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Competition
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May 31, 2024
Texas Judge Opts Not To Recuse And Tosses Chamber Suit
A Texas federal judge has thrown out the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's suit seeking to block the Federal Trade Commission from implementing a ban on noncompete clauses because a different plaintiff was first to file, adding he declined to recuse himself because no companies in his stock portfolio were parties in the case.
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May 31, 2024
NJ Judge Says Mortgage Lender's Counterclaim Falls Flat
A New Jersey federal judge tossed an unfair competition counterclaim brought by Nationwide Mortgage Bankers Inc. in a trade secrets suit by its rival Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, ruling that Nationwide Mortgage's counterclaim allegations do not actually count as unfair competition under Garden State law.
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May 31, 2024
Nationwide's Planned £2.9B Virgin Money Deal Gets UK Probe
The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday it has opened a formal probe into Nationwide Building Society's plans to buy Virgin Money for £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion), which they say would create a combined group with assets of approximately £366 billion.
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May 30, 2024
Healthcare Data Co. Says Blocked Access Could Kill Patients
A healthcare data company asked a Maryland federal court on Thursday to stop a rival from blocking access to nursing home patient records it said are needed to identify potential complications that could lead to hospitalization or death.
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May 30, 2024
Albright Urged To Up Flypsi's $12M Trial Win Against Google
A Texas jury verdict requiring Google to pay $12 million in damages to software developer Flypsi Inc. for patent infringement is insufficient, Flypsi has told U.S. District Judge Alan Albright, asking the court to order a damages retrial or award it ongoing royalties and require Google to pay attorney fees.
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May 30, 2024
Only One Landlord Allowed To Duck DC RealPage Suit
One of several landlords that stands accused by the District of Columbia of using property management platform RealPage to fix the price of rentals has managed to convince a D.C. Superior Court judge to kibosh the claims against the real estate investment trust permanently.
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May 30, 2024
X Corp. Aims For 'Jugular' In Defamation Suit, Watchdog Says
Media Matters for America says X Corp. shouldn't be allowed to target the left-leaning media watchdog's "financial jugular" by accessing its donor lists or its most sensitive financial documents, asking a federal judge Wednesday to reject the social platform's attempt to force production of the documents in a defamation suit.
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May 30, 2024
Defendant Dropped From Calif. Broker Commissions Case
A California federal judge has dismissed a multiple listing service from a proposed antitrust class action that accused the service and several real estate brokerages of engaging in a conspiracy to artificially inflate buyer broker commissions on home sales.
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May 30, 2024
Jury Awards Electric Jet Startup $72M In Boeing IP Case
A Washington federal jury said Thursday that The Boeing Co. should pay Zunum Aero Inc. $72 million for misappropriating the electric jet startup's trade secrets and souring a deal with a potential investor, in an award partially subject to trebling under state law.
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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."
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Assessing Merger Guideline Feedback With Machine Learning
Large language modeling appears to show that public sentiment matches agency intent around the new merger control guidelines from the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department, says Andrew Sfekas at Cornerstone Research.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.
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What Cos. Evaluating M&A Can Glean From Latest HSR Report
The recently released Hart-Scott-Rodino report for fiscal year 2022 helps unearth important data points for companies as they evaluate potential transactions, including that, despite a historically low enforcement rate, the number of actions exceeds the number of second requests for the first time in nearly 20 years, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.
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Algorithmic Pricing Programs Caught In Antitrust Crosshairs
The Justice Department's investigation into software company RealPage follows a host of federal antitrust cases alleging that property owners and casino hotel operators use the same proprietary software programs to fix and maintain pricing, which means algorithmic pricing programs are considered a key price-fixing tool in the digital age, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
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UK Court Ruling Reinforces CMA's Info-Gathering Powers
An English appeals court's recent decision in the BMW and Volkswagen antitrust cases affirmed that the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority can request information from entities outside the U.K., reinstating an important implement in the CMA's investigative toolkit, say lawyers at White & Case.
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5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.
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How Biotech Deals May Help Competition, Despite FTC View
The Federal Trade Commission's complaint against Sanofi's proposed partnership with Maze Therapeutics highlights increasing skepticism of so-called killer acquisitions, but a closer look reveals potentially legitimate reasons behind why entities might decide to delay or abandon the development of acquired products, say consultants at Analysis Group.
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New SDNY Whistleblower Program May Be A Game-Changer
A new pilot program in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York promises to immunize from prosecution certain individuals who blow the whistle on financial crimes and corruption, and if similar self-disclosure programs are any indication, this significant new policy may measurably increase white collar investigations, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Series
Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.