Competition

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Netflix Merger Raises Theatrical Release Antitrust Fears

Netflix's $82.7 billion play for Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming business drew rebukes Friday from critics and lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum, but antitrust observers offered a cautious assessment on the prospects of any government challenge.
December 18, 2025
Unions Come Out Against Rail Giants' $85B Merger

Two Teamsters unions representing a majority of organized workers at Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific came out in opposition this week to the companies' proposed $85 billion merger, arguing the deal would strangle railroads' competitive angle and drive down safety standards.
December 18, 2025
Dems Urge Scrutiny Of AT&T, SpaceX Spectrum Deals

Congressional Democrats are pushing Trump administration officials to further scrutinize AT&T and SpaceX's plans to obtain wireless spectrum licenses from the telecommunications company EchoStar.
December 18, 2025
Settlement Admin, Bank Conspiracy Suits Consolidated In DC

A group of putative class actions alleging a wide-ranging kickback scheme between three of the largest settlement administration companies in the country and banks that was designed to juice administration fees while diminishing class action payouts has been consolidated in D.C. federal court.
December 18, 2025
Vegas Sun Wants Justices To Revive Protective Pact

The Las Vegas Sun wants the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a Ninth Circuit decision that nixed an agreement protecting it from the Las Vegas Review-Journal's alleged plan to drive it out of business, arguing that the old pact with the more conservative paper was valid even without express government approval.
December 18, 2025
NAR Brokers Are Antitrust Conspirators, 10th Circ. Told

Homie Tech Inc. told the Tenth Circuit that the National Association of Realtors can't paint its broker members as third parties in an effort to duck the residential brokerage startup's antitrust claims over a boycott flowing from NAR rules those members followed.
December 18, 2025
LinkedIn Data Access Settlement Rejected In Antitrust Case

A California federal court refused to approve a settlement requiring LinkedIn to stop conditioning access to its data interface on rivals agreeing not to use the data for a competing professional social network, a deal that included no damages but up to $4 million in attorney fees.
December 18, 2025
NC Construction Exec Admits To $6M Bid-Rigging Scheme

A North Carolina construction company executive pled guilty to a conspiracy to rig bids for maintenance and repair on U.S. military installations, according to a Wednesday press release from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs.
December 18, 2025
Justices Dismiss 'Weak' £2.7B FX Claim Against Major Banks

The U.K. Supreme Court held Thursday that the merits of a £2.7 billion ($3.6 billion) foreign exchange rigging opt-out collective action against major banks are "weak" and that it should not have been allowed to continue.
December 17, 2025
Amazon, Le Labo Say Ripoff 'Basgax' Perfumes Reek Of Fraud

Amazon and New York fragrance maker Le Labo accused a Florida-based company known as Basgax of selling bogus Le Labo products, claiming the company and its operators illegally copied Le Labo's promotional images and product names such as "Iris 39" and "Patchouili 24."
December 17, 2025
Lawmakers Raise Concerns Over Nexstar's $6.2B Tegna Deal

A group of Democratic lawmakers has urged federal enforcers to closely scrutinize Nexstar Media Group Inc.'s planned $6.2 billion purchase of rival broadcast company Tegna Inc. and to block the deal if they find it violates the law.
December 17, 2025
Eating Disorder Pros Get 'One Final Attempt' Against Group

Eating disorder specialists have one more chance for fraud and antitrust class claims against a professional association they accuse of forcing membership to obtain important certification, after an Illinois federal judge said they have not sufficiently claimed harm from the fraud and have not shown market power behind the alleged coercion.
December 17, 2025
Anker, Ugreen Near Peace In Mobile Power Bank Patent Suit

Electronics-makers Anker and Ugreen have reached a tentative agreement to end Anker's intellectual property claims accusing its rival of infringing a patent for a mobile power bank and marketing "virtually identical" products to consumers.
December 17, 2025
DOJ Says Live Nation Can't Avoid Jury In Antitrust Case

The Justice Department wants a New York federal judge to force Live Nation to face a jury next year on allegations it bought, coerced and leveraged its way to live performance dominance, arguing in a newly unsealed brief that there are too many factual disputes to upstage the lawsuit.
December 17, 2025
Korean Food Chain Stole Family Spring Roll Recipe, Suit Says

Korean food conglomerate CJ Group has been accused of stealing a family spring roll recipe that dates to the 1950s and marketing its versions as knockoff frozen spring roll products in a suit seeking $100 million in damages.
December 17, 2025
High Court Seals End To NAR Optional Rule Antitrust Suit

The U.S. Supreme Court again declined to review antitrust claims centered on Zillow's adoption of an optional National Association of Realtors rule, which a defunct brokerage claimed was necessary after a district court reading of Seventh Circuit precedent deepened an existing split.
December 17, 2025
DOJ Weighs In On Apple Watch Antitrust Claims

The Justice Department filed a statement of interest in the private smartphone monopolization case against Apple to urge the court to reject several arguments supporting the tech giant's bid to nix claims that it restricts the capabilities of competing smartwatches.
December 17, 2025
Judge Tosses Suit Fighting Rail Project's Buy America Waiver

A D.C. federal judge said an Alstom unit had no viable path to challenge a Buy America waiver allowing a Siemens unit to supply trains for Brightline West's high-speed passenger rail project linking Las Vegas and Southern California.
December 17, 2025
The Top Trademark Decisions Of 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a trademark infringement award that reached nearly $47 million and found nonparties couldn't be on the hook for the amount, while the Federal Circuit reproached a trademark tribunal for its handling of a man's attempt to register the F-word. Here are Law360's picks for the biggest trademark decisions of 2025.
December 17, 2025
Warner Bros. Board Rejects 'Inferior' Paramount Bid

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. said Wednesday that its board has determined Paramount Skydance Corp.'s $108.4 billion hostile offer is not a "superior proposal" to the company's pending $82.7 billion agreement with Netflix.
December 17, 2025
Greencore's £1.2B Bakkavor Deal To Complete After CMA OK

Irish food manufacturer Greencore said Wednesday that it expects its £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) acquisition of rival Bakkavor to complete in January after the U.K.'s competition authority abandoned its probe amid antitrust fixes proposed by the sides.
December 16, 2025
FTC Retaliation Suits To Be Heard By Different Judges

A D.C. federal judge has unassigned herself from a suit brought by an antidisinformation nonprofit that says the Federal Trade Commission slapped it with subpoenas as revenge for naming conservative outlets top disinformation risks, agreeing that the matter isn't similar enough to another suit currently before her.
December 16, 2025
Judge Blocks T-Mobile From Using Tool To Scrape AT&T Data

A Texas federal judge blocked T-Mobile from using a price tool to scrape data from AT&T's website, saying that without a temporary restraining order T-Mobile would likely continue to enter into AT&T's password-protected software without permission.
December 16, 2025
Pepsi Boosted Prices For Walmart Rivals, Antitrust Suit Says

A proposed consumer antitrust class action against Pepsi and Walmart was filed in New York federal court on Monday, days after an unsealed Federal Trade Commission lawsuit abandoned by the Republican-controlled FTC showed the agency previously accused the soda giant of giving Walmart discounts denied to the retailer's rivals.
December 16, 2025
Miami Dealer Unlikely To Get Quick Win Against Porsche

A Florida state judge said Tuesday that she is inclined to deny a Miami luxury car dealer's request for a quick win on its claim that Porsche violated a state dealer protection law by withholding inventory over a disagreement to build a new facility.
December 16, 2025
Cuban-Born Wrestler Claims NCAA Denied Him College Career

An international wrestling champion who defected from Cuba in 2022 has accused the NCAA of robbing him of a chance to compete at a U.S. college because his years attending school in his home country counted against his eligibility.

Editor's Picks

HPE's Trump-Tied Lobbyists Cast 'Pall' Over Merger Review

The firing of two senior officials in the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division who complained after being forced to accept a merger clearance settlement has caused many practitioners to question whether the traditional separation between competition enforcement and other White House priorities is a thing of the past.
Merger Settlements Return As Enforcers Keep Busy

The first half of 2025 saw a string of settlements by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice allowing mergers to move forward, a marked shift from the prior administration.
Big Tech's Refusal-To-Deal Defense Hits A Wall: Judges

Apple couldn't do it. Google couldn't do it. Live Nation couldn't do it. CoStar couldn't do it at the Ninth Circuit. Companies accused of monopolization have continually tried to flip allegations of illegally locking in customers into hard-to-prove "refusal-to-deal" litigation.

Expert Analysis

M&A Midmarket Shows Resilience Amid 2025 Challenges

Midmarket mergers and acquisitions showed a slight decline in volume but climbed in value for much of 2025, particularly in the private equity space, indicating that the middle market M&A environment is cautious but steady heading into 2026, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.
Del. Dispatch: Key 2025 Corporate Cases And Trends To Know

The Delaware corporate legal landscape saw notable changes in 2025, spurred by amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, ubiquitous artificial intelligence fervor, boardroom discussion around DExit, record shareholder activism activity and an arguably more expansive view of potential Caremark liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
Series

Nature Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Nature photography reminds me to focus on what is in front of me and to slow down to achieve success, and, in embracing the value of viewing situations through different lenses, offers skills transferable to the practice of law, says Brian Willett at Saul Ewing.
How Cos. Can Roll With NY's New Algorithmic Pricing Rules

Despite uncertainty from New York’s new ban on artificial intelligence and computer algorithms for setting rents, and efforts to further restrict individualizing prices based on consumers' personal data, property managers, software providers and merchants can take several steps to stay compliant, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Practical Problem Solving

Issue-spotting skills are well honed in law school, but practicing attorneys must also identify clients’ problems and true goals, and then be able to provide solutions, says Mary Kate Hogan at Quarles & Brady.
Opinion

A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court

To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure rules to require litigants to certify they’ve reviewed legal filings for accuracy, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.
Netflix Caps 2025 M&A Deals That Will Test Antitrust Strategy

The 2025 media consolidation trend culminated in Netflix's $82.7 billion Warner Bros. Discovery announcement, but the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is likely to question whether remedies short of blocking the deal could credibly preserve competition, says Brian Pandya at Duane Morris.
Calif. AG's No-Poach Case Reflects Tougher Antitrust Stance

This month, California’s attorney general resolved the latest enforcement action barring the use of no-poach agreements, underscoring an aggressive antitrust enforcement trend with significant increases in criminal and civil penalties, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
2025 Noncompete Developments That Led To Inflection Point

Employers must reshape their approaches to noncompete agreements following key 2025 developments, including Delaware's rejection of blue-penciling and the proliferation of state wage thresholds, say attorneys at Gunderson Dettmer.
Series

The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Integrating Practice Groups

Enacting unified leadership and consistent client service standards ensures law firm practice groups connect and collaborate around shared goals, turning a law firm merger into a platform for growth rather than a period of disruption, says Brian Catlett at Fennemore Craig.
Opinion

Supreme Court Term Limits Would Carry Hidden Risk

While proposals for limiting the terms of U.S. Supreme Court justices are popular, a steady stream of relatively young, highly marketable ex-justices with unique knowledge and influence entering the marketplace of law and politics could create new problems, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
Navigating A Sea Change In Rent Algorithm Regulation

The U.S. Department of Justice's proposed settlement of the RealPage lawsuit represents a pivotal moment in the regulation of algorithmic rent-setting, restraining use of these tools amid a growing trend of regulatory limits on use of algorithmic data and methodologies in establishing housing rental prices. say attorneys at Wilson Elser.
Calling The AI Witness In 2026's Merger Reviews

Organizations that anticipate facing a second request or merger clearance review in 2026 should collect artificial intelligence artifacts as part of discovery, and distinguish between human-generated and machine-generated materials, says Sean McDermott at FTI Consulting.
Series

Knitting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Stretching my skills as a knitter makes me a better antitrust attorney by challenging me to recalibrate after wrong turns, not rush outcomes, and trust that I can teach myself the skills to tackle new and difficult projects — even when I don’t have a pattern to work from, says Kara Kuritz at V&E.
Series

The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.