Competition

  • November 25, 2024

    FTC's Antitrust Case Against Meta Gets April Trial Date

    A D.C. federal court has set an April 14 trial date for the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case accusing Meta of monopolizing personal social networking through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

  • November 25, 2024

    DOJ Says Realtor Commissions Deal Is No Antitrust Shield

    The U.S. Department of Justice warned the National Association of Realtors that changes to broker commission rules agreed to in a settlement with home sellers do not shield the industry from government antitrust scrutiny.

  • November 25, 2024

    Atty Sanctioned Over Depo Misconduct In Blank Rome Suit

    An attorney's alleged personal attacks against opposing counsel, refusal to answer questions and wrongful invoking of attorney-client privilege for certain documents led a Philadelphia federal court to order sanctions against her in an order published Monday.

  • November 25, 2024

    Trump 2.0 Expected To Maintain Tech Antitrust Cases

    President-elect Donald Trump has promised dramatic changes with his pending second term, but antitrust practitioners are anticipating a return to normal after four years of an aggressive Biden administration that's seemed skeptical of big business on the whole, though they also don't expect enforcement to be lax.

  • November 22, 2024

    PayPal Wants Renewed Suit Over Merchant Rules Tossed

    PayPal on Thursday urged a California federal court to again throw out a proposed class action claiming it illegally boosts online retail prices with its restrictive merchant agreements, arguing that the latest version of the complaint doesn't fix any of the issues flagged by the court.

  • November 22, 2024

    Europe's Antitrust Enforcer Puts Apple E-Book Probe To Bed

    The European Union's antitrust enforcer is dropping its probe into whether Apple's requirement that e-books and audiobooks be bought through in-app purchases in its App Store broke the bloc's competition rules.

  • November 22, 2024

    High Court Bar's Future: Sullivan & Cromwell's Morgan Ratner

    Morgan L. Ratner has emerged as a leader of the U.S. Supreme Court bar's next generation, and she attributes her ascent to brilliant mentors, a laid-back argument style, an aversion to overconfidence and a firm commitment to clear principles in every case — even if that means reluctantly telling the chief justice, as she once did, that a hypothetical cat stuck in a tree shouldn't be saved.

  • November 22, 2024

    Kraft, Others Say No Need To Stay Atty Fees After $53.3M Win

    Kraft, Kellogg, Nestle and General Mills have urged an Illinois federal judge not to delay deciding attorney fees following their $53.3 million judgment against egg producers and industry groups, saying further stalling would only prolong the already 13-year-old case.

  • November 22, 2024

    DOJ Antitrust Head Tracks 'More Aggressive' Criminal Cases

    The outgoing head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division used a speech celebrating the anniversary of a major initiative combating bid-rigging and other efforts by government contractors to bilk taxpayer-funded projects to also note that criminal antitrust enforcement more broadly has changed considerably in recent years.

  • November 22, 2024

    UK Enforcers Concerned Over Apple Mobile Browser Policies

    British competition enforcers said Friday that Apple's policies are holding back innovation in the mobile browser space and called for an investigation of the roles played by Apple and Google in the mobile ecosystem under new rules coming into force next year.

  • November 22, 2024

    New Congress Could Undo Rules On Drinking Water, Methane

    A consumer advocacy group is warning that Republicans may target a slew of recent and pending regulatory actions when they take control in Washington next year, saying they could make use of the Congressional Review Act to unwind new rules on competition, lead in drinking water, data protection and more.

  • November 22, 2024

    FTC Can't Block Amazon's Misconduct Defense In Prime Suit

    The Federal Trade Commission can't bar some of Amazon's defenses in an enforcement suit alleging consumers were duped into signing up for Prime delivery service, a Washington federal judge has ruled, allowing the e-commerce giant to argue the regulatory agency engaged in misconduct related to the litigation.

  • November 22, 2024

    DC RealPage Antitrust Suit Will Get New Judge In 2025

    The District of Columbia's case accusing a slew of landlords of using property management platform RealPage to fix the price of rentals is proceeding on schedule, but the judge who has been overseeing the case is going to be handing the matter off to another at the end of the year.

  • November 22, 2024

    Capital One 'Abuses' Cast Pall Over Discover Deal, Dems Say

    As the Biden administration winds down with Capital One's bid to buy Discover Financial still pending, progressive Democrats led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are putting renewed pressure on federal bank regulators reviewing the deal.

  • November 22, 2024

    Bondi Vowed Trump Payback. Ex-Colleagues Aren't Worried.

    U.S. attorney general nominee Pam Bondi is an outspoken ally of President-elect Donald Trump and vowed during the campaign that his "prosecutors will be prosecuted," but people who've worked with her say she's well qualified to serve as the nation's top cop and downplayed concerns that she would politicize the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • November 22, 2024

    1st Circ. Affirms Volvo Win In Dealers' Maintenance Pay Suit

    The First Circuit affirmed a pretrial win granted to Volvo in a suit brought by two dealerships claiming the carmaker was underpaying them for maintenance they perform under prepaid service plans.

  • November 22, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Stradley Ronon, Davis Polk

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Amcor PLC buys Berry Global Group Inc., AeroVironment buys BlueHalo, Robinhood Markets Inc. acquires TradePMR, and Comcast Corp. spins off a suite of NBCUniversal cable television networks.

  • November 22, 2024

    CAT Approves £7B Google Claim Over Apple Search Monopoly

    The Competition Appeal Tribunal gave the green light on Friday to a consumer advocate's attempt to bring a £7 billion ($8.7 billion) class action against Google over claims the tech giant has blocked competitors from entering the search engine market on Apple products.

  • November 22, 2024

    DirecTV Scraps Dish Merger After Bondholder Rejection

    DirecTV is abandoning a plan to purchase EchoStar's video distribution business Dish DBS, including Dish TV and Sling TV, after Dish DBS' bondholders rejected a proposed exchange debt offer that was required to seal the deal.

  • November 22, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen cash-strapped Thurrock Borough Council bring a £40 million ($50 million) negligence claim against 23 other local authorities over its solar investments from a not-for-profit local government body, AstraZeneca sue a fire safety company following a blaze at its Cambridge headquarters last year, and a director who was convicted in 2016 for corporate manslaughter face action by Manolete Partners. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • November 22, 2024

    Viatris Fined £1.5M For Failing To Comply With CMA Order

    The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that it has fined U.S. healthcare company Viatris Inc. £1.5 million ($1.9 million) for breaching an order as the regulator reviewed a deal it had inked with Theramex, a U.K. pharmaceutical business.

  • November 21, 2024

    Messi Drink's Look A 'Blatant' Copy, Logan Paul's Co. Says

    Social media influencer Logan Paul's sports beverage company Prime Hydration has struck back at the maker of White Claw over its new beverage collaboration with soccer legend Lionel Messi, saying in a New York federal court filing that the "blatant copying" of their Prime product's trade dress has already created consumer confusion.

  • November 21, 2024

    Cherokee Look To Block Voter Group In Casino Mandate Row

    Two Cherokee Nation businesses suing Arkansas over a constitutional amendment revoking one of the tribal entities' casino gambling licenses want a federal judge to deny a bid to intervene in their suit by the group responsible for placing a ballot question before voters that repealed the license.

  • November 21, 2024

    Tempur Gave UK Co. 'Total Autonomy' Post-Merger, CEO Says

    The CEO of a United Kingdom-based mattress company acquired by Tempur Sealy in 2021 told a Houston federal judge Thursday that his new parent company has provided him "total autonomy" since the acquisition.

  • November 21, 2024

    DOJ Search Fixes Would Remake Google, Break Off Chrome

    To give rival search engines a fighting chance against Google's illegal monopoly and its massive data and structural advantages, the Justice Department asked a D.C. federal judge Wednesday for sweeping changes that would divest the Chrome browser, open up Android devices and guarantee access to underlying search data.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • What Companies Should Consider Amid Multistate AG Actions

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    The rise of multistate attorney general actions is characterized by increased collaboration and heightened scrutiny across various industries — including Big Tech and gaming — and though coalitions present challenges for targeted companies, they also offer opportunities for streamlined resolutions and coordinated public relations efforts, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • Opinion

    Paid Noncompetes Offer A Better Solution Than FTC's Ban

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    A better alternative to the Federal Trade Commission's recent and widely contested noncompete ban would be a nationwide bright-line rule requiring employers to pay employees during the noncompete period, says Steven Kayman at Rottenberg Lipman.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • 5 Steps To Navigating State Laws On Healthcare Transactions

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    As more states pass legislation requiring healthcare-transaction notice, private equity investors and other deal parties should evaluate the new laws and consider ways to mitigate their effects, say Carol Loepere and Nicole Aiken-Shaban at Reed Smith.

  • Orange Book Warnings Highlight FTC's Drug Price Focus

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    In light of heightened regulatory scrutiny surrounding drug pricing and the Federal Trade Commission's activity in the recent Teva v. Amneal case, branded drug manufacturers should expect the FTC's campaign against allegedly improper Orange Book listings to continue, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

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    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Inside Antitrust Agencies' Rollup And Serial Acquisition Moves

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    The recent request for public comments on serial acquisitions and rollup strategies from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department mark the antitrust agencies' continued focus on actions that fall below premerger reporting thresholds, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

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    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Rare Robinson-Patman Ruling Exhibits Key Antitrust Risk

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    A rare federal court decision under the Robinson-Patman Act, which prohibits certain kinds of price discrimination, highlights the antitrust risks faced by certain suppliers and is likely to be cited by future plaintiffs and enforcement officials calling for renewed scrutiny of pricing and discounting practices, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Takeaways From Nat'l Security Division's Historic Declination

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    The Justice Department National Security Division's recent decision not to prosecute a biochemical company for an employee's export control violation marks its first declination under a new corporate enforcement policy, sending a clear message to companies that self-disclosure of misconduct may confer material benefits, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Wiretap Use In Cartel Probes Likely To Remain An Exception

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    Although the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has recently signaled interest in wiretaps, the use of this technology to capture evidence of antitrust conspiracies and pursue monopolization as a criminal matter has been rare historically, and is likely to remain so, say Carsten Reichel and Will Conway at DLA Piper.

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