Competition

  • April 15, 2024

    Calif. AG Backs Unfair Competition Claims Against State Farm

    California policyholders should be able to assert claims under the state's unfair competition law independent of a one-year claim filing deadline under their insurance policy, state Attorney General Rob Bonta told the California Supreme Court, backing a San Francisco homeowner's unfair competition claims against a State Farm unit.

  • April 15, 2024

    Attys In Google Maps Case Chided For Wordy Footnotes

    A California federal judge has flagged attorneys representing Google Maps customers in an antitrust action for submitting a filing with "numerous excessively long footnotes," and threatening sanctions if they don't provide a reasonable explanation to the court.

  • April 15, 2024

    Italian Cable Giant Prysmian Buying Encore Wire For $4.2B

    Milan-based electric cabling manufacturer Prysmian said Monday it has agreed to purchase McKinney, Texas-based Encore Wire in a transaction with an approximately $4.2 billion enterprise value.

  • April 15, 2024

    Justices Won't Hear Brokerage's Arbitration Claim In Fees Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear HomeServices of America's argument that certain class members in a lawsuit over real estate agents' commissions should have been compelled to arbitrate their antitrust claims rather than taking them to a jury.

  • April 15, 2024

    Justices Allow Class Action Over ATM Fees To Proceed

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a D.C. Circuit decision affirming class certifications in a long-running ATM fee dispute, which Visa and Mastercard claimed created a circuit split over the correct standard of review courts should use when considering certification motions.

  • April 15, 2024

    Justices Pass On Norfolk Southern Claim To Rail Line Control

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear Norfolk Southern Railway Co.'s challenge to a 2022 Surface Transportation Board ruling that the freight railroad company can't control Virginia's Belt Line, which opened it up to an antitrust suit from rival CSX Transportation Inc. over its rate-setting.

  • April 13, 2024

    Newcastle Beats Sports Direct's Kit Injunction Bid

    The Competition Appeal Tribunal has dismissed Sports Direct's request for an injunction to force Newcastle United to stock its stores with the soccer club's replica kits after a rival retailer was given an exclusive supply deal.

  • April 12, 2024

    US, EU Antitrust Officials Agree On Much, Not Sustainability

    The leaders of the U.S. and European antitrust agencies said Friday their views are broadly aligned on many competition policy issues, though they also outlined opposing approaches to companies that want to collaborate on sustainability projects.

  • April 12, 2024

    Epic Wants Google Play Store Reforms After Antitrust Verdict

    Following Epic Games' jury win on antitrust claims related to the Google Play Store and Android apps, the "Fortnite" maker has asked a California federal judge to force Google to allow consumers to download apps from wherever they want and bar the tech giant from restricting in-app purchase options.

  • April 12, 2024

    TRO Won't Save Auto Supplier From Fallout, Judge Says

    A Colorado federal judge on Friday denied an auto part supplier's bid to force a business partner to follow through on an exclusivity deal, ruling that a temporary restraining order may not prevent the supplier from having to shut down a facility.

  • April 12, 2024

    Petition Watch: Judge DQs, 'Excessive' Damages & Price Wars

    A former al-Qaida member has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify disqualification protocol for judges overseeing a case related to their prior work as a government attorney, and energy drink manufacturers want the court to develop a modern-day test to determine if companies qualify as price-discrimination competitors. Here's four high court petitions filed recently that you might've missed.

  • April 12, 2024

    FCC Urged To DQ Iconectiv As Number Portability Manager

    The company in charge of the Federal Communications Commision's system for allowing people to switch cell phone providers without losing their number is sister companies with a Voice over Internet Protocol provider — which does not mesh with the agency's neutrality rules, another telecom company is warning.

  • April 12, 2024

    Adviser Urges ECJ To Toss Ad Co.'s State Aid Appeal

    An outdoor furniture and advertising company shouldn't be allowed to challenge a finding from the European Union's General Court that it should have paid rent and taxes for ads in Brussels that stayed up after its contract with the city ended, an adviser to the bloc's highest court has said.

  • April 12, 2024

    Software Co. Hit With Patent Suit Over Data Tracker

    A software developer has accused a rival of infringing patents that allow businesses to track a website user's browsing data without using third-party cookies, costing the developer profits.

  • April 12, 2024

    FTC Taking Deeper Look At $35B Synopsys-Ansys Merger

    The Federal Trade Commission is opening an in-depth review of Synopsys' $35 billion acquisition of fellow software company Ansys, with Synopsys telling investors that the agency had issued a "second request" for information from both companies.

  • April 12, 2024

    Critics Blast FCC Call To Raise Net Neutrality 'Ruckus'

    A call by the Democratic chief of the Federal Communications Commission for a public "ruckus" to support reinstating Obama-era net neutrality rules shows why the looming order will likely be overturned in court, opponents of the plan said.

  • April 12, 2024

    DOJ Must Cut Through Political Noise In US Steel Probe

    The U.S. Department of Justice has its work cut out for it as it conducts a probe of Nippon Steel's planned $14.9 billion takeover of U.S. Steel, a potentially drawn out process that experts say will test the antitrust division's ability to remain objective in the face of immense pressure from President Biden, an influential union, and a concurrent CFIUS review. 

  • April 12, 2024

    US Steel Stockholders Greenlight $14.9B Sale To Nippon

    U.S. Steel said Friday that its shareholders have "overwhelmingly" approved the American steel company's nearly $15 billion takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel, a positive development in a deal that's otherwise received a high degree of political and regulatory scrutiny. 

  • April 12, 2024

    Make Clear Neutrality Exempts Content Storage, Akamai Says

    Akamai Technologies is asking the FCC to make it crystal clear in the net neutrality orders that are set to be voted on this month that information storing agreements between internet service providers and content delivery networks are still above board.

  • April 12, 2024

    Credit Suisse, Lloyds, Others Ink $3.5M Libor Deal

    Plaintiffs in the yearslong suit alleging various big banks manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, have reached a $3.45 million settlement with Credit Suisse AG, Lloyds Bank and others, bringing the total settlement recovery amount to more than $780 million.

  • April 12, 2024

    Off The Bench: Ohtani 'Victim' In Theft, Arbitration Nod To NFL

    In this week's Off The Bench, Shohei Ohtani looks to get off the hook on sports-betting allegations while his former interpreter faces charges, the NFL wins a critical court victory in the Brian Flores lawsuit, and troubled WWE founder Vince McMahon cuts even more financial ties with the company.

  • April 12, 2024

    EU Approves Biotech Co. Illumina's Plan To Divest Grail

    European Union antitrust authorities on Friday approved Illumina's plan to sell off Grail, the latest development in a saga that saw the biotech company reverse course and agree to offload the cancer-screening company after authorities claimed the reacquisition was completed "unlawfully."

  • April 12, 2024

    Apple Loses Bid To Toss $1B App Maker Charges Case

    The Competition Appeal Tribunal refused on Friday to toss a £785 million ($996 million) proposed class action by app developers against Apple over commission payments after finding that the claimants had a real shot at showing that the case was governed by U.K. law.

  • April 12, 2024

    UK To Probe Norwegian Oil & Gas Data Mega-Merger

    The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority said on Friday it has launched an inquiry into the proposed purchase of Norwegian seismic data specialist PGS by a subsidiary of its domestic rival TGS, which supplies data to energy companies.

  • April 11, 2024

    FTC's Bedoya Looking For Market Power In Pricing Cases

    Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya said Thursday he is most interested in bringing potential cases under the Robinson Patman Act when a company is using its market power to gain an unfair advantage over smaller rivals.

Expert Analysis

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • EU Inquiry Offers First Insight Into Foreign Subsidy Law

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    The European Commission's first in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation into a public procurement process, and subsequent brief on regulatory trends, sheds light on the commission's approach to such cases, as well as jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues under the regulation, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.

  • Opinion

    PACCAR Should Be 1st Step To Regulating Litigation Funders

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    Rather than reversing the U.K. Supreme Court's well-reasoned judgment in PACCAR v. Competition Appeal Tribunal, imposing a regulatory regime on litigation funders in parity with that of lawyers, legislators should build upon it to create a more transparent, competitive and fairer funding industry, says Rosa Curling at Foxglove.

  • What The NIL Negotiation Rules Injunction Means For NCAA

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    A Tennessee federal court's recent preliminary injunction reverses several prominent and well-established NCAA rules on negotiations with student-athletes over name, image and likeness compensation and shows that collegiate athletics is a profoundly unsettled legal environment, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Md. May See Vigorous Resale Price Maintenance Enforcement

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    In Maryland, indications of a new focus on resale price maintenance agreements are significant because state prosecution in this area has been rare, particularly outside California, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

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    A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Antitrust Enforcers' Views On Info Exchanges Are Evolving

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    As antitrust enforcers' views on information exchanges between competing companies have matured in response to technological advances, companies would do well to reconsider whether the exchanges in which they participate meet the most recent compliance benchmarks, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief

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    The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.

  • Decline In Same-Industry M&A Tells A Nuanced Policy Story

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    In light of newly available Hart-Scott-Rodino Act data suggesting that intraindustry mergers are down overall and pharmaceutical and hospital intraindustry transactions tend to face greater antitrust scrutiny than in the past, attorneys at Morgan Lewis explore whether Biden administration enforcement policies may be curbing pro-competitive strategic M&A.

  • Behind The 'CVR Spin' Method Of Unlocking Assets In M&A

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    The spinoff of contingent value rights, or the CVR spin, can unlock secondary and noncore assets in public mergers and acquisitions, while resolving the market dislocation of some traditional divestitures, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • 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.

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