Competition

  • October 17, 2024

    FTC Admits Federal Court Merger Fights Are Usually Decisive

    Federal Trade Commission complaint counsel has admitted a reality that the agency has long resisted: While federal court preliminary injunction fights are ostensibly meant only to pause a merger while a merits case plays out through an in-house court, the federal court case usually decides the transaction's fate.

  • October 17, 2024

    $20B Verizon-Frontier Deal Faces Scrutiny, And Other Rumors

    A growing list of Frontier Communications' largest shareholders are concerned about its planned $20 billion takeover by Verizon Communications, and a group of former professional athletes are in talks to buy a stake in the NFL's Buffalo Bills. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable rumors from the past week.

  • October 17, 2024

    Google Asks 9th Circ. To Immediately Pause Epic Injunction

    Google filed an emergency motion late Wednesday in its antitrust battle with Epic Games Inc. asking the Ninth Circuit to stay a lower court's injunction that's set to take effect Nov. 1 requiring Google to open up its Play Store to competing app stores, slamming the injunction as harmful and "unworkable."

  • October 17, 2024

    Pa. AG Can't Get State Claims Restored In FTC Amazon Suit

    A federal judge tersely denied a request from Pennsylvania's attorney general, who had sought to reinstate her state's consumer protection claims against Amazon in the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust suit.

  • October 16, 2024

    Airline Owner Can't Force Cravath To Give Docs, Court Says

    Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP doesn't have to turn over documents used in the prosecution of an airline owner accused in a scheme to defraud Polar Air Cargo Worldwide of millions of dollars, a New York federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the defendant hasn't shown the firm was part of the prosecution.

  • October 16, 2024

    Atty Pressed On DMI Stock Drop Focus In Del. Merger Suit

    A Delaware vice chancellor repeatedly pressed an attorney for shareholders of 3D printer manufacturer The ExOne Co. Wednesday on the relative importance of a stock drop experienced by acquirer Desktop Metal Inc. before and after shareholders voted on a $575 million merger.

  • October 16, 2024

    Banks Ditch Exchange's Boycott Conspiracy Suit At 2nd Circ.

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday rejected a small trading exchange's effort to revive its claims that several major banks conspired to shut it out of the credit default swap market, saying the exchange failed to plausibly allege that the banks' conduct was the result of an unlawful agreement or conspiracy.

  • October 16, 2024

    Utah Judge Tosses Mattress Conspiracy Suit For Good

    A Utah federal court has tossed a lawsuit accusing major mattress companies and a trade group of conspiring to drive a competitor from the market after finding a lack of evidence showing there was an agreement to harm competition and saying the claims can't be fixed.

  • October 16, 2024

    Direct Buyers Get Final OK For $44M Drug Price-Fixing Deal

    A Pennsylvania federal court has granted final approval to $44.4 million in settlements between drugmakers Apotex, Breckenridge and Heritage and direct purchasers in a multidistrict litigation over alleged price-fixing in the generic-drug industry.

  • October 16, 2024

    Caremark, Optum Say FTC Insulin Case Gets PBMs All Wrong

    Caremark Rx, Express Scripts and OptumRx continue to attack the Federal Trade Commission's in-house case accusing the country's three largest pharmacy benefit managers of artificially inflating insulin prices by relying on unfair rebate schemes, arguing the agency's case lacks authority, facts and the right targets.

  • October 16, 2024

    Pa. AG Wants State Claims Restored In FTC Amazon Suit

    Pennsylvania's attorney general wants to get back into a joint state and federal antitrust case against Amazon, asking a Washington federal judge to reconsider tossing claims under Pennsylvania's consumer protection law because Amazon allegedly concealed its unfair trade practices from Pennsylvania customers.

  • October 16, 2024

    UFC, Fighters Get New Hearing On Revised $375M Settlement

    A Nevada federal judge has scheduled an Oct. 22 hearing to consider a $375 million proposed settlement between UFC and former fighters that would resolve claims the organization underpaid match participants for years, according to a minute order on Tuesday.

  • October 16, 2024

    M&A Pros Cautious About Expected Private Equity Surge

    It's an oft-repeated line that private equity activity is set to surge amid pressure to exit older investments and deploy record stores of dry powder, but mergers and acquisitions professionals recently surveyed by Dykema were cautious when asked if they expect private equity to boost deal flow in the next 12 months, with a majority saying they only "somewhat agree." 

  • October 16, 2024

    Enforcers Won't Challenge $3B Energy Deal, $5B Coal Tie-Up

    Deadlines have passed for antitrust enforcers to challenge Oneok Inc.'s deal for a $3.3 billion stake in EnLink Midstream LLC and Arch Resources Inc.'s all-stock merger with Consol Energy Inc., a deal that's expected to create a natural resources company worth $5.2 billion.

  • October 16, 2024

    4th Circ. Affirms Judgment In Foreclosure Bid-Rigging Case

    The Fourth Circuit backed a North Carolina federal court and tossed part of an appeal by a real estate company founder and others of a jury verdict that they rigged bids in foreclosure auctions in violation of state and federal antitrust laws.

  • October 15, 2024

    Qualcomm Milked 'Weak Patents' For Monopoly, 9th Circ. Told

    An attorney for a proposed class of cellphone buyers urged the 9th Circuit Monday to revive antitrust claims against Qualcomm, saying it used "weak patents" to secure licensing agreements that forced companies to give up their right to challenge the patents, although one judge questioned whether the plaintiffs had waived that argument.

  • October 15, 2024

    Transport Monopoly Judge Accepts Antitrust Guilty Plea

    A Texas federal judge has accepted a guilty plea from one of a dozen individuals in an antitrust case whom the government accused of using violence and intimidation to monopolize cross-border sales of used vehicles and other goods from the U.S. to Central America.

  • October 15, 2024

    Patent Co. Drops IP Suits To Go After Carriers In Antitrust Cases

    Patent-holding company VoIP-Pal.com announced Monday that it will refocus its legal efforts on antitrust litigation targeting the big three telecommunications carriers, days after dropping recently filed patent suits against Verizon and T-Mobile.

  • October 15, 2024

    Texas Regulators Oppose Bid To Open Up Texas Grid Projects

    The Public Utility Commission of Texas and three electricity companies have fired back at an independent electric transmission developer's attempt to halt a Texas law reserving new power line development for incumbent transmission companies.

  • October 15, 2024

    No New Trial For Bid-Rigging, Price-Fixing Concrete Bros.

    A Georgia federal judge refused Tuesday to grant a new trial to a pair of brothers convicted in July for their role in a scheme fixing prices, rigging bids and carving up the coastal Georgia ready-mix concrete market, finding no jury confusion in witness testimony about antitrust compliance training.

  • October 15, 2024

    Gamers End Challenge Of Microsoft's $69B Activision Deal

    Microsoft reached an agreement ending a challenge from a group of gamers targeting its $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard as a merger challenge from the Federal Trade Commission remains pending at the Ninth Circuit.

  • October 15, 2024

    Realtors Ask High Court To Quash DOJ Antitrust Probe

    The National Association of Realtors has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review of a ruling that would allow the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division to reopen an investigation into the trade group's rules and policies after an earlier settlement.

  • October 15, 2024

    'Extraordinary' Blue Cross Deal Includes $2.8B Payout

    The Blue Cross Blue Shield network will shell out $2.8 billion and invest "hundreds of millions" more overhauling its claims systems to soften barriers between members, in a massive antitrust settlement disclosed Monday in Alabama federal court under which healthcare providers' counsel stands to reap up to $700 million.

  • October 15, 2024

    Lenovo, InterDigital Settle Patent And Antitrust Suits

    A Delaware federal judge on Tuesday dismissed long-running antitrust and patent claims between Lenovo and InterDigital on Tuesday, after InterDigital announced the companies would drop their allegations in accordance with the terms of a patent licensing deal and a binding arbitration agreement.

  • October 15, 2024

    Novartis To Appeal Ruling In Entresto Generic Drug Fight

    Swiss drugmaker Novartis said Tuesday that it plans to appeal a ruling from over the weekend that scuttled its suit over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of a generic version of Entresto, the drugmaker's blockbuster heart failure medication.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 36 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • How Generative AI May Aid Merger Clearance Process

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    Generative artificial intelligence capable of analyzing and searching large datasets stands to revolutionize the merger clearance process, including by significantly reducing the time and effort required to respond to Hart-Scott-Rodino second requests, say Kenneth Koch and Brian Blush at BDO USA.

  • Antitrust In Retail: The Meaning Of 'Accessible Luxury'

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    In order for the Federal Trade Commission to block a deal that would put six "accessible luxury" brands, including Coach and Michael Kors, under one roof, the agency will need to prove that this category is distinct from the true luxury or mass-market categories, says David Kully at Holland & Knight.

  • 4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review

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    The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.

  • FTC Focus: Competition And The Right To Repair

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    If the Federal Trade Commission includes commercial and industrial products as part of copyright exemptions that allow consumers to modify or repair products, then businesses and affected rights holders will need to consider copyrights' impact on infringement issues, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • The Current State Of Healthcare Transaction Reviews In Calif.

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    As of April, certain healthcare transactions in California have been subject to additional notification compliance requirements, and complying with these new rules could significantly delay and discourage some deals, says Andrew Demetriou at Husch Blackwell.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • Behind The Stagecoach Boundary Fare Dispute Settlement

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    The Competition Appeal Tribunal's recent rail network boundary fare settlement offers group action practitioners some much-needed guidance as it reduces the number of remaining parties' five-year dispute from two to one, says Mohsin Patel at Factor Risk Management.

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