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Competition
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May 29, 2024
Wachtell, Kirkland Steer $22.5B ConocoPhillips-Marathon Deal
Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz-advised ConocoPhillips has agreed to acquire Marathon Oil, represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, in an all-stock transaction with an enterprise value of $22.5 billion, inclusive of $5.4 billion of debt, the companies said Wednesday.
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May 28, 2024
Amazon Can't Duck FTC's Prime Subscription Suit
Amazon cannot escape the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit alleging the e-commerce giant tricks consumers into enrolling in its Prime service and makes it difficult for members to cancel subscriptions, a Seattle federal judge ruled Tuesday, saying the commission has adequately alleged Amazon's Prime terms were not "clearly and conspicuously disclosed."
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May 28, 2024
Ranchers' Claims Again Tossed From Beef Price-Fixing MDL
A Minnesota federal judge has once again thrown out beef price-fixing claims brought by ranchers who raise cattle and calves, ruling Tuesday that the ranchers still haven't clearly established they are directly affected by the alleged scheme.
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May 28, 2024
Boeing Jury Urged To Reject Electric Startup's $200M IP Ask
Counsel for Boeing Co. told a jury to reject Zunum Aero Inc.'s claim it deserves nearly $200 million for alleged trade secrets misappropriation, saying during closing arguments Tuesday that Zunum wants to shift blame away from its own failures.
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May 28, 2024
Agri Stats Can't Duck Or Transfer DOJ, States' Antitrust Suit
Agri Stats can't transfer or dismiss an antitrust case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and six states that accuses the third-party data compiler of helping meat processors swap sensitive business information, a Minnesota federal judge ruled Tuesday.
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May 28, 2024
Consumers, Advertisers Seek Class Cert. Against Meta
Advertisers and consumers suing Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. over allegations of monopolizing the online social media advertising market and misusing users' data in the process have told the California federal court overseeing their claims that they believe it's time for the proposed classes to be certified.
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May 28, 2024
The NCAA Put Out One Fire, But The House Is Still Ablaze
Despite the enormous size of the settlement of a class action by hundreds of thousands of former college athletes over name, image and likeness compensation denied to them, experts say it only resolves one of the NCAA's many legal crises, while shining a light on the severity of the others.
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May 28, 2024
RBS, Lloyds Bank, Others Ink $1.9M Libor Settlement
A group of plaintiffs in the yearslong suit alleging several big banks manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, have reached a $1.9 million settlement with the Royal Banks of Scotland, Lloyds Bank and others, bringing the total settlement recovery amount to more than $780 million.
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May 28, 2024
Chevron Confident As Hess Shareholders Approve $53B Deal
Hess Corp. said Tuesday it has received the necessary stockholder approvals to close its $53 billion sale to Chevron Corp., as Chevron separately expressed confidence that it will prevail in an ongoing dispute with Exxon Mobil Corp. and wrap up the regulatory process soon.
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May 28, 2024
Activision Wins $14M From Call Of Duty Cheat Code Sellers
Activision Publishing scored over $14.4 million in damages and nearly $300,000 in attorney fees against German companies accused of selling cheat codes for Call of Duty games when a California federal judge Tuesday granted its motion for default judgment, finding none of the defendants appeared in the case for a year.
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May 28, 2024
HIV Drug Buyers Fight Bid To Combine 9th Circ. Appeal Briefs
Drug buyers that allege Gilead Sciences Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals delayed generic versions of HIV medications told the Ninth Circuit it would be unfair to grant the companies' call for a single brief addressing the 17 appeals filed after a jury rejected the claims last year.
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May 28, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Delaware Court of Chancery watchers shifted their focus last week from the courtroom to Dover's legislative hall, as proposed amendments to Delaware's corporate code were finally introduced to state lawmakers. Hearings, decisions and reversals involved Kraft-Heinz, AMC Entertainment and the merger of cryptocurrency companies BitGo and Galaxy. In case you missed it, here's the latest from Delaware's Chancery Court.
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May 28, 2024
Chicken Buyers Defend Additional $37M Atty Fee Ask
Direct chicken buyers who have inked more than $284 million in price-fixing settlements defended their counsel's request for more than $37 million in what would be their third payout in the massive case, saying the request is consistent with both precedent and past experience.
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May 28, 2024
Kroger, Albertsons Must Give FTC Texts, Written Notes
Claims from a pair of multibillion-dollar grocery giants that a discovery request will pose financial burden held no sway over a Federal Trade Commission in-house judge who last week ordered Kroger and Albertsons to produce text messages and handwritten notes from key employees as part of the agency's merger challenge.
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May 28, 2024
Apple Denied Appeal Of Cert. In App Store Monopoly Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Friday rejected Apple's interlocutory appeal of an order certifying a class of millions of App Store users who allege antitrust violations, paving the way for discovery to proceed as the case heads toward a trial currently set for February 2026.
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May 28, 2024
EEX, Nasdaq Power Offer EU Fixes For Deal
European Energy Exchange AG and Nasdaq have offered fixes for potential competition concerns raised by the planned sale of Nasdaq's European power trading and clearing business after enforcers in several European member states referred the deal for a review.
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May 28, 2024
Exxon Investor Broadens Promise To Nix Climate Proxy Bid
An activist investor sued by Exxon Mobil Corp. over a now-withdrawn shareholder proposal concerning climate change has again called on the oil giant to withdraw its suit after broadening its previous promise not to resubmit the proposal in the future.
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May 28, 2024
Industry Lines Up Behind Net Neutrality Repeal Measure
Broadband service providers lined up Tuesday to support a Republican-backed U.S. House bill to repeal the Federal Communications Commission's recently passed net neutrality rules, but the measure faces a chilly reception in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
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May 28, 2024
CSG Ups Bid For Vista's Sporting Biz To $1.96B
Vista Outdoor Inc. on Tuesday announced that Czech defense company Czechoslovak Group AS increased its offer to purchase Vista's sporting products division to $1.96 billion, while the outdoor products company also noted it had rejected a $3 billion takeover bid from Dallas-based investment firm MNC Capital.
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May 28, 2024
Justices Pass On Fight Over FERC Power Market Cap Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a D.C. Circuit decision backing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's change of bidding practices for electricity capacity auctions run by PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest regional grid operator.
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May 28, 2024
Packaging Co. Bunzl Wraps £339M Acquistion Of Nisbets
Bunzl PLC said Tuesday it has completed its purchase of 80% of food service distributor Nisbets for an initial payment of £339 million ($433 million), after receiving regulatory clearance for the transaction.
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May 24, 2024
Live Nation Ticket Buyers Follow Feds With Antitrust Suit
Live Nation and Ticketmaster were hit with a consumer antitrust proposed class action Thursday accusing them of monopolizing concert promotion and ticketing for major concert venues following their 2010 merger, which comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Justice's own lawsuit.
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May 24, 2024
Sony Denied Early Bid To Block PlayStation Antitrust Class
A California federal judge Friday denied Sony's preemptive bid to deny class certification in a suit accusing it of overcharging PlayStation Store users through a monopoly on downloadable game cards, saying Sony has yet to show that the plaintiffs are bound by class action waivers, or it can enforce arbitration.
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May 24, 2024
Enbridge Says Oil Transport Monopoly Claims Lack Merit
Enbridge Inc. fired back at an antitrust suit accusing it of intentionally killing a pipeline terminal project that would have resulted in the company losing its monopoly power over crude oil transportation in the Chicago area, calling for an Illinois federal judge to dismiss the claims.
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May 24, 2024
Jazz Director Accuses Philly Pops, Execs Of RICO Conspiracy
A former Philly Pops jazz director has sued the defunct orchestra group, its ex-CEO, a rival orchestra, the Kimmel Center and others in Pennsylvania federal court, claiming they conspired to monopolize the orchestral music market and lied about the organization's debt to force it to shut down while depriving him of pay.
Expert Analysis
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7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves
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.
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Series
Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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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Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power
In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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What To Know About OCC Proposals For Bank Merger Review
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's proposed changes to the agency's bank merger review process could exacerbate industry concerns with long and unpredictable processing periods because the proposal is ambiguous with respect to how the OCC will view certain transactions, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.
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Opinion
Biden Admin's March-In Plan Would Hurt Medical Innovation
The Biden administration's proposal to reinterpret the Bayh-Dole Act and allow the government to claw back patents when it determines that a commercialized product's price is too high would discourage private investment in important research and development, says Ken Thorpe at the Rollins School of Public Health.
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A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise
After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.
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Reassessing Trade Secrets Amid Proposed Noncompete Ban
The Federal Trade Commission's proposed ban on noncompete agreements as well as state bans make it prudent for businesses to reevaluate and reinvigorate approaches to trade secret protection, including knowing what information employees are providing to vendors, and making sure confidentiality agreements are put in place before information is shared, says Rob Jensen at Wolf Greenfield.
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Mitigating The Risk Of Post-Closing M&A Earnout Disputes
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.
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What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement
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.
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Planning For Stymied HSR Filings At FTC If Shutdown Occurs
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.
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How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC
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.
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HR Antitrust Compliance Crucial Amid DOJ Scrutiny
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.
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Mass Arb. Rule Changes May Be A Hindrance For Consumers
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.
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ChristianaCare Settlement Reveals FCA Pitfalls For Hospitals
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.