Competition

May 28, 2025
3rd Circ. Pauses J&J Unit Appeal In Talc Study Libel Case

The Third Circuit on Wednesday granted a bid by Johnson & Johnson's talc liability unit to stay briefing in its appeal seeking to revive a libel case over a scientific article linking talcum power to mesothelioma.
May 28, 2025
Drugmaker LIVation Fights Novo Nordisk's Trademark Claims

A Connecticut company, accused by Novo Nordisk Inc. of breaking trademark and unfair trade practices laws by comparing its compounded drugs to Ozempic, says it has taken down online posts the pharma giant challenged in April, claiming Novo Nordisk can no longer prove ongoing harm.
May 28, 2025
7th Circ. Skeptical That NCAA Eligibility Rules Restrain Trade

The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday appeared to raise doubts over a lower court's decision granting a University of Wisconsin football player another year of eligibility, questioning his claim that the National Collegiate Athletic Association's five-year rule restrains competition in violation of federal antitrust laws.
May 28, 2025
Distiller Denied New Shot At Wash. State Alcohol Sales Regs

A federal judge in Washington state gave short shrift to a bid for reconsideration from a New York distillery and two Washington whiskey drinkers who lost their challenge to the Washington state liquor board's rules requiring a physical in-state presence to sell online.
May 28, 2025
Amazon Seeks To End FTC's Prime Subscription Case

Amazon and the Federal Trade Commission have both asked a Washington state federal court to hand them wins ahead of trial in the agency's case accusing the e-commerce giant of trapping consumers into Prime subscriptions.
May 28, 2025
Feds Urge Supreme Court To Let 10th Circ. PBM Ruling Stand

The federal government urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to take up the state of Oklahoma's challenge to a Tenth Circuit decision that found parts of a law regulating pharmacy benefit managers were preempted by federal benefits and healthcare laws, arguing the case doesn't warrant further review from the justices.
May 28, 2025
Security Exec Gets $20K Fine For Rigging DOD Contracts

A former executive with a Belgian security company pled guilty to antitrust violations Wednesday in D.C. federal court, receiving a sentence of probation and a $20,000 fine for conspiring with rivals to rig bids for U.S. Department of Defense contracts in Belgium.
May 28, 2025
DOJ Says Justices' Ruling Backs Nursing Exec's Conviction

The U.S. Department of Justice is pointing to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling to bolster its fight against a new trial being sought by a convicted Nevada nursing home executive, saying that the new high court decision establishes that economic loss isn't needed to prove wire fraud.
May 28, 2025
DOJ Gets Some Discovery Seeking HPE-Juniper Witness Bias

A California federal magistrate judge granted the U.S. Department of Justice only limited discovery Tuesday as it looks for potential "bias" from an industry analyst Hewlett Packard Enterprise may call in defense of its planned $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks Inc.
May 28, 2025
DOJ Tells Justices American Airlines Can't Renew JetBlue Pact

The federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court that the First Circuit correctly determined that American Airlines failed to prove at trial that its codeshare agreement with JetBlue in Boston and New York had procompetitive benefits, and the carrier's attempt to revive the alliance is moot anyway.
May 28, 2025
Anesthesiology Co. Urges Dismissal Of Antitrust Class Action

U.S. Anesthesia Partners told a Houston judge that a patient leading a proposed class action accusing it of monopolizing the Texas anesthesia market doesn't have a valid claim because his insurance company chose how much he paid for services.
May 28, 2025
China Can't Duck PPE Hoarding Claims By Fla. Medical Pros

A Florida federal judge won't fully dismiss claims from a group of medical professionals alleging that China, through a New Jersey company, hoarded personal protective equipment to create a monopoly at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding the allegations fall within the commercial activity exception to sovereign immunity.
May 28, 2025
Ex-Judge Launches £25B Ad-Price Action Against Google

Google is facing a new £25 billion ($33.7 billion) class action in the U.K. brought by a former deputy High Court judge on behalf of advertisers, alleging that the technology giant abused its dominant position in online search advertising.
May 27, 2025
Ruling Tariffs Unlawful Would 'Kneecap' Trump, Gov't Says

A ruling from a D.C. federal judge invalidating the Trump administration's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping global tariffs would "kneecap" the president and cause "diplomatic embarrassment," a government attorney told a Washington, D.C., federal judge in court Tuesday.
May 27, 2025
AMS Nets $52M As 17-Year-Old Trade Secrets Case Wraps

Light sensor maker AMS has been granted a $51.7 million judgment against a rival in Texas federal court, ending a 17-year-old trade secrets case that has gone through multiple appeals and two trials.
May 27, 2025
11th Circ. Won't Revisit FCC Ownership Ruling

The Eleventh Circuit won't take a second whack at its order upholding a Federal Communications Commission finding that Gray Television had broken agency ownership consolidation rules by owning one too many stations in Anchorage, Alaska.
May 27, 2025
Feds Tell 11th Circ. 'No Error' In Ga. Bid-Rigging Conviction

Federal prosecutors urged the Eleventh Circuit Friday to uphold the bid-rigging and price-fixing convictions of one of two brothers accused of manipulating the coastal Georgia concrete market, arguing his push for a new trial is a "virtual carbon copy" of one a district court already rejected.
May 27, 2025
Judge Follows The Users And The Money In Meta's FTC Case

A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday looked for the right metrics to measure the effect that Meta Platforms Inc. has had on Instagram and WhatsApp in terms of users, growth and money spent buying the apps in deals the Federal Trade Commission says were designed to buy or bury the competition.
May 27, 2025
DOJ Wants Google Docs Analyzing Potential Ad Tech Breakup

Enforcers are asking a Virginia federal court for access to Google documents analyzing a potential break up of the company's ad tech business, as the court considers what remedies to impose after finding Google monopolized key ad tech markets.
May 27, 2025
Ferry Cos. Urge Mich. Judge To Block Rate Freeze Ordinance

Ferry service companies that provide transportation into and out of a popular Michigan tourist destination are asking a federal judge to stop the city of Mackinac Island from enforcing an ordinance that the companies say would put the businesses at risk of closing.
May 27, 2025
Latest Junior Hockey Players' Abuse Suit Against NHL Tossed

An antitrust class action by two junior league hockey players, accusing the National Hockey League and Canadian Hockey League of collusion and abusive treatment during their development, was dismissed by a Washington state federal court, the second venue in which their suit was thrown out.
May 27, 2025
DOJ Pushes Back Against Agri Stats Recusal Bid

The U.S. Department of Justice told a Minnesota federal judge Friday there is no reason to recuse himself from a case accusing Agri Stats of helping meat processors exchange sensitive information because the clerk who allegedly created a conflict is not working on the case.
May 27, 2025
Salesforce To Buy Informatica In $8B Deal Led By 4 Firms

Salesforce announced plans Tuesday to purchase cloud data management company Informatica in an $8 billion deal overseen by Latham & Watkins LLP, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, Fenwick & West LLP and Morrison & Foerster LLP.
May 27, 2025
Justices Skip Law Firm's TM Appeal Over Rival's Google Ads

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an appeal from personal injury law firm Lerner & Rowe PC to review a Ninth Circuit decision that a rival did not infringe its trademarks by using the firm's name in keyword advertising with Google.
May 23, 2025
Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

This past year, a handful of attorneys secured billions of dollars in settlements and judgments for both classes and individual plaintiffs against massive companies and organizations like Facebook, Dell, the National Association of Realtors, Johnson & Johnson, UFC and Credit Suisse, earning them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2025.

Expert Analysis

3 Factors Affecting Retail M&A Deals In 2025

Retailers considering mergers and acquisitions this year face an evolving antitrust environment, including a new administration under President-elect Donald Trump, revised merger guidelines and a precedent set last year by a canceled $8.5 billion handbag merger, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
FTC Picks Augur Pro-Business Bent For Much Of Economy

President-elect Donald Trump's choice of two top Federal Trade Commission officials suggests a business-friendly climate for a significant portion of the U.S. economy, with noteworthy exceptions of continued scrutiny of healthcare and Big Tech companies, excluding artificial intelligence, say attorneys at BCLP.
Top 10 Legal Issues This Year For Transportation Industry GCs

General counsel must carefully consider numerous legal and policy challenges facing the automotive and transportation industry in the year to come, especially while navigating new technologies, regulations and global markets, says Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton.
Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.
What 2024's Noncompete Turmoil Means For Banks In 2025

A look back at the most significant legal challenges to the enforceability of various restrictive covenants like noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements in 2024 can help financial institutions address the use of these critical tools this year, say attorneys at Maynard Nexsen.
Searching For Insight On Requested Google Chrome Remedy

The potential for Google to divest its Chrome browser — a remedy requested by the Justice Department following a D.C. federal court’s finding the company is a monopolist — has drawn both criticism and endorsement, but legal precedent likely supports the former, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
Opinion

3 New Year's Resolutions For Antitrust Agencies To Consider

James Fredricks at Skadden rings in 2025 with his wish list for the federal antitrust agencies, starting with a provision for a presumptive safe harbor for information sharing.
FTC Focus: A Changing Of The Guard

While rigorous antitrust enforcement is unlikely to slow down at the Federal Trade Commission, the focus will undoubtedly change, including when it comes to Big Tech, as Andrew Ferguson prepares to take the reins from Chair Lina Khan, say attorneys at Proskauer.
Series

Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.
An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.
5 Antitrust Issues For In-House Counsel In 2025

Attorneys at Squire Patton evaluate the top areas where U.S. antitrust policy is likely to change in the next 12 months, including major challenges to the Federal Trade Commission's authority that could reshape enforcement.
Reviewing 2024's Crucial Patent Law Developments

As 2024 draws to a close, significant rulings and policies aimed at modernizing long-standing legal practices or addressing emerging challenges have reached patent law, says Michael Ellenberger at Rothwell Figg.
Series

Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.
2024 Has Been A Momentous Year For ESG

Significant developments in the environmental, social and governance landscape this year include new legislation, evolving global frameworks, continued litigation and enforcement actions, and a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has already affected how lower courts have viewed some ESG challenges, say attorneys at Katten.
Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.