't Revive Lease Suit

    The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs has asked the Eighth Circuit to uphold a North Dakota federal judge's dismissal of Prima Exploration Inc.'s oil and gas lease termination suit, saying the lower court correctly dismissed the case for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.

  • May 08, 2024

    Split 6th Circ. Says Digital Media TM Case Has To Stay In Tenn.

    The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday held that a trademark fight between two companies that digitally preserve home movies, photos and other media will have to play out in a Tennessee federal court, after the panel split over how many customers are enough to extend jurisdiction in the trademark dispute.

  • May 08, 2024

    Teva Must Face Bulk Of Asthma Inhaler Antitrust Suit

    A Massachusetts federal judge largely refused Tuesday to toss antitrust claims accusing Teva of a decadelong anticompetitive scheme to delay generic competition for its blockbuster QVAR asthma inhalers, finding it plausible that Teva paid off a would-be rival and forcibly switched doctors and patients to a new product.

  • May 08, 2024

    Wash. Justices Decline Personal Injury Atty's Fee Split Spat

    Washington's high court has declined to hear a personal injury lawyer's challenge to his old firm's fee-splitting agreement, letting stand a state appellate court's ruling that the contract had "clear and unequivocal language" compelling him to pass on half the fees he earned from the firm's former clients after his departure.

  • May 08, 2024

    Google Fights Subpoena On Texas Amid Ad Tech MDL

    Google is urging a New York federal judge overseeing sweeping multidistrict litigation over the tech giant's alleged monopoly in digital advertising to stamp out a subpoena seeking discovery from Texas in related litigation in the Lone Star State.

  • May 08, 2024

    Trashing Of IP Case Wrongly Cut Atty Fees, Del. Justices Told

    An attorney for a client who saw all claims against him dropped before trial in a suit focused on allegedly purloined trash-handling trade secrets urged Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday to reverse the Chancery Court's purported failure to hear his attorney fee claim.

  • May 08, 2024

    Homebuyers Can't Stop NAR's $418M Settlement Hearing

    An Illinois federal judge said Wednesday she won't derail a final settlement hearing for the National Association of Realtors' $418 million deal with home sellers, despite a class of homebuyers' claims that the deal interferes with their separate case, saying they will have a chance to voice concerns at the hearing.  

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Models For Structuring Health Provider-Payor Partnerships

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    With recent data showing that the U.S. continues to spend more and get less for healthcare services compared to other industrialized nations, providers and payors should consider a variety of partnership structures that can help achieve the so-called triple aim of improving the health of individuals and populations while reducing per capita costs, says John Howard at Thompson Coburn.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Understanding Insurance Is Key To Limiting Antitrust Liability

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    As regulators signal their intent to continue last year's aggressive campaign of corporate antitrust litigation, businesses must make active management of their liability insurance policies, along with a firm knowledge of the limits of their coverage, central to their strategies for limiting the enormous financial risks of enforcement, say attorneys at Nossaman.

  • What FTC's 'Killer Acquisition' Theory Means For Pharma Cos.

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent lawsuit to block Sanofi's acquisition of a pharmaceutical treatment developed by Maze Therapeutics builds on previous enforcement actions and could indicate the agency's growing willingness to use its so-called killer acquisition theory against perceived attempts to eliminate nascent competition, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Assessing Chinese Cross-Border Data Transfers

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    Jet Deng and Ken Dai at Dacheng unpack the regulatory framework for cross-border data transfers in China, detailing the major systems at play, last year's policy adjustments, and an outlook and practice tips for businesses.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

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    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Opinion

    There Is No NCAA Supremacy Clause, Especially For NIL

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    A recent Tennessee federal court ruling illustrates the NCAA's problematic position that its member schools should violate state law rather than its rules — and the organization's legal history with the dormant commerce clause raises a fundamental constitutional issue that will have to be resolved before attorneys can navigate NIL with confidence, says Patrick O’Donnell at HWG.

  • Complying With Enforcers' Ephemeral Messaging Guidance

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    Given federal antitrust enforcers’ recently issued guidance on ephemeral messaging applications, organizations must take a proactive approach to preserving short-lived communications — or risk criminal obstruction charges and civil discovery sanctions, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • BT Case May Shape UK Class Action Landscape

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    The first opt-out collective action trial commenced in Le Patourel v. BT in the U.K. Competition Appeal Tribunal last month, regarding BT's abuse of dominance by overcharging millions of customers, will likely provide clarification on damages and funder returns in collective actions, which could significantly affect the class action regime, say lawyers at RPC.

  • Opinion

    Suits Against Insulin Pricing Are Driven By Rebate Addiction

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    A growing wave of lawsuits filed by states, cities and counties against insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers improperly allocate the blame for rising insulin costs, when in actuality the plaintiffs are partially responsible, says Dan Leonard at Granite Capitol Consulting.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • Opinion

    Pick 'Em Fantasy Sports Games Are Not Illegal Gambling

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    DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel Inc.'s quest for nationwide regulation of competing fantasy sports companies that offer "pick 'em" games lacks legal merit, may violate antitrust law's Noerr-Pennington doctrine, and should be dismissed, says attorney David Balto, a former policy director at the Federal Trade Commission.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

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