Competition

  • January 23, 2025

    Intuitive Judge Walks Back 'Inappropriate' Witness Instruction

    Counsel for Intuitive Surgical objected Thursday to a California federal judge's "inappropriate instruction" to a witness testifying in a trial over allegations it abused its market power by blocking hospitals from using a refurbished part for its surgery robot, prompting the judge to walk back the direction.

  • January 23, 2025

    Wash. Justices Back Workers' View On Moonlighting Law

    Washington's highest court clarified on Thursday that the state's moonlighting protections shield low-wage workers from noncompete terms that would outright ban them working for any competitor in any capacity, concluding that employers must narrowly tailor such restrictions to be line with employees' common-law duty of loyalty.

  • January 23, 2025

    GoodRx, PBMs Sued Over Alleged Generics Price-Fix Scheme

    GoodRx and pharmacy benefit managers, including CVS Caremark and Express Scripts, formed a "cartel" to execute a price-fixing scheme by sharing pricing information and agreeing not to outbid each other for reimbursement rates paid to pharmacies for generic drugs, alleges a proposed class action filed Wednesday in California federal court.

  • January 23, 2025

    Jump Trading Says Ex-Worker Stole IP For Blockchain Startup

    High-frequency trading firm and blockchain technology developer Jump Trading has filed a complaint seeking a preliminary injunction against a former software developer it claims is using Jump Trading's intellectual property to launch a competing project.

  • January 23, 2025

    Judge Inclined To OK Visa, Mastercard $197.5M ATM Fee Deal

    A D.C. federal judge seemed poised Thursday to give final blessing to a $197.5 million settlement resolving class action claims that Visa and Mastercard conspired with major banks to fix ATM access fees, but the judge said he needed more time to reflect on attorney fees.

  • January 23, 2025

    GOP AGs, Groups Back 11th Circ. Noncompete Ban Challenge

    A group of Republican state attorneys general filed one of a half-dozen amicus briefs Wednesday urging the Eleventh Circuit not to revive the Federal Trade Commission's ban on employment noncompete agreements, arguing the already-endangered rule exceeded FTC authority and threatens legitimate safeguards for corporate secrets.

  • January 23, 2025

    Ex-Amazon Exec Will Oversee Google, Apple Probe In UK

    The U.K.'s competition enforcer said Thursday it will be looking into how Google and Apple's "mobile ecosystems" have been affecting competition for both consumers and businesses, an announcement that comes just days after the watchdog booted its leader for a former Amazon head honcho.

  • January 23, 2025

    Hillrom Rival Must Turn Over Antitrust Litigation Funding Docs

    An Illinois federal court has ordered hospital-bed maker Linet to produce certain litigation funding documents in its antitrust suit accusing competitor Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. of trying to monopolize the U.S. market, ruling the documents are relevant to the statute of limitations in the case.

  • January 23, 2025

    HP Says Ill. Ink Antitrust Claims Fall 'Woefully Short'

    HP urged an Illinois federal judge on Thursday to toss out customers' lawsuit accusing it of anticompetitively blocking them from using third-party ink cartridges in their machines, arguing that they haven't come close to showing how it tied customers' printer purchases to the alleged restriction.

  • January 23, 2025

    Federal Agencies Must Order Full Return To Office By Friday

    Federal agencies will order employees to return to the office by Friday at 5 p.m. to end the "national embarrassment" that remote work policies have fueled, the Office of Personnel Management said, following President Donald Trump's executive order.

  • January 23, 2025

    NCAA, Student-Athlete Near Deal To End W. Va. Transfer Suit

    A West Virginia federal court has ordered an additional two-week pause in an antitrust lawsuit by an NBA hopeful who accused the NCAA of contract interference as the parties seek to finalize a settlement.

  • January 23, 2025

    FTC Chair's 1st Act: Ending 'Scourge' Of DEI

    Andrew N. Ferguson made his first public act as the Federal Trade Commission's new Republican chairman Wednesday by ordering the end of all agency diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and declaring that the "scourge" of DEI is over at the FTC.

  • January 23, 2025

    Nvidia Wants AI Antitrust Suit Sent To California

    Nvidia Corp. is asking a Texas federal judge to transfer to California an antitrust and patent infringement lawsuit accusing it, Microsoft and a patent risk management company of colluding to suppress the price of key technology used in powering artificial intelligence.

  • January 23, 2025

    Khan Leaving The Federal Trade Commission By Jan. 31

    Federal Trade Commission member Lina M. Khan has said she'll leave the agency by the end of the month, stepping down after President Donald Trump's inauguration enshrined her demotion from chair to line commissioner.

  • January 23, 2025

    Turkey Buyers Get Classes Certified For Antitrust Claims

    An Illinois federal court certified two classes of buyers in a case accusing the country's largest turkey processors of working together to reduce supply and increase prices after refusing to exclude analysis from the buyers' experts.

  • January 23, 2025

    Baker Botts Adds DOJ Atty Who Led Airline Merger Challenge

    The former U.S. Department of Justice antitrust attorney who led the agency's successful challenge to a proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines has joined Baker Botts LLP as a partner in the firm's Washington, D.C., office.

  • January 23, 2025

    Litigation-Funder Sues Merricks Over Mastercard Settlement

    A representative of more than 45 million U.K. consumers in a class action against Mastercard is being sued by his litigation-funder over his decision to reach a settlement in the £10 billion ($12.3 billion) case for £200 million.

  • January 22, 2025

    10th Circ. Affirms Toss Of Surgical Assistants' Antitrust Suit

    The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday refused to revive an antitrust lawsuit against a national surgical certification board accused of monopolizing a surgical assistants and technicians accreditation and certification market, saying in a published opinion that the Association of Surgical Assistants' failure to establish a relevant market doomed its antitrust claims.

  • January 22, 2025

    Intuitive Chief Rejects Da Vinci Robot Market Monopoly Claim

    Intuitive Surgical's president testified Wednesday in a $140 million California federal antitrust trial over claims the da Vinci surgical robot maker abuses its market power by blocking hospitals from having third parties refurbish a crucial robot component, saying there's no monopoly since Intuitive competes with traditional and laparoscopic surgery offerings.

  • January 22, 2025

    American, JetBlue Ink $1.9M Atty Fee Deal After Antitrust Loss

    A Massachusetts federal judge signed off Tuesday on a settlement requiring American Airlines and JetBlue to cover $1.9 million worth of legal fees that a group of state attorneys general spent successfully challenging the two airlines' Northeast Alliance joint venture as anticompetitive.

  • January 22, 2025

    Former Pioneer CEO Sues FTC Over Exxon Board Block

    The former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, Scott Sheffield, accused the Federal Trade Commission of violating his constitutional rights by barring him from serving on Exxon Mobil Corp.'s board when the agency cleared a $60 billion merger between Exxon and Pioneer.

  • January 22, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Stays Order Delisting Teva Inhaler Patents

    Federal Circuit judges have agreed to hold off on immediately delisting patents that cover components of a Teva asthma inhaler from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book after the Israeli drugmaker said doing so would have "seismic" legal consequences and should be reviewed by the full court.

  • January 22, 2025

    No New Trial For Tevra's Flea, Tick Meds Suit Against Bayer

    A California federal judge refused to give Tevra Brands LLC a do-over on allegations that Bayer used exclusive contracts to anticompetitively lock up the market for flea and tick treatments for dogs, finding the veterinary drugmaker was just rehashing previously rejected arguments attacking a key expert witness.

  • January 22, 2025

    Wayne-Sanderson Flouting Wage-Fix Settlement, DOJ Says

    The Justice Department is accusing poultry giant Wayne-Sanderson Farms of shirking its obligations under a settlement resolving wage-suppression allegations, asking a Maryland federal court to put a freeze on any information sharing by the company through Agri Stats and to impose a multiyear extension on its 10-year consent decree.

  • January 22, 2025

    Toy Co. Not Covered In Unpaid Judgment Suit, Judge Says

    A Berkshire Hathaway insurer has no duty to defend a toy company accused of using legal proceedings to evade payment of an $8.5 million default judgment for false advertising, a Minnesota federal court ruled, finding that abuse of process claims are not covered under the policy.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.

  • Opinion

    6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School

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    Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.

  • The Current State Of Play Around Corporate Transparency Act

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    Although a Texas court preliminarily enjoined enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act and paused an impending Dec. 31 reporting deadline, multiple states have similar requirements, so companies should continue to monitor compliance obligations regardless of the CTA's constitutionality, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Predictions For Trump Antitrust Enforcement Of Life Sciences

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    Key life sciences antitrust issues of the past two administrations may indicate the direction of enforcement during President-elect Donald Trump's second term, including in areas such as drug prices, killer acquisitions and merger remedies, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware

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    Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Opinion

    Antitrust Posturing Against Algorithmic AI Should End

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    President-elect Donald Trump needs to rein in the federal government's antitrust crusade against algorithmic AI, sending the message that antitrust enforcement must be grounded in evidence and real harm, says attorney David Balto, a former Federal Trade Commission assistant director of policy and evaluation.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

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    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Back To The Future? Antitrust Enforcement Under Trump 2.0

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    While the transition to the second Trump administration's antitrust policy should be accompanied by less uncertainty, we're unlikely to get a full sense of the true focus and tenor of competition enforcement under Trump 2.0 before late next year, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Corporate Liability Issues To Watch In High Court TM Case

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a trademark dispute between Dewberry Group and Dewberry Engineers next week, presenting an opportunity for the court to drastically alter the fundamental approach to piercing the corporate veil, or adopt a more limited approach and preserve existing norms, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Collateral Estoppel Continues Evolving

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    We are starting to see brighter lines on collateral estoppel involving Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, illustrated by two recent cases that considered whether collateral estoppel should apply to factual findings on prior art from the PTAB in a later district court litigation, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Antitrust in Retail: Handbag Ruling Won't Go Out Of Fashion

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    Although a New York federal court’s recent decision to enjoin a proposed $8.5 billion merger between the owners of Michael Kors and Coach applied noncontroversial antitrust interpretations, several notable aspects of the opinion stand out as likely candidates for further discussion in future merger litigation, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • Takeaways From DOJ's Intervention On Pricing Algorithm Use

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    A recent U.S. Justice Department amicus brief arguing that a Nevada federal judge wrongly focused on the nonbinding aspect of software company Cendyn Group's pricing algorithm underscores the growing challenge of determining when, if ever, pricing algorithms are legal, say attorneys at Rule Garza.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

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