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Competition
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June 10, 2024
FTC To Fight Go-Ahead Order On Novant $320M Hospital Deal
Just days after a district court loss, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday it will ask the Fourth Circuit to step in and block Novant Health from buying two North Carolina hospitals in a $320 million deal the agency contends would harm competition.
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June 10, 2024
Medical-Aesthetic Device Rivals Set For Sept. Poaching Trial
A Boston federal judge on Monday scheduled a post-Labor Day jury trial for medical-aesthetic device company Cynosure's $78 million poaching lawsuit against rival Reveal Lasers, urging the parties to streamline their exhibits and damages claims.
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June 10, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Big players and big moves dominated much of the past week in Delaware's Court of Chancery, as Tesla in particular and big corporations in general showed their pique over rulings that went toward stockholders or against conventional expectations.
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June 07, 2024
NFL's Kraft Testifies 'Too Many' Sunday Ticket Sales Is Bad
A California federal jury considering multi-billion dollar antitrust claims against the NFL brought by Sunday Ticket subscribers saw video deposition testimony Friday from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who said ensuring a high price for the television package is a league priority, and he would not want "too many" U.S. subscribers.
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June 07, 2024
Texas Jury Clears Michaels In Paint-By-Number TM Suit
Arts and crafts retailer Michaels Stores Inc. did not infringe a paint-by-number company's trademarks to create a competing product, a Texas federal jury determined.
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June 07, 2024
DC Circ. Undoes Library Of Congress Win In Fair Use Fight
The D.C. Circuit on Friday reversed a lower court's decision that had rejected two industry groups' challenge to a final rule that categorized medical device diagnostic procedures and repairs as fair use exemptions to U.S. copyright law.
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June 07, 2024
Don't Delay In-House Handbags Case For Fed. Court, FTC Told
Federal Trade Commission staffers are urging the commission not to delay an in-house challenge to the planned $8.5 billion merger combining the parent companies of Coach and Michael Kors, arguing that a separate New York federal court fight won't automatically determine the deal's fate.
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June 07, 2024
Trade Commission Votes To Advance Solar Cell Investigations
The four heads of the U.S. International Trade Commission voted unanimously Friday to continue anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into solar cell imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, finding evidence that the imports harmed domestic solar manufacturers.
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June 07, 2024
Cities, Cable Cos. Seek Reg Changes As FCC Studies Markets
Cities want the Federal Communications Commission to jettison rules that they say unduly restrict cable franchise fees, while the cable business says the FCC needs to back off on regulation, as the agency scrutinizes the competitive landscape across multiple industries.
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June 07, 2024
FCC Asks 6th Circ. To Transfer Net Neutrality Cases To DC
The Federal Communications Commission on Friday urged the Sixth Circuit to transfer a set of challenges to the FCC's recently passed net neutrality rules to the D.C. Circuit, where similar suits have previously played out.
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June 07, 2024
Ranbaxy Units Overcome Lipitor Antitrust MDL
Multiple Ranbaxy Inc. entities have defeated multidistrict litigation accusing them of conspiring with Pfizer Inc. to delay releasing a generic alternative to blood pressure drug Lipitor, as a New Jersey federal judge on Thursday criticized the drug purchasers' "speculative" arguments.
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June 07, 2024
Pilgrim's Pride Largely Can't Pause Chicken Farmers' Suit
An Oklahoma federal judge largely refused Friday to pause a lawsuit accusing Pilgrim's Pride of conspiring with other chicken producers to suppress farmer compensation while Pilgrim's appeals certification of over 24,000 farmers, finding it does not matter if the $2.77 billion damages claim might pressure the company to settle.
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June 07, 2024
Off The Bench: NFL On Trial, Betting Crackdowns, Tennis Suit
In this week's Off The Bench, the NFL stands trial in a massive antitrust class action over its Sunday Ticket broadcast package, a series of sports betting crackdowns makes waves in the MLB and the NBA, and the U.S. Tennis Association denies any liability for a player's sexual assault by her coach.
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June 07, 2024
Justices Are Asked To Ax 9th Circ. Price Discrimination Test
A retail trade association is coming to 5-Hour Energy's defense, calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the energy drink-maker's petition challenging a 2023 Ninth Circuit ruling that revived claims from a group of wholesalers alleging that the company engaged in illegal price-fixing advantaging Costco.
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June 07, 2024
Philly Legal Services Group Backs FTC Noncompete Ban
Community Legal Services, which represents the poorest Philadelphians in legal matters, threw its support Friday behind the Federal Trade Commission's bid to ban business from forcing employees into noncompete agreements.
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June 07, 2024
Merchants Get OK For Visa, Mastercard Fees Suit On 2nd Try
A group of merchants got a tentative go-ahead Friday to bring a collective action accusing Visa and Mastercard of unfairly imposing interchange fees on retailers after revising weaknesses in the initial proposal at the U.K.'s specialist antitrust court.
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June 07, 2024
Ryanair Can't Ground €10B Spanish COVID-19 Fund
Ryanair failed Thursday to convince Europe's top court that a Spanish COVID-19 aid package for struggling companies would distort competition in the European Union's internal market.
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June 07, 2024
Google Ad Tech Case Won't Go To Jury Due To Co.'s Payment
A Virginia federal judge ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice's case accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology will be heard by the bench, and not a jury, thanks to a $2.3 million check from Google covering the amount enforcers could be awarded if they prevail.
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June 06, 2024
NY Prosecutor Says DOJ Self-Disclosure Policies Are Working
The proliferation of policies across the U.S. Department of Justice crediting firms and individuals for voluntarily self-disclosing misconduct indicates the approach is effective, even though instances of such disclosures aren't overwhelming, a senior federal prosecutor in New York told a gathering of compliance officers on Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
NFL Sunday Ticket Is A Rigged Game, Antitrust Jury Told
An attorney for NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers told a California jury Thursday during opening statements of a multibillion-dollar antitrust suit that secret documents will prove the NFL engaged in anticompetitive behavior, and the trial would reveal the "darker side of the NFL behind the shield."
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June 06, 2024
FTC Says Kroger Hasn't Turned Over Promised Documents
The Federal Trade Commission urged an administrative law judge on Tuesday to require Kroger to fork over documents related to negotiations for its divestiture plan amid the commission's in-house challenge to the grocer's merger with Albertsons, saying Kroger's prior representations that it would produce the materials "have proven false."
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June 06, 2024
Drugmakers Escape Cancer Drug Antitrust Claims For Now
A New Jersey federal judge granted drugmakers Celgene and Bristol-Myers Squibb an out from consolidated antitrust litigation accusing them of delaying generic competition to their blockbuster cancer treatments, saying the conduct alleged by a group of insurer plaintiffs fails to amount to anti-competitive conduct.
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June 06, 2024
In 13-Year Trademark Fight, Chicago Judge Says No More
A Chicago federal judge brought to a close a trademark fight between two vaping companies surrounding the phrase "21st Century Smoking" that has stretched on for over a decade and led to millions of dollars in sanctions over thousands of deleted emails and long-hidden documents.
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June 06, 2024
FTC And DOJ Divvy Up Probes Of OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia
The Federal Trade Commission will investigate OpenAI and its investor Microsoft for potential competition issues, while the U.S. Department of Justice will look at chipmaker Nvidia's role in the quickly emerging artificial intelligence space, a source confirmed to Law360 on Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
High Bar For Booking.com Price Limits, EU High Court Told
A European Court of Justice advocate general recommended a high bar Thursday for Booking.com assertions that price parity clauses imposed on contracts with hotels are "ancillary" to, and thus protected as, legitimate business arrangements.
Expert Analysis
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NCAA's Antitrust Litigation History Offers Clues For NIL Case
Attorneys at Perkins Coie analyze the NCAA's long history of antitrust litigation to predict how state attorney general claims against NCAA recruiting rules surrounding name, image and likeness discussions will stand up in Tennessee federal court.
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Opinion
Proposed Rule Could Impair MDL Flexibility, Harm Plaintiffs
While proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 is intended to enhance the management of multidistrict litigation proceedings, its one-size-fits-all requirements could stifle the flexibility that judges need to address the varying circumstances of MDLs effectively, and jeopardize plaintiffs' ability to pursue justice, say Christopher Seeger and Jennifer Scullion at Seeger Weiss.
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Litigation Funding Implications Amid Post-PACCAR Disputes
An English tribunal's recent decision in Neill v. Sony, allowing an appeal on the enforceability of a litigation funding agreement, highlights how the legislative developments on funding limits following the U.K. Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Paccar v. Competition Appeal Tribunal may affect practitioners, say Andrew Leitch and Anoma Rekhi at BCLP.
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Healthcare Collabs Can Alleviate Labor, Antitrust Challenges
Two major challenges facing hospitals and health systems include labor shortages and increased antitrust scrutiny at both federal and state levels, but collaborative efforts may help with addressing these difficulties, says Sumaya Noush at McDermott.
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FTC AI Inquiry Signals Intensified Focus On Emerging Tech
The Federal Trade Commission's recent inquiry into investments and partnerships between Big Tech companies and artificial intelligence startups appears to be directed at guiding future enforcement decisions in competition, privacy and consumer protection — and three principles discussed at a related tech summit give insight on the agency's approach, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Assessing Merger Guideline Feedback With Machine Learning
Large language modeling appears to show that public sentiment matches agency intent around the new merger control guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department, says Andrew Sfekas at Cornerstone Research.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.
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What Cos. Evaluating M&A Can Glean From Latest HSR Report
The recently released Hart-Scott-Rodino report for fiscal year 2022 helps unearth important data points for companies as they evaluate potential transactions, including that, despite a historically low enforcement rate, the number of actions exceeds the number of second requests for the first time in nearly 20 years, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.
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Algorithmic Pricing Programs Caught In Antitrust Crosshairs
The Justice Department's investigation into software company RealPage follows a host of federal antitrust cases alleging that property owners and casino hotel operators use the same proprietary software programs to fix and maintain pricing, which means algorithmic pricing programs are considered a key price-fixing tool in the digital age, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
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UK Court Ruling Reinforces CMA's Info-Gathering Powers
An English appeals court's recent decision in the BMW and Volkswagen antitrust cases affirmed that the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority can request information from entities outside the U.K., reinstating an important implement in the CMA's investigative toolkit, say lawyers at White & Case.
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5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.
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How Biotech Deals May Help Competition, Despite FTC View
The Federal Trade Commission's complaint against Sanofi's proposed partnership with Maze Therapeutics highlights increasing skepticism of so-called killer acquisitions, but a closer look reveals potentially legitimate reasons behind why entities might decide to delay or abandon the development of acquired products, say consultants at Analysis Group.
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New SDNY Whistleblower Program May Be A Game-Changer
A new pilot program in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York promises to immunize from prosecution certain individuals who blow the whistle on financial crimes and corruption, and if similar self-disclosure programs are any indication, this significant new policy may measurably increase white collar investigations, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.