Competition

March 18, 2025
Software Co. Gets CMA's Nod To Buy UK Tech Biz For £207M

The U.K.'s antitrust regulator said Tuesday that it has given the green light to the £207 million ($268 million) acquisition by real estate software maker MRI Software LLC of technology business Capita One Ltd.
March 17, 2025
PVC Pipe Co. Faces Investor COVID-Era Antitrust Claims

PVC pipe maker Atkore Inc. and three current and former executives face a proposed investor class action over the company's alleged involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices for PVC pipes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
March 17, 2025
NCAA, States Ask Judge To OK Deal On NIL Recruiting Rules

A coalition of states and the NCAA asked a Tennessee federal judge to sign off Monday on a settlement that seeks to resolve antitrust litigation over the NCAA's ban on athlete recruits' name, image and likeness compensation, revealing new details of the deal, including a permanent bar on future policies.
March 17, 2025
Gogo Says Rival Pivoted From Competing To Suing

In-flight entertainment company Gogo Business Aviation wants out of a $1 billion lawsuit accusing it of wielding its monopoly over air-to-ground broadband tech to keep competitors at bay, telling the court that SmartSky is just trying to convert their intellectual property dispute into an antitrust one.
March 17, 2025
New Bills Target 'Patent Thickets' And 'Product Hopping'

A bipartisan group of senators is backing two bills it says will use the patent system to lower the price of prescription drugs, in part by targeting "patent thickets" and making "product hopping" a violation of antitrust laws.
March 17, 2025
PBMs Hit With Antitrust Suit Over GoodRx Generics Program

A Denver pharmacy has filed a proposed class action against GoodRx, CVS and other major pharmacy benefit managers in Colorado federal court, alleging they engaged in an illegal price-fixing scheme that artificially suppressed the prices paid to independent pharmacies for reimbursement of generic drug claims.
March 17, 2025
Jazz Inks Insurer Class Deal As Xyrem Antitrust Trial Nears

Jazz Pharmaceuticals and a certified insurer class told a California federal judge Monday that they have reached a settlement-in-principle in antitrust litigation accusing Jazz of working with pharma rival Hikma to block generic competitors to Jazz's narcolepsy drug, while two opt-out insurer plaintiffs and defendant Hikma have not reached any deals ahead of a May trial.
March 17, 2025
Court Won't Toss Biotech Co.'s Antitrust Counterclaim

A California federal court refused to toss claims from biotech company Zymo Research Corp. accusing rival Qiagen GmbH of filing a "sham" patent infringement suit against it to discredit a potential competitor in the DNA extraction market.
March 17, 2025
Burger King Workers Defend Revived No-Poach Case

Burger King employees are defending their proposed class action over the fast-food chain's past use of no-poach provisions in its franchise agreements, as the restaurant urges a Florida federal court to toss the claims despite an appeals court reviving them in 2022.
March 17, 2025
Energy Co. Urges FERC To End $1B Enforcement Case

An energy efficiency aggregator on Monday urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to drop its pursuit of nearly $1 billion in penalties for disputed market manipulation and tariff violations, an enforcement case the company has already asked a federal judge to declare unconstitutional.
March 17, 2025
Split 9th Circ. Won't Halt Federal Workers Reinstatement Order

A divided Ninth Circuit panel on Monday denied President Donald Trump's administration an immediate administrative stay of a California district court order requiring reinstatement of some probationary federal workers fired from six agencies, the majority saying a pause "would disrupt the status quo and turn it on its head."
March 17, 2025
Drake 'Lost A Rap Battle That He Provoked,' UMG Tells Court

Universal Music Group urged a New York federal judge Monday to throw out Aubrey Drake Graham's lawsuit over the hit Kendrick Lamar diss track "Not Like Us," saying Drake cannot claim defamation for hyperbolic insults that came out of a rap battle "in which he willingly participated."
March 17, 2025
Wash. AG Seeks $32M In Legal Fees In Kroger Merger Case

Washington's attorney general said the state is entitled to recover $32.4 million in legal fees for prevailing in its lawsuit opposing Kroger's $24.6 billion bid to buy Albertsons, including nearly $10 million for Munger Tolles & Olson LLP's assistance in the state court case.
March 17, 2025
Rippling Accuses HR Rival Of 'Brazen' Corporate Espionage

Human resources service provider Rippling hit rival Deel Inc. with a trade secret theft lawsuit in California federal court Monday, accusing Deel of placing a spy in Rippling's Dublin office in a "brazen," calculated and illegal corporate espionage scheme to steal its confidential intellectual property.
March 17, 2025
House Panel Probes Medical Residency Antitrust Exemption

The chair of the House Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel is looking into whether to do away with an antitrust exemption Congress granted over 20 years ago to the medical residency matching system, which the congressman said could be harming new doctors and even patients.
March 17, 2025
Chevron Buys 5% Of Hess With 'Confidence' In Merger Close

Chevron Corp. disclosed Monday that it has purchased 4.99% of Hess Corp.'s outstanding common stock, a move that signals the oil giant's "continuing confidence" in completing its pending $53 billion acquisition of Hess despite ongoing arbitration challenges.
March 17, 2025
Wright Looked To 'Bankrupt' Accusers With Suit, Filing Claims

Former Federal Trade Commission member and ex-law professor Joshua Wright sought to "bankrupt" two women who publicly accused him of sexual misconduct and "make their lives hell" by filing a since-dropped $108 million defamation lawsuit against them, according to a filing Friday by one defendant seeking sanctions against Wright.
March 17, 2025
Jordan's Race Team Defends NASCAR Injunction To 4th Circ.

A pair of stock car race teams including one owned by Michael Jordan urged the Fourth Circuit not to vacate a lower court's injunction allowing them to keep competing in NASCAR races while they pursue antitrust claims against the league, arguing NASCAR's "overblown rhetoric" against the order falls flat.
March 17, 2025
Google Fights To Trim Antitrust Trial Over Shopping Service

A shopping comparison website urged Britain's specialist competition tribunal on Monday to reject Google's bid to trim the scope of an upcoming antitrust trial over alleged unfair search results.
March 14, 2025
Antitrust Questions Earn Belt Line Deal A Deep Dive

The Surface Transportation Board isn't going to let Norfolk Southern get away with calling its attempt to procure the remainder of a rail line a minor transaction, since it's been locked in antitrust litigation over the control of that line for years, according to an order Friday that deemed the transaction "significant."
March 14, 2025
Ford Bronco TM Suit Looks Under Hood Of Vintage Market

Ford Motor Co. is clashing with a company that restores Broncos from the 1960s and 1970s and retrofits the newer models that Ford started selling after a two-decade hiatus to make them look like older ones, setting up a battle over whether the iconic car company has done enough to maintain its rights over the Bronco mark in the intervening years.
March 14, 2025
Ex-Mich. Players Defend $50M NIL Suit Against NCAA, Big Ten

Former University of Michigan football players are fighting to keep a proposed class action seeking $50 million in compensation for their names, images and likenesses in Michigan federal court and fend off what they called "premature" dismissal bids from the NCAA and Big Ten Network.
March 14, 2025
Calif. Insurance Chief OKs State Farm Rates Pending Hearing

The California Department of Insurance on Friday provisionally approved State Farm's request for an emergency rate hike following the Los Angeles fires, including a nearly 22% increase for homeowners, saying final approval will be contingent on the insurer justifying its request at a hearing.
March 14, 2025
Legalese Aside, Live Nation Judge Keeps Damages Claims

A New York federal judge refused Friday to pare back a lawsuit filed by the government and 40 states accusing Live Nation of quashing competition and hiking ticketing prices, preserving claims that artists have been forced to use Live Nation promotion services and deeming state attorneys general to have standing to seek damages.
March 14, 2025
Fed. Circ. Affirms No Block On Amgen's Eye Med Biosimilar

The Federal Circuit on Friday agreed with a lower court decision declining to temporarily block Amgen's biosimilar of Regeneron's blockbuster eye medication Eylea, affirming that court's application of claim construction precedent in the patent infringement suit.

Expert Analysis

Series

NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

In 2024's final quarter, the New York State Department of Financial Services published guidance on mitigating the rising cybersecurity risks of artificial intelligence and remote technology workers with North Korean ties, and the state attorney general launched an antitrust investigation into Capital One's proposed Discover merger, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
Series

Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.
3 Factors Affecting Retail M&A Deals In 2025

Retailers considering mergers and acquisitions this year face an evolving antitrust environment, including a new administration under President-elect Donald Trump, revised merger guidelines and a precedent set last year by a canceled $8.5 billion handbag merger, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
FTC Picks Augur Pro-Business Bent For Much Of Economy

President-elect Donald Trump's choice of two top Federal Trade Commission officials suggests a business-friendly climate for a significant portion of the U.S. economy, with noteworthy exceptions of continued scrutiny of healthcare and Big Tech companies, excluding artificial intelligence, say attorneys at BCLP.
Top 10 Legal Issues This Year For Transportation Industry GCs

General counsel must carefully consider numerous legal and policy challenges facing the automotive and transportation industry in the year to come, especially while navigating new technologies, regulations and global markets, says Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton.
Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.
What 2024's Noncompete Turmoil Means For Banks In 2025

A look back at the most significant legal challenges to the enforceability of various restrictive covenants like noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements in 2024 can help financial institutions address the use of these critical tools this year, say attorneys at Maynard Nexsen.
Searching For Insight On Requested Google Chrome Remedy

The potential for Google to divest its Chrome browser — a remedy requested by the Justice Department following a D.C. federal court’s finding the company is a monopolist — has drawn both criticism and endorsement, but legal precedent likely supports the former, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
Opinion

3 New Year's Resolutions For Antitrust Agencies To Consider

James Fredricks at Skadden rings in 2025 with his wish list for the federal antitrust agencies, starting with a provision for a presumptive safe harbor for information sharing.
FTC Focus: A Changing Of The Guard

While rigorous antitrust enforcement is unlikely to slow down at the Federal Trade Commission, the focus will undoubtedly change, including when it comes to Big Tech, as Andrew Ferguson prepares to take the reins from Chair Lina Khan, say attorneys at Proskauer.
Series

Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.
An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.
5 Antitrust Issues For In-House Counsel In 2025

Attorneys at Squire Patton evaluate the top areas where U.S. antitrust policy is likely to change in the next 12 months, including major challenges to the Federal Trade Commission's authority that could reshape enforcement.
Reviewing 2024's Crucial Patent Law Developments

As 2024 draws to a close, significant rulings and policies aimed at modernizing long-standing legal practices or addressing emerging challenges have reached patent law, says Michael Ellenberger at Rothwell Figg.
Series

Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.