Competition

  • July 23, 2024

    Capital One Card Holders Sue To Block Discover Merger

    Capital One credit card holders launched a proposed class action seeking to block the company's $35 billion purchase of Discover Monday, claiming the acquisition will drive down competition and further consolidate the already-concentrated credit card market.

  • July 23, 2024

    On Capitol Hill, PBM Execs Deny Role In High Drug Costs

    Executives from the nation's three largest pharmacy benefit managers told members of a U.S. House committee on Tuesday that they lower drug costs while pointing the finger at pharmaceutical manufacturers.

  • July 23, 2024

    Senate Dems Roll Out Bill To Codify Chevron Deference

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., led a group of Democratic senators Tuesday in introducing a bill to codify the now-defunct doctrine of Chevron deference after it was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month.

  • July 23, 2024

    Philly Judge Won't Block FTC Noncompete Ban

    A Pennsylvania federal judge refused Tuesday to temporarily block the Federal Trade Commission's impending ban on employment noncompete agreements, a victory for commission authority that could be short-lived as the agency awaits a final decision from a Texas federal judge who's already indicated an inclination to stop the regulation.

  • July 23, 2024

    Firm Says Rival's Trademark Merely 'Common Spanish Phrase'

    A Houston-based immigration law firm wants claims trimmed in a suit brought by a rival Washington state firm claiming unfair competition and trademark violation, also filing a counterclaim for declaratory judgment that calls the supposed trademark a "common Spanish phrase."

  • July 23, 2024

    Chase, McKinsey Get FTC Inquiry Over 'Surveillance Pricing'

    The Federal Trade Commission has issued orders to eight companies — including Mastercard, Chase, Accenture and McKinsey & Co. — seeking more information about the potential impact their practices of "surveillance pricing" products and services have on privacy, competition and consumer protection, the FTC said Tuesday.

  • July 22, 2024

    FCC, Industry Debate If Brand X Case Set Broadband In Stone

    Industry groups are pushing their case to the Sixth Circuit that the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules should be tossed because the demise of the Chevron doctrine trimmed agency's legal authority, but the FCC argues that the recent paring back of federal regulators' discretion means nothing for the agency's restrictions on broadband providers.

  • July 22, 2024

    Fla. Jury Says Insurance Broker Owes $3M For Worker Poaching

    A Florida federal jury has awarded more than $3 million in damages to a New York insurance brokerage in a trial over employment contracts, finding that a competitor interfered with its business by helping two employees breach fiduciary duties when they switched jobs and brought client lists with them.

  • July 22, 2024

    Tevra Says Bayer Owes Millions As Antitrust Trial Opens

    Tevra Brands LLC told a California federal jury during antitrust trial openings Monday that Bayer owes millions of dollars for allegedly cutting anticompetitive deals with retailers to undermine competition from anti-flea-and-tick treatment generics, while Bayer defended its "reasonable" and optional retailer discounts and criticized Tevra's "astronomical" damages demand.

  • July 22, 2024

    Gov't Wants Protest Over $186M In DOD Fuel Deals Thrown Out

    The Defense Logistics Agency has urged the Court of Federal Claims to dismiss a protest alleging it wrongly ignored misconduct by companies awarded $186 million in fuel delivery deals, saying it adequately investigated the claims and found nothing untoward.

  • July 22, 2024

    New Precedent, New Fate For NAR 'Cooperation' Rule Suit

    A California federal judge reversed course Monday and revived a lawsuit, tossed in 2021, targeting National Association of Realtors rules that prevent real estate agents from listing properties outside their affiliated networks, after an intervening Ninth Circuit decision redirected the product market in question.

  • July 22, 2024

    Price-Fixing Claims Against Par Pharma On Chopping Block

    A Connecticut federal judge has asked a coalition of states to explain why he shouldn't toss two price-fixing lawsuits against Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc., noting that the defendant and its parent, Endo International PLC, recently filed Chapter 11 reorganization plans shielding them from the cases.

  • July 22, 2024

    FTC Tells 5th Circ. Anesthesia Co. Can't Stop Antitrust Case

    The Federal Trade Commission is telling the Fifth Circuit to dismiss U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc.'s appeal in the FTC's antitrust case against it, saying the circuit court has no jurisdiction in the appeal because the lower court ruling at issue falls outside the scope of the collateral order doctrine.

  • July 22, 2024

    In Transfer Row, Live Nation Calls DOJ Case Merger Deal 2.0

    Live Nation and Ticketmaster formally asked a skeptical New York federal judge to transfer the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit to Washington, D.C., arguing the case clearly grows out of an underlying 2010 deal clearing the merger the government now wants unwound.

  • July 22, 2024

    Merchants Seek Pause Of Visa, MasterCard Swipe-Fee Deal

    A group of merchants who use payment company Square's services to accept cards has asked a New York federal judge to pause the settlement of a massive swipe-fee antitrust litigation against Visa and Mastercard while they pursue a Second Circuit appeal of her ruling that they're bound by the deal. 

  • July 22, 2024

    Midyear Report: Surveying Vast NCAA Litigation Landscape

    While the NCAA has never been a stranger to high-stakes litigation, the past six months have seen a deluge of courtroom intrigue as college athletes flex their legal muscle amid a quickly shifting consensus on the organization's overall business model.

  • July 22, 2024

    Former Judge On Trump Assassination Attempt Panel

    A former federal judge who previously sat on an oversight panel for the Secret Service was among those the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Sunday would conduct an independent review of the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

  • July 22, 2024

    SEC Launches Multiagency Fraud Council

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that it is creating the Interagency Securities Council, which will bring together federal, state and local regulatory and law enforcement professionals quarterly to discuss the latest in "scams, trends, frauds, and mitigation strategies."

  • July 22, 2024

    UK Ends DJ Equipment Merger Probe As Parties Ditch Deal

    The antitrust regulator of the U.K. said Monday that it has canceled its probe into DJ equipment maker AlphaTheta's proposed acquisition of audio technology company Serato, after the audio entertainment companies abandoned the deal.

  • July 22, 2024

    Hoka Accused Of Fixing Retail Prices As Trial Kicks Off

    A British running shoe store chain on Monday accused the sneaker maker behind Hoka of fixing retail prices by blocking the seller from using an online discount store, kicking off its trial at the U.K.'s specialist antitrust tribunal.

  • July 19, 2024

    Jazz Says Narcolepsy Drug Charge MDL Should Be Tossed

    Jazz Pharmaceuticals urged a California federal judge to toss claims from insurers and consumers pursuing multidistrict litigation accusing the drugmaker of staving off generic competition to its blockbuster narcolepsy medicine Xyrem through antitrust conduct and deals with other drugmakers, saying the company engaged in "permissible competition."

  • July 19, 2024

    NFL Antitrust Verdict, WWE Chair Woes Define 2024's 1st Half

    The first half of 2024 saw bombshell allegations and yearslong litigation lurching forward, highlighted by the shocking lawsuit accusing the founder of WWE of horrific sexual conduct, an iconic magazine almost shuttering and two NFL cases reaching significant milestones.

  • July 19, 2024

    Capital One Critics Lobby To Block 'No Good' Discover Deal

    Critics of Capital One's planned $35 billion purchase of Discover Financial Services urged federal regulators on Friday to withhold approval for the tie-up, rejecting a landmark community benefits pledge for the merger as a fig leaf for what they said is really a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" megadeal.

  • July 19, 2024

    FTC Wants To Block Kroger & Albertsons' 'Principal Defense'

    Federal Trade Commission staffers want to block Kroger and Albertsons from using their main defense to an in-house merger challenge — the plan to sell off 579 stores — or otherwise force the companies to produce documents so far protected as privileged, according to a recently public filing.

  • July 19, 2024

    Judge Tosses Traders' Counterclaims In Trade Secrets Case

    A Manhattan federal judge has ruled that Millennium Management LLC and two of its employees cannot yet use the federal trade secrets law to claim attorney fees with their allegation that investment firm Jane Street Group LLC sued them in bad faith over a proprietary trading strategy.

Expert Analysis

  • EU Inquiry Offers First Insight Into Foreign Subsidy Law

    Author Photo

    The European Commission's first in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation into a public procurement process, and subsequent brief on regulatory trends, sheds light on the commission's approach to such cases, as well as jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues under the regulation, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.

  • Opinion

    PACCAR Should Be 1st Step To Regulating Litigation Funders

    Author Photo

    Rather than reversing the U.K. Supreme Court's well-reasoned judgment in PACCAR v. Competition Appeal Tribunal, imposing a regulatory regime on litigation funders in parity with that of lawyers, legislators should build upon it to create a more transparent, competitive and fairer funding industry, says Rosa Curling at Foxglove.

  • What The NIL Negotiation Rules Injunction Means For NCAA

    Author Photo

    A Tennessee federal court's recent preliminary injunction reverses several prominent and well-established NCAA rules on negotiations with student-athletes over name, image and likeness compensation and shows that collegiate athletics is a profoundly unsettled legal environment, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Md. May See Vigorous Resale Price Maintenance Enforcement

    Author Photo

    In Maryland, indications of a new focus on resale price maintenance agreements are significant because state prosecution in this area has been rare, particularly outside California, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

    Author Photo

    A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Antitrust Enforcers' Views On Info Exchanges Are Evolving

    Author Photo

    As antitrust enforcers' views on information exchanges between competing companies have matured in response to technological advances, companies would do well to reconsider whether the exchanges in which they participate meet the most recent compliance benchmarks, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

    Author Photo

    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief

    Author Photo

    The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.

  • Decline In Same-Industry M&A Tells A Nuanced Policy Story

    Author Photo

    In light of newly available Hart-Scott-Rodino Act data suggesting that intraindustry mergers are down overall and pharmaceutical and hospital intraindustry transactions tend to face greater antitrust scrutiny than in the past, attorneys at Morgan Lewis explore whether Biden administration enforcement policies may be curbing pro-competitive strategic M&A.

  • Behind The 'CVR Spin' Method Of Unlocking Assets In M&A

    Author Photo

    The spinoff of contingent value rights, or the CVR spin, can unlock secondary and noncore assets in public mergers and acquisitions, while resolving the market dislocation of some traditional divestitures, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Opinion

    European Union Criticisms Of The FCPA Are Misguided

    Author Photo

    Some in the European Union have criticized U.S. enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for what they perceive as jurisdictional overreach, but this appears to overlook the crucial fact that jurisdiction is voluntary, and critics should focus instead on the lack of equivalent laws in their own region, say John Joy and YuTong Wang at FTI Law.

  • 5 Models For Structuring Health Provider-Payor Partnerships

    Author Photo

    With recent data showing that the U.S. continues to spend more and get less for healthcare services compared to other industrialized nations, providers and payors should consider a variety of partnership structures that can help achieve the so-called triple aim of improving the health of individuals and populations while reducing per capita costs, says John Howard at Thompson Coburn.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

    Author Photo

    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Understanding Insurance Is Key To Limiting Antitrust Liability

    Author Photo

    As regulators signal their intent to continue last year's aggressive campaign of corporate antitrust litigation, businesses must make active management of their liability insurance policies, along with a firm knowledge of the limits of their coverage, central to their strategies for limiting the enormous financial risks of enforcement, say attorneys at Nossaman.

  • What FTC's 'Killer Acquisition' Theory Means For Pharma Cos.

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission's recent lawsuit to block Sanofi's acquisition of a pharmaceutical treatment developed by Maze Therapeutics builds on previous enforcement actions and could indicate the agency's growing willingness to use its so-called killer acquisition theory against perceived attempts to eliminate nascent competition, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Competition archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!