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Competition
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August 02, 2024
Banking Vet Still Has Work To Do As Paul Weiss M&A Head
After a long tenure in banking, including as Morgan Stanley's global head of mergers and acquisitions, Rob Kindler could have rested on his laurels. Instead, Kindler joined Paul Weiss as its global chair of M&A and has led the team that represented Envestnet Inc. on its July 11 deal to sell the business to Bain Capital for $4.5 billion. He spoke with Law360 about what he sees ahead.
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August 02, 2024
Iberdrola To Buy 88% Of UK Electric Power Co. In $5.5B Deal
Spanish electric utility company Iberdrola said Friday it plans to buy 88% of Electricity North West in a deal that values the British electric power network at roughly €5 billion ($5.5 billion), including debt.
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August 02, 2024
Royal Mail Copyright Case To Go Ahead In Joint Trial
Royal Mail and another company suing software firm Codeberry over alleged unlawful use of postcode data can have their cases tried together, a judge ruled Friday, although he refused to allow Codeberry's counterattack to be included in the same trial.
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August 01, 2024
Toyota Accused Of Blocking Rival Hydrogen Fueling Station
Owners of hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirais are suing the automaker, claiming in a proposed class action that Toyota blacklisted a California State University fuel station and has its "boot on the necks" of other hydrogen pump operators in the state.
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August 01, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms Zurich Needn't Pay Judgment Against Agent
In a pair of opinions issued Thursday, the Eleventh Circuit revived a copyright claim by Compulife but rejected the software company's bid to force Zurich American Insurance Co. to pay for a judgment against an insurance agent who allegedly helped three others misappropriate the company's trade secrets.
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August 01, 2024
Kirkland & Ellis Guides Arcosa On $1.2B Stavola Buy
Texas infrastructure products company Arcosa Inc., advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, has agreed to buy the family-owned construction materials business of Stavola Holding Corp. for $1.2 billion, moving forward in its "long-term vision" that includes increasing its aggregates presence across the U.S., Arcosa announced Thursday.
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August 01, 2024
NFL Sacks $4.7B Sunday Ticket Verdict With Post-Trial Win
A California federal judge on Thursday overturned a Los Angeles jury's $4.7 billion verdict against the National Football League for violating antitrust laws with its Sunday Ticket television package, granting the league a post-trial win by finding that the plaintiffs' damages experts presented "flawed methodologies."
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August 01, 2024
MultiPlan, Insurance Cos. Must Face Collusion MDL In Illinois
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Thursday centralized in Chicago six class actions challenging the MultiPlan pricing tools that healthcare providers allege are used by UnitedHealth, Aetna, Cigna and other major insurers to systematically underpay out-of-network providers, with more than a dozen similar lawsuits potentially tagging along.
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August 01, 2024
Grayscale Wants Rival's $2M Conn. Trade Practices Suit Nixed
Grayscale Investments LLC has asked a Connecticut state court judge to toss a suit launched by asset management firm Osprey Funds LLC, alleging that Grayscale falsely advertised its services in order to lure investors, saying the amended complaint fails to state a claim and, therefore, must be "stricken in its entirety."
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August 01, 2024
Calif. Jury Clears Bayer In Flea And Tick Med Antitrust Suit
A California federal jury on Thursday cleared Bayer of allegations that it owes millions for cutting anticompetitive deals with pet product retailers to undermine competition from generics makers of flea and tick treatments for dogs.
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August 01, 2024
Apple Says DOJ Is Looking For 'Judicial Redesign' Of IPhone
Apple Inc. urged a New Jersey federal judge Thursday to throw out the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit, calling claims of restricted app access meant to lock users into the iPhone as a government effort to control protocols the company contends are needed to ensure security and reliability.
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August 01, 2024
TD Bank's $25M Client Poach Case Hits FINRA Snags
Ex-TD Bank employees accused of siphoning $25 million in business to Raymond James Financial Services Inc. agreed to move a dispute over a restraining order into arbitration to shield themselves from negative press, the bank told a federal judge Thursday after the defendants complained about delays to the proceeding.
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August 01, 2024
AliveCor Asks 9th Circ. To Revive Apple Watch Antitrust Case
Medical monitoring startup AliveCor Inc. told the Ninth Circuit that Apple Inc. should not be immunized from antitrust claims over the removal of access to heart rate data on the Apple Watch because the change was intended to block competition and not improve the device.
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August 01, 2024
Merchandising Co. Says Ex-VP Sunk $47M Deal With Lowe's
An ex-merchandising company executive exploited trade secrets to sabotage a $47 million deal with home improvement giant Lowe's Cos. Inc., the executive's former employer has alleged in a federal lawsuit in North Carolina.
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August 01, 2024
JPML Greenlights Shale Oil Price-Fixing MDL In New Mexico
A group of U.S. shale oil producers will have to defend claims that they conspired with OPEC to artificially inflate gas prices in New Mexico federal court after the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized at least five suits there Thursday.
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August 01, 2024
6th Circ. Puts Net Neutrality Rule On Ice During Appeals
The Sixth Circuit on Thursday granted industry groups' bid to put a hold on the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules while appellate court challenges play out, saying there is a strong chance that internet service providers will eventually prevail.
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August 01, 2024
EU Approves $18B Grain Deal With Asset Sales
European enforcers on Thursday approved grain and seed supplier Bunge Ltd.'s plan to buy global grain trader Viterra Ltd. in an $18 billion deal, conditioned on the sale of Viterra's oilseed businesses in Hungary and Poland.
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August 01, 2024
Monthly Merger Review Snapshot
The Federal Trade Commission brought its latest case contesting a vertical merger, Tempur Sealy's bid for Mattress Firm, while continuing to battle Microsoft's purchase of Activision and Kroger's purchase of Albertsons, even as the agency allowed several oil deals to move forward without challenge.
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August 01, 2024
Turf Co.'s Injunction Bid Is Too Vague, Ga. Judge Rules
A Georgia federal judge rejected a major artificial turf manufacturer's attempt to stop a rival turf company from using files allegedly stolen by one of its former executives before he jumped ship, saying the requested injunction was too vague and only sought to force the company to follow existing law.
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August 01, 2024
DAF Can't Take Trucks Cartel Appeal To Top UK Court
The U.K. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal brought by DAF Trucks Ltd. against a ruling requiring it to shell out more than £15.2 million ($19.3 million) to BT and Royal Mail over a price-fixing scheme.
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August 01, 2024
Rising Star: White & Case's Heather Greenfield
Heather Greenfield of White & Case LLP led Novasep Process through the first successful prior approval issued by the FTC after it revived the '90s-era policy requiring companies that inked deals with the agency to get prior approval for any mergers over the next decade, earning her a spot among competition attorneys under age 40 honored as Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 01, 2024
Cérélia Can't Fight Order To Sell Jus-Rol, UK Top Court Rules
The U.K.'s top court refused Thursday to allow dough maker Cérélia a chance to appeal a decision forcing it to sell its Jus-Rol brand, ruling there were no legal grounds to challenge the finding that the move is necessary to protect competitive markets.
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July 31, 2024
Live Nation Says In-House Attys Can't Access DOJ Docs
As it warned would be the case, Live Nation is telling a New York federal judge that it has no in-house counsel that will be able to meet his rules on counsel access to highly confidential material in the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust suit against the live events company.
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July 31, 2024
UFC Fighters' $335M Wage Deal Rejected Amid Scrutiny
A Nevada federal court has rejected a $335 million deal that would end claims from mixed martial arts fighters accusing Ultimate Fighting Championship of suppressing their wages, setting up a potential trial later this year.
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July 31, 2024
NFL Finds Judge Open To Tossing $4.7B Sunday Ticket Award
A California federal judge appeared open Wednesday to the NFL's argument that he should throw out a jury's stunning $4.7 billion antitrust verdict over the league's Sunday Ticket television package, saying he has "trouble" with the jury's damages award and suggesting that jurors may have disregarded his instructions.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
The FTC And DOJ Should Backtrack On RealPage
The antitrust agencies ought to reverse course on their enforcement actions against RealPage, which are based on a faulty legal premise, risk further property shortages and threaten the use of algorithms that are central to the U.S. economy, says Thomas Stratmann at George Mason University.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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Exploring Alternatives To Noncompetes Ahead Of FTC Ban
Ahead of the Sept. 4 effective date for the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, employers should seek new ways to protect their proprietary and other sensitive information, including by revising existing confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, says Harvey Linder at Culhane.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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A Look At M&A Conditions After FTC's Exxon-Pioneer Nod
The Federal Trade Commission's recent consent decree imposing several conditions on Exxon Mobil's acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources helps illustrate key points about the current merger enforcement environment, including the probability of further investigations in the energy and pharmaceutical sectors, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.
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Attys Beware 2 Commonly Overlooked NIL Contract Issues
As name, image and likeness deals dominate high school and collegiate sports, preserving a client's NCAA eligibility should be a top priority, so lawyers should understand the potentially damaging contract provisions they may encounter when reviewing an agreement, says Paula Nagarajan at Arnall Golden.
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FTC Theories Of Harm After Anesthesia Co. Ruling
As Federal Trade Commission litigation against U.S. Anesthesia Partners proceeds following a Texas federal court's recent decision to dismiss a private equity sponsor from the suit, the case attempts to incorporate and advance some of the commission's theories of competitive harm from the final 2023 Merger Guidelines, say attorneys at Mintz.
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FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.
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How Employers, Attorneys Can Respond To Noncompete Ban
As the Federal Trade Commission's recently issued noncompete ban faces ongoing legal challenges, now is a good time for employers to consider whether they want to take a wait-and-see approach before halting use of noncompetes and for practitioners to gain insight into other tools available to protect their clients' business interests, says Jennifer Platzkere Snyder at Dilworth Paxson.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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The Effects Of New 10-Year Limitation On Key Sanctions Laws
Recently enacted emergency appropriations legislation, doubling the statute of limitations for civil and criminal economic sanctions violations, has significant implications for internal records retention, corporate transaction due diligence and government investigations, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.