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Competition
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May 30, 2024
Sorority, Ex-Affiliate End Trademark Suit After Mediation
A sorority and a former affiliate have agreed to scrap a trademark dispute alleging the affiliate continued to use the sorority's name and symbols after their relationship had been severed.
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May 30, 2024
Divided FTC Won't Delay Kroger-Albertsons In-House Case
The Federal Trade Commission's three Democrats refused Wednesday to delay the agency in-house challenge to Kroger's $24.6 billion purchase of Albertsons, blaming the grocery giants for their scheduling challenges and drawing a sharp dissent from the FTC's two Republicans.
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May 30, 2024
Gas Station Chain Owes Wash. Tax For In-Network Sales
A Pacific Northwest gas station chain that issued fuel cards to customers must pay the Washington state business and occupation tax when holders of those cards purchase gas from other participating gas station chains, a Washington appeals court panel found, partially upholding the trial court.
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May 30, 2024
DOJ's Kanter Says AI Cos. Could Exploit Creators
The head of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Jonathan Kanter, said Thursday that a lack of competition between artificial intelligence companies could allow them to exploit writers, artists and other content creators.
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May 30, 2024
FTC, Novant Ask To Delay In-House Trial On Merger Challenge
The Federal Trade Commission and Novant Health have asked to postpone an upcoming administrative hearing over the nonprofit's proposed purchase of two North Carolina hospitals, a purchase that regulators are concerned will dampen competition in the region, according to a notice filed in federal court.
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May 30, 2024
Wine Distribution Giants Must Face Provi's Antitrust Suit
The nation's two largest wine and distilled spirits distributors must face unfair competition claims from an online marketplace accusing them of illegally trying to stifle competition and shut it out of the market, an Illinois federal judge determined Thursday.
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May 30, 2024
EU Court Rejects Appeal Over Spanish Port Tax Breaks
The European Union's Court of Justice on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that corporate tax exemptions Spain extended to seaports were illegal state aid, brushing aside arguments that a more thorough economic analysis was warranted to prove the tax breaks bestowed an unfair advantage.
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May 30, 2024
Sen. Dems Call On DOJ To Prevent Price-Fixing In Oil Industry
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., led a group of Senate Democrats in calling on the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday to do everything in its power to prevent and prosecute price-fixing and collusion in the oil industry.
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May 30, 2024
NCAA V. Athletes Suits Paused As Parties Talk Final Deal
The consolidated cases in the class action against the NCAA over athletes' name, image and likeness compensation were stayed by a California federal judge Thursday, the next step toward finalizing the multibillion-dollar settlement the two sides reached last week.
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May 30, 2024
What To Watch As The FTC Targets Drug Patent Listings
The Federal Trade Commission has been scrutinizing patents listed by drugmakers on a key federal database, warning several companies that their listings are improper and drive up drug prices. Here's a look at what the agency and others could do next.
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May 30, 2024
KKR's $24B NetCo Buy Gets EU Regulatory Approval
The European Commission said Thursday it has approved KKR & Co.'s planned $23.7 billion acquisition of NetCo from Italian telecommunications provider TIM Group, paving the way for the close of one of the largest deals announced last year.
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May 30, 2024
VR Fitness App Ends $353M Antitrust Row With Meta, For Now
An app developer that sued Meta, Mark Zuckerberg and others seeking $353 million for alleged antitrust violations after the social media platform reneged on a deal to launch the plaintiff's virtual reality fitness app voluntarily dropped his case, for now, according to a notice filed Wednesday in California federal court.
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May 30, 2024
NCAA To End Transfer Rules In Deal With DOJ
The NCAA agreed on Thursday to stop enforcing all rules governing athletes transferring from one institution to another, as part of a proposed consent decree filed by the U.S. Department of Justice to settle an antitrust suit against the organization by 10 states and the District of Columbia.
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May 30, 2024
Ex-Air Cargo Exec Who Took $6.7M In Kickbacks Gets 4 Years
A Manhattan federal judge sentenced a German-born former air cargo executive to four years in prison Thursday for a decadelong course of corruption in which he personally took over $6.7 million in kickbacks, saying the wealthy defendant acted out of "pure greed."
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May 30, 2024
US Steel, Nippon Obtain All Non-US Regulatory Approvals
U.S. Steel Corp. and Nippon Steel Corp. said Thursday they have received all non-U.S. regulatory nods to move ahead with their planned $14.9 billion merger, including from the European Commission and the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority.
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May 29, 2024
Meta's Policy On Threats List 'Sounds Nefarious,' Judge Says
The California federal judge overseeing claims Meta blacklists certain adult performers questioned the social media giant's practice of keeping its list of dangerous organizations and individuals as a "living document" that changes constantly and isn't archived, saying the policy appears to destroy evidence and "sounds nefarious."
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May 29, 2024
PBMs Urge Ohio Suit Stay For Supreme Court Ruling
Two pharmacy benefits managers want the Sixth Circuit to put its appeal on hold in an Ohio-led case accusing them of working together to drive up the cost of medications while the U.S. Supreme Court decides another case that also has to do with federal versus state jurisdiction.
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May 29, 2024
Visa, Mastercard Consumers Ink $197.5M ATM Antitrust Deal
A pair of Visa and Mastercard consumers asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge Wednesday to greenlight a $197.5 million class settlement that would resolve claims that the credit card companies conspired with major banks to fix ATM access fees.
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May 29, 2024
Chancery Sends Momentus De-SPAC Claims Toward Trial
A Delaware vice chancellor refused to dismiss any counts Wednesday in a suit filed by investors in the special purpose acquisition company that took commercial space venture Momentus Inc. public in August 2021, with the court noting that the case will be judged on plaintiff friendly entire fairness standards.
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May 29, 2024
Microsoft's Post-Merger Layoffs Cited In I-Told-You-So Appeal
A private group of gamers is pointing to Microsoft's recent layoffs of 1,900 Activision and XBox employees as evidence of market harms stemming from Microsoft Corp.'s acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., as the group seeks to revive a private antitrust suit challenging the merger in the Ninth Circuit.
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May 29, 2024
Google, Apple Say Nothing New To Revive Search Pact Suit
Google and Apple urged a California federal judge not to revive a private lawsuit accusing Google of paying Apple not to produce its own search engine, arguing the consumers have nothing new in citing months-old revelations from the Justice Department's search monopolization case against Google.
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May 29, 2024
PJM Watchdog Challenges FERC's Meeting Roadblock
Monitoring Analytics, the independent market monitor for regional transmission organization PJM Interconnection, is asking the D.C. Circuit to review a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order from March allowing PJM to keep the monitor out of its liaison committee meetings.
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May 29, 2024
Benefits Trade Group Urges Changes To New York PBM Regs
A trade group representing large employers who sponsor employee benefit plans warned New York's insurance regulator that a proposal affecting pharmacy benefit managers — which act as intermediaries between pharmacies, drugmakers and insurers — will trigger litigation without changes before they're finalized to eliminate conflicts with federal benefits law.
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May 29, 2024
Handbag Cos. Seek FTC In-House Delay For Fed. Court Row
Tapestry and Capri are asking the Federal Trade Commission to delay an in-house challenge to the planned $8.5 billion merger combining the parent companies of Coach and Michael Kors, arguing the FTC's separate request for a preliminary injunction in New York federal court should take precedence.
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May 29, 2024
NCAA Must Face Bulk Of Student-Athlete's W.Va. Transfer Suit
A West Virginia federal judge will not allow the NCAA to escape the bulk of an antitrust lawsuit filed by a 22-year-old, ruling he sufficiently supported his claims accusing the organization of contract interference when it deemed him ineligible to play basketball after a midseason transfer.
Expert Analysis
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What's On The Horizon In Attorney General Enforcement
A look at recent attorney general actions, especially in the areas of antitrust and artificial intelligence, can help inform businesses on what they should expect in terms of enforcement trends as 10 attorney general races play out in 2024, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.
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Planning For Stymied HSR Filings At FTC If Shutdown Occurs
If the government were to shut down in early March, the inability to submit Hart-Scott-Rodino filings with the Federal Trade Commission would grind transactions to a halt, and parties should consider numerous implications as they are negotiating or planning to close pending transactions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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How High Court SEC Case Could Affect The ITC
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy will likely spare the U.S. International Trade Commission from major operative changes, the ITC’s ability to issue penalties for violations of its orders may change, say Gwendolyn Tawresey and Ryan Deck at Troutman Pepper.
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HR Antitrust Compliance Crucial Amid DOJ Scrutiny
The Justice Department's Antitrust Division recently announced a required human resources component for antitrust compliance programs, which means companies should evaluate their policies to prevent, detect and remediate potential violations as they add training for HR professionals, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Mass Arb. Rule Changes May Be A Hindrance For Consumers
The American Arbitration Association's recent changes to its mass arbitration supplementary rules and fee schedule, including a shift from filing fees to initiation and per-case fees, may reduce consumers' ability to counteract businesses' mandatory arbitration agreements, say Eduard Korsinsky and Alexander Krot at Levi & Korsinsky.
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ChristianaCare Settlement Reveals FCA Pitfalls For Hospitals
ChristianaCare's False Claims Act settlement in December is the first one based on a hospital allegedly providing private physicians with free services in the form of hospital-employed clinicians and provides important compliance lessons as the government ramps up scrutiny of compensation arrangements, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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The Latest Antitrust Areas For In-House Counsel To Watch
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission's increasingly aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement means in-house counsel should closely monitor five key compliance issues, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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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.