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Competition
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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 over a now-withdrawn shareholder proposal concerning climate change has again called on the oil giant to withdraw its suit after broadening its previous promise not to resubmit the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.
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May 24, 2024
Petition Watch: Forum Shopping, Monopolies & Gun Safety
Law360 looks at four U.S. Supreme Court petitions filed in the past two weeks, including the FDA's request that the justices curb an increase in forum shopping at the Fifth Circuit, and two veterinarians who want the justices to allow plaintiffs to pursue antitrust claims for actions allegedly leading to the creation of a monopoly.
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May 24, 2024
Realtors Want Case Over 'Cooperation' Rule To Stay Dismissed
The National Association of Realtors urged a California federal court not to reconsider dismissing a case targeting rules that prevent real estate agents from listing properties outside their affiliated networks, after the case took a trip to the Ninth Circuit.
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May 24, 2024
The UK Laws That Will Pass Or Fail As Election Looms
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's decision to call an early general election to be held on July 4 has left several pieces of legislation hanging in the balance during the so-called "wash-up" period before Parliament is formally dissolved, while others have been pushed through.
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May 24, 2024
Biden's Judicial Impact And What's Left On The Wish List
President Joe Biden secured confirmation of his 200th federal judge Wednesday and has transformed the judiciary by picking more women and people of color than any other president. But the upcoming election season could derail his hopes of confirming many more judges.
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May 24, 2024
Off The Bench: NCAA Settles House NIL Class Action
In this week’s Off the Bench, the NCAA settles its court dispute with hundreds of thousands of athletes over name, image and likeness compensation, NFL rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. is taken to court over an endorsement contract, and former Super Bowl champion Antonio Brown’s post-career life is burdened further by bankruptcy. If you were sidelined this week, Law360 is here to catch you up on the sports and betting stories that had our readers talking.
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May 24, 2024
Software-Aided Price Fixing Under Antitrust Assault
Claims that companies in the same industry are using software middlemen to fix prices are percolating in federal courts around the country, with cases targeting major operators in residential real estate, hospitality and health insurance, among other areas.
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May 24, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen an IT engineer seek permission to search a landfill hiding a hard drive supposedly storing millions of pounds in bitcoin, Glencore take on legal action by American Century Investments, gold payment app Glint bring a breach of duty claim against FRP Advisory, and an ongoing dispute between a solicitor and the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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May 24, 2024
EQT's $35B Equitrans Gas Merger Goes Unchallenged
The waiting period for U.S. antitrust regulators to take action on EQT Corp.'s nearly $14 billion planned purchase of Equitrans Midstream Corp. has expired, putting one of the year's largest deals on the fast track to closing.
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May 24, 2024
CMA To Probe $295M Roche Diagnostics Deal
Britain's antitrust regulator said Friday that it has decided to launch a probe into Swiss drugmaker Roche's proposed $295 million purchase of parts of diagnostic company LumiraDx days after inviting public feedback to assess if the deal could harm competition.
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May 24, 2024
DOJ's Live Nation-Ticketmaster Suit: What You Should Know
The U.S. Department of Justice and a slew of state attorneys general filed a suit challenging the 2010 merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation. Here, catch up on Law360's coverage of the deal and those who have challenged it along the way – Taylor Swift fans, investors and regulators.
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May 24, 2024
PE Firm, Pharma Cos. Overturn £31M Drug Price-Fixing Fines
Private equity group Cinven and three pharmaceutical companies have successfully overturned a decision by the U.K. antitrust regulator to fine them £31 million ($39 million) for allegedly fixing the price of drugs sold to the National Health Service.
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May 23, 2024
FTC Blasts Amazon's 'Unbelievable' Claims About Signal Use
The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday again pressed a Washington federal court to force Amazon to hand over documents regarding the company's communication preservation practices, calling Amazon's claims that executives never used the encrypted app Signal to discuss business practices relevant to the antitrust fight "unbelievable."
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May 23, 2024
Latham, Cravath Rep Live Nation In DOJ Ticketmaster Battle
In the battle against the U.S. Department of Justice's push to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the concert promotion and ticketing company has called upon a team of attorneys at Cravath Swaine & Moore and Latham & Watkins to go up against a large roster of highly experienced government antitrust attorneys.
Expert Analysis
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Md. May See Vigorous Resale Price Maintenance Enforcement
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.
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What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.
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.
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Antitrust Enforcers' Views On Info Exchanges Are Evolving
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.
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What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks
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.
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The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief
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.
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Decline In Same-Industry M&A Tells A Nuanced Policy Story
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.
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Behind The 'CVR Spin' Method Of Unlocking Assets In M&A
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.
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Opinion
European Union Criticisms Of The FCPA Are Misguided
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.
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5 Models For Structuring Health Provider-Payor Partnerships
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.
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Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
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.
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Understanding Insurance Is Key To Limiting Antitrust Liability
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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What FTC's 'Killer Acquisition' Theory Means For Pharma Cos.
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.
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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Assessing Chinese Cross-Border Data Transfers
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.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
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.