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Competition
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August 22, 2024
Kroger-Albertsons Wrong On Labor Law In FTC Row: NLRB
The National Labor Relations Board used an amicus brief Wednesday to call out Kroger and Albertsons for their "mistaken" citation to labor law as a defense against Federal Trade Commission claims that the grocery giants' $25 billion megamerger threatens union bargaining leverage.
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August 22, 2024
Judge Delays AI Trial In Thomson Reuters, ROSS IP Row
A Delaware federal judge on Thursday delayed the first trial involving an artificial intelligence product, postponing a highly anticipated clash in which Thomson Reuters is accusing tech startup ROSS Intelligence of creating an AI legal research platform using copyrighted material from the media company's Westlaw database.
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August 22, 2024
Flyers Chided For Late Bid To Block Alaska-Hawaiian Deal
A Hawaii federal judge refused to pause the planned $1.9 billion tie-up between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines on Wednesday, telling attorneys for the passengers and travel agents bringing a merger challenge that they appear to have "forgotten" the case was tossed.
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August 22, 2024
Deals Rumor Mill: Saudi Fund, Disney-Reliance, Repligen
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund wants to launch a new cargo airline, India’s antitrust regulators worry about power over cricket rights if the $8.5 billion merger of Walt Disney’s Indian business with Reliance Entertainment is allowed, and drug manufacturing provider Repligen is eyeing Maravai LifeSciences. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
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August 22, 2024
Ventilation Biz Deal Could Distort Competition, CMA Finds
Swedish ventilation products maker Lindab's acquisition of British rival HAS-Vent Ltd. could substantially decrease competition in parts of the U.K., Britain's antitrust regulator said Thursday as it concluded its second phase of investigation into the deal.
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August 22, 2024
Paramount Board Vets $6B Bronfman Bid, Cravath Counsels
Paramount Global confirmed late Wednesday that a consortium of investors led by media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. has submitted a proposal to purchase the company, interjecting a bid that complicates Paramount's existing deal to merge with Skydance Media.
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August 21, 2024
RTX Wants Trade Secrets Trial Closed To 'Non-US Persons'
Defense contractor RTX is fighting with a manufacturer over whether a trade secrets trial next week over the design of a mechanical bearing used in the U.S. military's "StormBreaker" bomb should be closed off to all "non-U.S. persons."
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August 21, 2024
FTC Fails 1st Test Of Rulemaking Push In Noncompetes Loss
The Federal Trade Commission suffered its first definitive loss Tuesday in the push to ban employment noncompete agreements, although the decision probably isn't the final word given a likely appeal and two other pending challenges also viewed as a test of the agency's efforts to expand its rulemaking footprint.
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August 21, 2024
AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile Accused Of Blocking Wi-Fi Calling
A patent-holding company said Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit accusing AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom of blocking the emergence of a market for Wi-Fi calling by tying the service to voice and text offerings.
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August 21, 2024
Investment Firm, Ex-Advisers Settle Dispute Over Clients
Mercer Global Advisors and former investment advisers accused of stealing clients and starting a competing firm have told a Florida state court that they have settled their dispute just before trial.
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August 21, 2024
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Wrinkle In Textile Family's $17M Fight
The fate of a $17 million trust battled over by its trustees and Atrium Health, as well as attorney fees in a $1.1 million data breach settlement were cemented by the North Carolina Business Court in the first half of August. In case you missed those and others, here are the highlights.
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August 21, 2024
Mich. Families Drop Virtual Jail Visit Suit Against Telecom
Families of inmates in the St. Clair County Jail have dropped their claims against a jail telecommunication provider after a Michigan state judge ruled that the families' constitutional rights were not violated by the jail's decision to replace in-person visitation with video calling.
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August 21, 2024
Contractor, Manager Settle Hartford HealthCare No-Poach Suit
A New Jersey company that manages a sleep clinic in a Connecticut hospital has settled a former clinic manager's lawsuit alleging the company improperly prevented him from getting a job with the hospital's new owner after it fired him.
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August 21, 2024
Hillrom Says Funding Docs 'Plainly' Relevant In Antitrust Suit
Hospital-bed maker Hill-Rom Holdings, doing business as Hillrom, defended its request for litigation funding documents in rival Linet's suit targeting allegedly anticompetitive supply agreements, arguing they will help support its defenses and combat a "David and Goliath" characterization of the case.
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August 21, 2024
FTC Can't Stop $8.5B Merger, Handbag Cos. Say
The owners of Coach and Michael Kors urged a New York federal court not to pause their planned $8.5 billion merger, saying a challenge from the Federal Trade Commission ignores the hundreds of options consumers have when shopping for handbags.
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August 21, 2024
Calif. AG Secures Rite Aid Deal Ensuring Pharmacy Access
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced a settlement with Rite Aid Corp. that will allow his office to oversee any changes in ownership of the company's retail pharmacy outlets across the state.
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August 21, 2024
NJ Health System Calls Proskauer DQ Bid A 'Litigation Tactic'
RWJBarnabas Health urged a New Jersey federal judge to reject its competitor's attempt to disqualify Proskauer Rose LLP from representing the healthcare system in an antitrust suit, telling the court the "litigation tactic" is merely the plaintiff's effort to replace opposing counsel because its case is going badly.
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August 21, 2024
CMA Set To Clear £2.5B Homebuilders Deal After Remedies
Britain's competition regulator said Wednesday that it plans to clear Barratt Developments PLC's acquisition of rival homebuilder Redrow PLC for approximately £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) in light of the remedies offered to ease the regulator's competition concerns.
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August 20, 2024
Apple Says iCloud Monopoly Suit Can't Stay Afloat
Apple has told a California federal judge that it's time to boot a proposed class action that accuses it of flouting federal antitrust laws by blocking third-party cloud storage services from accessing and storing certain files on its smartphones.
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August 20, 2024
Realtek Suit Is Just 'Litigation Over Litigation,' IP Biz Says
Litigation business Future Link says the latest version of an antitrust lawsuit in California federal court from Taiwanese chipmaker Realtek over claims of a conspiracy with a different Taiwanese chipmaker to fund purported "patent troll" lawsuits is just more "litigation over litigation."
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August 20, 2024
Duke Energy Wants 4th Circ. Rethink On Antitrust 'Haven'
Duke Energy sought a full Fourth Circuit rehearing Monday against a panel decision reviving NTE Energy Services' antitrust lawsuit, arguing the panel upended decades of U.S. Supreme Court precedent and risked making the circuit a space for plaintiffs to "escape" those rules.
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August 20, 2024
Co. Says No License Needed To Dispute $1B DOD Fuel Deal
A company alleging a $1 billion Defense Logistics Agency African fuel supply contract effectively requires bribery to secure has told the Court of Federal Claims it can protest the deal despite lacking a local license, saying the license wasn't necessary for the contracted work.
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August 20, 2024
Under Armour Looks To End Case From Ex-Supplier
Under Armour Inc. asked a Pennsylvania federal court to end a former supplier's claims that it blocked competition for recovery-enhancing clothing, saying the company is not a competitor and has no evidence supporting its antitrust or other claims.
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August 20, 2024
NFL Hangs Onto Victory In Sunday Ticket Antitrust Fight
A California federal judge on Tuesday entered judgment in favor of the NFL against all claims by a class of Sunday Ticket television package subscribers, including their bid seeking to block the league from engaging in anticompetitive conduct, more than two weeks after he upended a jury's $4.7 billion antitrust verdict against the league.
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August 20, 2024
Texas Franchisee Accuses Party City Of Monopolizing Market
An operator of Party City franchise stores accused the party supply retailer's parent company of monopolizing the party goods market, saying the company seeks to drive its competitors, including franchisees, out of business through its use of unfair competition, illegal price-fixing and bad faith business practices.
Expert Analysis
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Bank M&A Continues To Lag Amid Regulatory Ambiguity
Bank M&A activity in the first half of 2024 continued to be lower than in prior years, as the industry is recovering from the 2023 bank failures, and regulatory and macroeconomic conditions have not otherwise been prime for deals, say Robert Azarow and Amber Hay at Arnold & Porter.
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FTC's Drug Middlemen Probe Highlights Ongoing Scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission's interim staff report on its inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers suggests that the industry will remain under an enforcement microscope for the foreseeable future due to concerns about how PBMs affect drug costs and accessibility, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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Considerations When Using Publicly Available Data To Train AI
To maximize the benefits and mitigate the risks of using publicly available data to train artificial intelligence models, companies should maintain a balance between openness and protection, and consider certain best practices, says Michael Cole at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America.
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Parsing NJ Court's Rationale For Denying Lipitor Class Cert.
A New Jersey federal court's recent Lipitor rulings granting summary judgment and denying motions for class certification for two plaintiff classes offer insight into the level of rigorous analysis required by both parties and their experts to satisfy the requirements of class certification, says Catia Twal at Edgeworth Economics.
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Unpacking The Latest FTC Guidance On Multilevel Marketing
Branko Jovanovic and Monica Zhong at Edgeworth Economics discuss the Federal Trade Commission's recent advice for multilevel marketers on how MLMs should approach their income and earnings reports, including participants costs, typical proceeds and distributor gains.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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Calif. Out-Of-State Noncompete Ban Faces Several Hurdles
California's attempt to bolster its noncompete law has encountered significant procedural and constitutional challenges, and litigating parties must carefully analyze not only the restrictive covenants contained in their agreements, but also the forum-selection and choice-of-law provisions, say Jennifer Redmond and Gal Gressel at Sheppard Mullin.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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Proposed NIL Deal Leaves NCAA Antitrust Liability Door Open
The proposed House v. NCAA settlement filed in California federal court creates the possibility of significant direct payments to student-athletes for the first time, but the resulting framework is unlikely to withstand future antitrust scrutiny because it still represents an agreement among competitors to limit labor cost, says Yaman Desai at Lynn Pinker.
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Navigating Antitrust Considerations In ESG Collaborations
The intersection of ESG goals and antitrust laws presents a complex challenge for businesses and their counsel — but by creating clear frameworks for collaboration, adhering to established guidelines and carefully considering the competitive implications of their actions, companies can work toward sustainability while mitigating legal risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.