Competition

  • May 13, 2024

    Schumer Urges FTC To Block Hess-Chevron Deal, Jabs Trump

    U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was "sounding the alarm" against Chevron Corp.'s planned $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp. in a post on social media platform X, urging the Federal Trade Commission to halt the deal while criticizing former President Donald Trump for a reported meeting with oil executives.

  • May 13, 2024

    EU Designates Booking.com As Gatekeeper, X Ads Escape

    The Dutch company that owns popular travel site Booking.com is the latest company to be hit with the gatekeeper designation by the European Commission, and the social media platform X may be next.

  • May 13, 2024

    Arena Football Contract Row Ends With Settlement

    After a monthslong dispute over an arena football team's decision to drop out of its former league to join a rival, upstart organization, the league said Friday that it had reached a settlement to end its litigation against the breakaway West Texas Desert Hawks.

  • May 13, 2024

    CMA Can Appeal Nixed £100M Fine In NHS Drug Pricing Case

    The Competition and Markets Authority was granted permission on Monday to challenge a tribunal's ruling that overturned more than £100 million ($126 million) in fines against drug companies for fixing agreements that allegedly increased the price of hydrocortisone tablets.

  • May 13, 2024

    Royal Mail Beats Rival's Costs Claim, But £600M Trial Still Set

    Royal Mail has beaten a rival's claim for £2.8 million ($3.5 million) in legal costs that arose when it helped the communications watchdog uphold a £50 million fine against the postal delivery service.

  • May 13, 2024

    Justices Reject COVID App Makers' Last-Ditch Apple Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court dealt the latest blow Monday to app developers who've struck out at every turn on antitrust allegations over Apple's rejection of COVID-19-tracking and bitcoin apps, refusing to look at a Ninth Circuit's refusal to revive the lawsuit.

  • May 10, 2024

    Epic Judge Raises Eyebrows About Apple's New 27% App Fee

    The California federal judge overseeing Epic's antitrust case against Apple challenged the terms the tech giant is using to comply with her order to allow app developers to send users to outside payment platforms, saying Friday that Apple appears to be trying to maintain its past revenue with a new 27% fee.

  • May 10, 2024

    Stagecoach's £25M Ticket Class Action Settlement Approved

    The U.K.'s Competition Appeal Tribunal has agreed to passenger rail operator Stagecoach's £25 million ($31 million) settlement with passengers who say they were overcharged for train tickets.

  • May 10, 2024

    Okla. Tells Justices 10th Circ. Wrong On PBM Law

    Oklahoma's insurance department Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its petition seeking review of a Tenth Circuit decision overturning portions of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, arguing that high court intervention is needed to resolve disagreement among the circuits on federal preemption.

  • May 10, 2024

    Pharmaceutical Cos. Can't Nix Parkinson's Drug Antitrust Suit

    A Delaware federal judge has issued a sealed order refusing to dismiss drugmakers Sage Chemical Inc. and TruPharma's antitrust suit accusing rival Supernus Pharmaceuticals and others of suppressing generic versions of the Parkinson's treatment Apokyn.

  • May 10, 2024

    Vegas Hotels, Software Cos. Escape Price-Algorithm Suit

    A Nevada federal judge has permanently tossed a proposed class action that accused two software companies and multiple hotel operators of using an algorithm software in a price-fixing scheme for hotel room prices on the Las Vegas Strip.

  • May 10, 2024

    Chamber OK'd To Intervene Against FTC Noncompete Rule

    A Texas federal judge gave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce the go-ahead to intervene in Ryan LLC's first-to-file challenge of the Federal Trade Commission's ban on employee contract noncompete agreements, putting the trade group back in the fight after its own lawsuit was paused.

  • May 10, 2024

    Biz Claims Foreign Bribe Needed To Meet Energy Deal's Terms

    An aviation fuel company protested the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency's latest effort to supply fuel to military bases in Djibouti, accusing the agency of requiring interested contractors to obtain a license that can, allegedly, only be received through bribery.

  • May 10, 2024

    US Soccer, Relevent Sports Aim To Settle Antitrust Dispute

    Relevent Sports' antitrust lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation over its alleged monopoly on professional matches in the United States was referred to a magistrate judge on Friday so the parties can try to work out a settlement.

  • May 10, 2024

    Engineering Firm Inks Latest Deal In Conn. No-Poach Suit

    Belcan Engineering Group LLC has reached a deal with a proposed class of aerospace workers who accused it of conspiring with a Raytheon Technologies Corp. subsidiary and others to restrict hiring through anti-competitive "no-poach" agreements, according to a notice filed in Connecticut federal court.

  • May 10, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Loses Co-Head Of UK Competition Group

    The co-head of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP's U.K. competition practice group has left after less than a year and a half at the firm.

  • May 10, 2024

    UK Opens Probe Into Thermo Fisher's $3.1B Olink Buy

    Britain's competition watchdog said it is opening an inquiry into Thermo Fisher's $3.1 billion bid to buy Swedish biotech firm Olink Holding AB over competition concerns, according to an official notice issued Friday.

  • May 10, 2024

    UK Class Actions Face Tougher Test On Distributing Damages

    A decision by the antitrust tribunal to certify a £790 million ($990 million) mass claim against major European power cable suppliers came with the caveat that it intends to take a tougher approach toward claimant lawyers' plans for getting awards into the pockets of consumers.

  • May 10, 2024

    2 Firms Guide United Bankshares On $267M Piedmont Buy

    Bowles Rice LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP are representing United Bankshares Inc. on a $267 million agreement to buy Georgia-based Piedmont Bancorp Inc., which the lenders disclosed Friday and said marks United's 34th acquisition.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    European Union Criticisms Of The FCPA Are Misguided

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    Some in the European Union have criticized U.S. enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for what they perceive as jurisdictional overreach, but this appears to overlook the crucial fact that jurisdiction is voluntary, and critics should focus instead on the lack of equivalent laws in their own region, say John Joy and YuTong Wang at FTI Law.

  • 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.

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