Competition

  • April 23, 2024

    FTC Bars Employers From Imposing Noncompete Contracts

    The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 on Tuesday to ban essentially all noncompete agreements that employers frequently impose on workers, leaving an earlier draft of the ban mostly unchanged other than to allow existing noncompete agreements with senior executives to remain while banning future ones for top corporate officials.

  • April 23, 2024

    Why A New York Federal Judge 'Loves' Discovery Disputes

    While discovery disputes can be a frustration for many judges and attorneys, U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote says that she loves them because they teach her a lot about the cases she is overseeing, the parties involved and the attorneys working on them.

  • April 23, 2024

    Embattled Ex-Animal Rescue Executive Hit With TM Suit

    Last Chance Ranch, a nonprofit animal shelter and rescue based in Pennsylvania, has sued its former executive director — who was accused of stealing a kangaroo — and a new nonprofit she created, alleging unauthorized use of the shelter's name and trademarks.

  • April 22, 2024

    DOJ Antitrust Concerns Topple $960M Insulation Biz Merger

    Insulation and building material provider TopBuild Corp. said Monday it has terminated its $960 million agreement to buy mechanical insulation provider Specialty Products & Insulation from private equity firm Incline Equity Partners, saying it was unable to reach a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice over antitrust concerns.

  • April 22, 2024

    FCC Fines AT&T, Internet Co. For Discussing Auction Bids

    AT&T Services Inc. and AMG Technology Investment Group LLC have not been able to convince the Federal Communications Commission to kibosh a combined $175,000 in fines for talking to each other during the bidding process for an auction of funds to subsidize infrastructure build-out.

  • April 22, 2024

    FCC Eyes Rule Changes For Independent Video Programmers

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to explore how federal rules can better help independent video programmers thrive in a competitive media landscape and may prohibit a pair of provisions that affect their contracts with distributors.

  • April 22, 2024

    Construction Supplier's Threats Cost Rival $30M, Jury Told

    A construction supplier told a Colorado federal jury Monday that a Berkshire Hathaway-owned rival tried to smother its entry into the calcium silicate industrial insulation market, alleging the larger company warned customers to stay away from the newcomer so that it could maintain its monopoly.

  • April 22, 2024

    Kroger, Albertsons Expand Divestiture Plan

    Supermarket giants Kroger and Albertsons are willing to let go of an extra 166 stores in the hopes of swaying federal and state regulators to drop their opposition to the $25 billion grocer union, they said Monday.

  • April 22, 2024

    Gambling Co., Casinos Battle Over Shuffler Antitrust Claims

    Scientific Games successor Light & Wonder has urged an Illinois federal judge not to certify a class of automatic card shuffler buyers, even as the riverboat casinos accusing it of tricking the patent office into shoring up its shuffler monopoly argued that their claims should go to trial.

  • April 22, 2024

    Robinhood 'Meme Stock' Investors Lose New Class Cert. Bid

    A Florida federal judge has denied a bid from Robinhood investors to file a new motion for class certification in a suit over the trading platform's suspension of so-called meme stock purchases, saying the deadline for class certification has passed and the investors have not shown a good reason to extend it.

  • April 22, 2024

    Court Tosses Shipbuilders No-Poach Case As Untimely

    A Virginia federal court found that a pair of warship designers haven't shown that major shipbuilders for the U.S. military, including General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries, concealed a "gentlemen's agreement" to not poach workers from one another.

  • April 22, 2024

    Chamber Planning Prompt Challenge Of FTC Noncompete Ban

    U.S. Chamber of Commerce officials vowed Monday to immediately challenge an impending Federal Trade Commission rule that would ban essentially all noncompete agreements that employers impose on their workers, raising concerns focused principally on opening a "Pandora's box" of rulemaking they say is beyond FTC authority.

  • April 22, 2024

    FTC Moves To Block $8.5B Designer Fashion Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission moved on Monday to block a planned $8.5 billion deal for the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade to purchase the owner of designer brands Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo.

  • April 22, 2024

    What We've Learned From Biden-Era Merger Remedies

    Amid the Biden administration's uniquely aggressive merger regime, companies making deals face much higher hurdles convincing competition enforcers to accept divestitures, licensing deals or other remedies designed to address antitrust concerns. However, officials have provided a few clues about what settlements they'll accept and when.

  • April 22, 2024

    Vista Outdoors Nudges MNC Capital To Bolster $3B Bid

    Vista Outdoor Inc. on Monday urged investment firm MNC Capital to increase its prior $3 billion buyout offer, as Vista weighs MNC's proposals against an already inked merger agreement to sell its ammunition brands off to Czechoslovak Group.

  • April 22, 2024

    EU Threatens To Suspend 'Addictive' TikTok App Features

    The European Commission warned TikTok on Monday that it may suspend a key feature of the video sharing platform's new app that rewards users for watching videos unless it addresses the watchdog's concerns about addictive elements of the new app and its risk to mental health. 

  • April 22, 2024

    Thermo Fisher Says Rival Is Raiding Its Workforce

    Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is seeking to block Repligen Corp. from hiring one of its top executives, according to a suit in Massachusetts state court accusing the rival of a "systematic raiding" of its workforce.

  • April 22, 2024

    CMA Wins Battle Over Home Search Warrants In Cartel Probe

    The competition watchdog won a legal battle at a London court on Monday after a tribunal refused to grant it a domestic search warrant as it carried out a cartel investigation.

  • April 22, 2024

    High Court Denies US Soccer Petition In Antitrust Challenge

    The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by the U.S. Soccer Federation asking it to dismiss for good a suit by a sports promoter accusing it of violating antitrust law by refusing to sanction international pro soccer games on American soil.

  • April 19, 2024

    Colo. Won't 'Defer' To Feds In Kroger-Albertsons Merger Suit

    Colorado's attorney general has defended his decision to file a case seeking to block a $24.6 billion merger between the supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons, telling a state court judge that nothing requires him to "defer to federal enforcers."

  • April 19, 2024

    Judge Mulls Axing Biomedical Cos.' $25M Punitive Damages

    Not enough evidence supports Skye Orthobiologics' $25.5 million punitive damages award against an ex-employee found to have breached his fiduciary duties by leveraging Skye's proprietary information, a California federal judge has ruled, asking for briefing on whether the proper remedy is to cut the damages or grant a new trial.

  • April 19, 2024

    Yardi Ordered To Provide Info On Apartment Pricing Algorithm

    Real estate management software company Yardi Systems Inc. is going to have to turn over information about who has been using its rent maximizer algorithm to renters who claim that at least 11 property management companies have been using the service to fix rental costs, a federal judge has said.

  • April 19, 2024

    Vegas Paper Wants Antitrust Suit Paused For Appeal

    The Las Vegas Review-Journal asked a Nevada federal judge to pause the Las Vegas Sun's antitrust suit against it, pending an appeal to the Ninth Circuit over the core agreement between the papers that the Review-Journal says the judge wrongly cleared.

  • April 19, 2024

    DOJ Can't Coordinate Google Ad Tech Discovery With Texas

    A Virginia magistrate judge on Friday denied a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to coordinate discovery in its suit accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology with a similar case from state enforcers pending in Texas.

  • April 19, 2024

    AI Image Cos. Say Artists Offer Little Proof In Copyright Case

    Four companies that make or distribute artificial intelligence software that creates art through prompts have told a California federal court that a proposed class action from artists must end, arguing the plaintiffs still have not shown proof that any of the businesses infringed or induced infringement of copyrighted works.

Expert Analysis

  • Business Litigators Have 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.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Assessing Chinese Cross-Border Data Transfers

    Author Photo

    Jet Deng and Ken Dai at Dacheng unpack the regulatory framework for cross-border data transfers in China, detailing the major systems at play, last year's policy adjustments, and an outlook and practice tips for businesses.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

    Author Photo

    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Opinion

    There Is No NCAA Supremacy Clause, Especially For NIL

    Author Photo

    A recent Tennessee federal court ruling illustrates the NCAA's problematic position that its member schools should violate state law rather than its rules — and the organization's legal history with the dormant commerce clause raises a fundamental constitutional issue that will have to be resolved before attorneys can navigate NIL with confidence, says Patrick O’Donnell at HWG.

  • Complying With Enforcers' Ephemeral Messaging Guidance

    Author Photo

    Given federal antitrust enforcers’ recently issued guidance on ephemeral messaging applications, organizations must take a proactive approach to preserving short-lived communications — or risk criminal obstruction charges and civil discovery sanctions, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • BT Case May Shape UK Class Action Landscape

    Author Photo

    The first opt-out collective action trial commenced in Le Patourel v. BT in the U.K. Competition Appeal Tribunal last month, regarding BT's abuse of dominance by overcharging millions of customers, will likely provide clarification on damages and funder returns in collective actions, which could significantly affect the class action regime, say lawyers at RPC.

  • Opinion

    Suits Against Insulin Pricing Are Driven By Rebate Addiction

    Author Photo

    A growing wave of lawsuits filed by states, cities and counties against insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers improperly allocate the blame for rising insulin costs, when in actuality the plaintiffs are partially responsible, says Dan Leonard at Granite Capitol Consulting.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

    Author Photo

    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • Opinion

    Pick 'Em Fantasy Sports Games Are Not Illegal Gambling

    Author Photo

    DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel Inc.'s quest for nationwide regulation of competing fantasy sports companies that offer "pick 'em" games lacks legal merit, may violate antitrust law's Noerr-Pennington doctrine, and should be dismissed, says attorney David Balto, a former policy director at the Federal Trade Commission.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

    Author Photo

    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power

    Author Photo

    In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

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!