Competition

June 21, 2024
DOJ Backs Antitrust Case Against Zillow, Realtors At 9th Circ.

The U.S. Department of Justice has urged the Ninth Circuit to revive antitrust claims from a defunct brokerage platform against Zillow and the National Association of Realtors based on design changes Zillow made to comply with association rules.
June 21, 2024
DC Better Match For Net Neutrality Suits, 6th Circ. Told

A public interest group urged the Sixth Circuit to move lawsuits over the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules to the D.C. Circuit, saying the lottery that put the cases in Cincinnati was not enacted to keep litigation out of D.C.
June 21, 2024
Off The Bench: ACC-FSU Rematch, Supreme Win For Fla. Tribe

In this week's Off The Bench, the next round of venue tug-of-war begins between the Atlantic Coast Conference and Florida State University, the U.S. Supreme Court hands Florida and the Seminole Tribe a lucrative gaming win, and Roger Goodell and Jerry Jones defend the NFL's handling of its Sunday Ticket package.
June 21, 2024
Skiplagged Removes Motion After Judge's Rebuke

Airfare search engine Skiplagged Inc. has settled its differences with American Airlines in a discovery dispute that prompted an "exasperated" Texas federal judge to order the parties to mediation, saying both sides had addressed the concerns that prompted Skiplagged to file for a protective order.
June 21, 2024
Apple Can't Challenge £853M IPhone Battery Class Action

Apple failed in its bid to challenge an £853 million ($1 billion) proposed class action that accuses it of concealing problems with batteries in the phones of 24 million customers, after an appeals court found Friday the claim had prospects of success.
June 21, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Travers Smith, Potamitis Vekris

In this week's Taxation With Representation, RSK Group Ltd. gets a £500 million ($632 million) investment, Boston Scientific Corp. acquires Silk Road Medical Inc., Masdar takes a part of Terna Energy SA, and Tate & Lyle PLC buys CP Kelco from JM Huber Corp.
June 21, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen JD Wetherspoon sue a Welsh pub over its name in the Intellectual Property Court, ex-professional boxer Amir Khan and his wife file libel action against an influencer, the Performing Right Society hit with a competition claim over music licensing, and Manolete Partners bring action against the directors of a bust investment firm. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
June 21, 2024
Salmon Farmers Hit With £382M Price-Fixing Class Action

Several Atlantic fish farming companies face a £382 million ($482 million) class action on behalf of millions of U.K. consumers who accuse the businesses of running a cartel to artificially inflate salmon prices.
June 20, 2024
NFL Sunday Ticket Is Procompetitive, Stanford Prof Tells Jury

A Stanford University professor of economics on Thursday told a California federal jury considering multibillion-dollar antitrust claims against the NFL that the league's subscription deal with DirecTV and its method for distributing broadcast proceeds evenly to all its teams are procompetitive practices.
June 20, 2024
Patent Owners, Challengers Spar Over PTAB Rule Proposal

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's scaled-back package of Patent Trial and Appeal Board rules has drawn a mixed reaction from legal and industry groups, which offered praise and concern about both the proposal and the topics it does not address.
June 20, 2024
$13B Antitrust Suit Is Class Cert 'Antithesis,' Delta Dental Says

The nation's largest dental insurance system and its members have blasted service providers' bid for class treatment in multidistrict litigation targeting an alleged $13 billion antitrust scheme, telling an Illinois federal judge that the providers' case "is the very antithesis of a proper class action."
June 20, 2024
Cheer Parents Get Initial OK For $82.5M Varsity Brands Deal

A Tennessee federal judge is giving the preliminary go-ahead to an $82.5 million settlement between a class of cheer parents and a group of the biggest players in the American cheer industry, agreeing that the deal appears to be fair and equitable.
June 20, 2024
FCC Slams Bid In 6th Circ. To Put Net Neutrality On Hold

The Federal Communications Commission told the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday it should pay no heed to a collection of net neutrality challengers arguing that "dire consequences" will ensue if the appellate court doesn't stop the agency from reinstating open internet regulations while the two sides argue the matter out in court.
June 20, 2024
ACC Fights FSU's Stay Appeal In Media Rights Contract Suit

The Atlantic Coast Conference has urged North Carolina's highest court to support a judge's decision to reject a bid by Florida State University to pause the organization's media rights lawsuit while a related action plays out in the Sunshine State.
June 20, 2024
Competition Raids Don't Need Warrant For Emails, ECJ Told

European Union law doesn't bar member states from permitting competition authorities to search emails without a warrant amid a so-called dawn raid, according to an advisory opinion submitted to the bloc's top appeals court Thursday.
June 20, 2024
Vegas Papers Can't Pause Suit Amid Trim Appeal, Judge Says

Rival Las Vegas newspapers won't see their acrimonious antitrust dispute placed on ice while the Ninth Circuit contemplates reversal of a partial dismissal order in the matter with no trial dates in place yet, a Nevada federal judge has determined.
June 20, 2024
Assa Abloy Says Deal Monitor Going Too Far

Assa Abloy has told a D.C. federal court that a monitoring trustee installed after the company settled a government merger challenge is taking things too far by trying to conduct a five-year, industry-wide study that's on pace to cost the company $20 million.
June 20, 2024
Mastercard Settles Retailers' Swipe Fees Group Litigation

Mastercard has settled a class action claim brought by more than 1,900 businesses in ongoing litigation over allegations it imposed excessively high credit card fees on merchants, a person familiar with the case has confirmed.
June 19, 2024
Mastercard Cuts Time-Barred Claims From £10B Class Action

A London tribunal has wiped out a swathe of claims from a £10 billion ($12.7 billion) class action against Mastercard for being time-barred, dismissing allegations on Wednesday that the credit card giant had hidden information about its interchange fees from consumers.
June 19, 2024
Swiss Watchdog Ends UBS-Credit Suisse Merger Controls

Switzerland's financial watchdog said Wednesday that it has cleared the takeover by UBS of stricken rival Credit Suisse AG after finding that the rescue deal would not harm competition in any domestic market.
June 19, 2024
Train Operator Denies Hiding Cheaper Fares From Passengers

A rail operator told a class action trial in London on Wednesday that allegations by rail passengers that it had concealed the existence of cheaper tickets from customers are not backed up by any evidence.
June 18, 2024
Qualcomm Investors Ink $75M Deal Over Licensing Practices

Qualcomm Inc. investors asked a California federal judge to greenlight a $75 million settlement that would resolve their claims that the chipmaker misled the market by stating it kept its licensing and chip-supply businesses separate when it regularly bundled the two in negotiations and agreements.
June 18, 2024
Tesla Can't Beat 'Right-To-Repair' Monopoly Suit This Time

Tesla must face an amended proposed class action alleging the company runs an unlawful monopoly on parts for its electric vehicles, a California federal judge has ruled, finding that the plaintiffs have addressed issues in their previously dismissed complaint.
June 18, 2024
Ex-CBS Sports Chair Denies Fixing NFL Sunday Ticket Price

The recently retired chairman of CBS Sports on Tuesday told a California federal jury considering multibillion-dollar antitrust claims against the NFL that his network didn't collude with the league to fix the price of the DirecTV Sunday Ticket television package.
June 18, 2024
IPhone Buyers Want Canadian Data In Amazon Antitrust Case

Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. must be forced to turn over Canadian sales data as part of a lawsuit accusing the pair of hatching an anticompetitive agreement to choke third-party sales, a group of iPad and iPhone buyers told a Washington federal court.

Expert Analysis

4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.
Opinion

Waiving COVID-19 IP Protections Would Harm US Industry

President Joe Biden should turn down a World Trade Organization proposal to waive crucial intellectual property protections behind COVID-19 tests and diagnostics — protections that allow U.S. companies to sustain millions of jobs and develop life-saving treatments that benefit patients in every country, says former U.S. Circuit Judge Paul Michel, now at the Council for Innovation Promotion.
What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security

In 2024, expect the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, already at the forefront of addressing national security threats, to increase monitoring and enforcement related to outbound investment, focus on supply chain resilience in nondefense sectors, and heighten oversight of agricultural transactions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
Navigating Class Actions After Papa John's Settlement Denial

A Kentucky federal court's surprising denial of preliminary approval for a $5 million settlement in the Papa John's no-poach case may prove to be an outlier but suggests a class action settlement would only be approved when a plaintiff demonstrates that a litigation class would be certified, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.
4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
The Space Law And Policy Outlook For 2024

Expect significant movement in space law, regulation and policy in 2024, as Congress, the administration and independent federal agencies like the Federal Communications Commission address the increasingly congested, contested and competitive nature of space and the space industry, say Paul Stimers and Leighton Brown at Holland & Knight.
Antitrust Enforcement Initiatives To Watch In 2024

The U.S. Department of Justice is likely to prioritize information-sharing prosecutions in 2024, following last year's withdrawal of safe harbors, as well as labor market enforcement after trial losses forced a pullback in 2023, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
HHS Advisory Highlights Free Product Inducement Risks

A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advisory opinion highlights concerns that valuable free products and other inducements may influence patients and providers to choose one manufacturer’s product over another, notwithstanding that such free healthcare products may be a benefit, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
Opinion

Why Challenges To FTC Authority Are Needed

In spite of skepticism from courts, the Federal Trade Commission continues to advance novel legal theories — and Meta's recent federal suit against the agency over its alleged "structurally unconstitutional" administrative proceedings is arguably an expression of backlash to regulatory overreach, says Daniel Gilman at the International Center for Law & Economics.
The Year In FRAND: What To Know Heading Into 2024

In 2023, there were eight significant developments concerning the fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory patent licensing regime that undergirds technical standardization, say Tom Millikan and Kevin Zeck at Perkins Coie.