Competition
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Featured
EU Offers New Info On Getting Access To Antitrust Files
The European Commission has released two guidances intended to make it easier for companies involved in antitrust proceedings to wade through the process of redacting sensitive documents, suggesting the use of “confidentiality rings” for sharing such information.
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December 14, 2018
Comcast Wants 7th Circ. To Pull Plug On Ad Sales Appeal
Comcast Corp. has urged the Seventh Circuit not to revive a $75 million suit alleging the company illegally monopolized the market for local television advertising, arguing that it’s only being accused of choosing not to deal with a competitor, which it said is not illegal, according to a redacted brief filed Friday.
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December 14, 2018
EpiPen MDL Attys Scolded For 'Mindless Bickering'
A Kansas federal judge on Friday dressed down attorneys in multidistrict litigation over EpiPen price hikes for engaging in “mindless bickering” during a high-stakes deposition of Mylan NV’s chief executive officer.
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December 14, 2018
Gray, Raycom Must Divest TV Stations Before $3B Merger
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that it will require Gray Television Inc. and Raycom Media Inc. to divest broadcast television stations in nine markets as a condition of resolving its challenge to the proposed $3.65 billion merger between the media companies.
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December 14, 2018
‘No Need’ To Delay CVS-Aetna Merger, DOJ Says After Rebuke
The U.S. Department of Justice urged a D.C. federal judge Friday not to keep CVS and Aetna apart while reviewing a proposed merger settlement the judge had blasted as having been pushed through without adequate judicial scrutiny, arguing that a delay is unnecessary and beyond the court’s authority.
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December 14, 2018
The Biggest Telecom Cases Of 2018
2018 was an action-packed year for telecom-related litigation that included a closely watched appeal of the government's rollback of net neutrality, fallout over the failed Sinclair-Tribune megamerger and a contentious trial over AT&T’s bid to acquire Time Warner. Here, Law360 reviews those and other high-profile cases from the past 12 months and outlines what they mean for the telecom industry’s legal landscape.
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December 14, 2018
Furniture Retailer’s Antitrust Claim Taken Off The Table
A Nevada federal judge has tossed a furniture sales outlet’s bid to bring an antitrust claim against a manufacturer accused of breaking its contract by selling merchandise at cheaper prices through Wayfair.
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December 14, 2018
Nexstar Settles With DOJ Over Broadcaster's Info Sharing
Nexstar Media Group has reached a settlement to end claims that the company was colluding with other television station owners to share private sales information in order to gain an edge on the competition, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday.
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December 14, 2018
Sanofi Fires Back Against Mylan In Its Bid To Exit EpiPen MDL
Sanofi-Aventis US LLC told a Kansas federal court Friday that Mylan Inc. missed the mark when pointing to overlaps between Sanofi’s case accusing the EpiPen maker of employing anti-competitive tactics and suits from consumers over prices of the drug, arguing there’s enough difference to warrant transferring its case out of multidistrict litigation.
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December 14, 2018
Door Makers Hit With Another Price-Fixing Suit
Door maker Jeld-Wen Inc.’s legal woes have expanded further with a new proposed antitrust class action against the company and its peer filed in Virginia federal court, this time from indirect door purchasers alleging a price-fixing conspiracy that forced higher prices on buyers.
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December 14, 2018
Freshfields Lures Antitrust Veteran From DOJ
An antitrust litigator who served the U.S. Department of Justice under three presidents has landed at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP as a partner.
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December 14, 2018
The Biggest Transportation Rulings Of 2018
The transportation industry saw some major court decisions in 2018, with freight railroads losing a long-running appellate battle over Amtrak’s regulatory authority and Uber landing a Ninth Circuit win making it more difficult for drivers to pursue worker misclassification claims against it. Here, Law360 looks back at a few of the year’s biggest rulings affecting the transportation sector.
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December 14, 2018
EU Refuses To Reopen Brexit Deal, Putting Passage In Doubt
The European Council has formally told the U.K. that its Brexit withdrawal agreement is not open to renegotiation even though a majority of British lawmakers rejected the package, increasing the odds of a no-deal departure from the bloc or a postponement.
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December 13, 2018
SAP Can't Duck Data Co.'s Copyright, Tying Claims
A California federal judge has refused to toss a data analytics company's copyright infringement and antitrust claims against software maker SAP SE, but dismissed its trade secret claims for now.
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December 13, 2018
Cost Of Lengthy Cartel Appeal Not EU's Fault, Court Says
The European Union's top court has overturned more than €800,000 in damages the bloc was ordered to pay to five companies for unreasonably delaying their antitrust appeals, finding that the EU wasn't responsible for the costs those companies incurred while they waited.
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December 13, 2018
Qualcomm Can't Block Huawei, LG Docs From Antitrust Case
The Federal Trade Commission will be able to present written testimony from Huawei and LG Electronics Inc. in the upcoming California federal court trial over antitrust charges the Federal Trade Commission has brought against Qualcomm.
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December 13, 2018
Court Trims Deutsche Telekom Fine Over Broadband Shut-Out
A European court on Thursday reduced a €69.9 million ($79.4 million) fine levied by the bloc's antitrust enforcer against Deutsche Telekom AG over allegations that its Slovak subsidiary attempted to shut competitors out of the broadband services market, but agreed that the activity was anticompetitive.
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December 13, 2018
Texas Court Sends Metals Co. Noncompete Row To Arbitration
A Texas appellate court on Thursday held a trial court wrongly refused to send to arbitration a lawsuit brought by two former US Money Reserve Inc. employees who had asked a state district judge to declare their noncompete agreements invalid.
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December 13, 2018
Alstom, Siemens Offer EC A Remedy For Merger Deal To Pass
Alstom and Siemens said Wednesday that they had submitted a proposal to the European Commission to address its concerns that their merger would would increase costs to manufacturers and raise fares for passengers.
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December 13, 2018
Direct Buyers Win Cert. In Lamictal Antitrust Suit
Drug wholesalers who directly purchased GlaxoSmithKline PLC's epilepsy drug Lamictal or a generic version from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. won certification Wednesday in their antitrust suit alleging a settlement agreement struck between the two drugmakers delayed generic options from entering the market.
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December 13, 2018
ITC Will Review Patent Dispute Between Apple, Qualcomm
The U.S. International Trade Commission will weigh in on an intellectual property dispute between Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. over sales of iPhones found to infringe a Qualcomm patent, agreeing on Wednesday to reconsider whether the telecom giant's asserted patent is obvious and whether an import ban against the iPhones would be appropriate.
Editor's Picks
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Alito, Gorsuch Question Illinois Brick Precedent
Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch on Monday floated the idea of overruling the high court’s landmark Illinois Brick decision, which limits federal antitrust standing to direct purchasers, during oral arguments in a case accusing Apple Inc. of monopolizing the market for apps sold on its devices.
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The Big Picture: The SFO's Rate-Rigging Prosecutions
The Serious Fraud Office has landed another mixed result in its prosecution of several former Barclays and Deutsche Bank traders for manipulating Euribor, the latest in the white collar specialist's latest effort to hold individuals accountable for rigging key benchmark interest rates. Here, Law360 looks at the highlights of the SFO's long-running campaign.
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The Big Picture: DOJ Fails To Halt AT&T's Time Warner Deal
A D.C. federal judge has rejected the U.S. Department of Justice’s arguments that AT&T’s planned purchase of Time Warner would hurt competition and drive up consumer costs, dealing a major blow to the government’s first court challenge of a vertical merger in decades. Here, Law360 looks at how we got here, the key issues and highlights of the case.
Expert Analysis
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How To Work With Regulators During Internal Investigations
The recent courtroom battle over the admissibility of statements made by former Deutsche Bank traders shines a spotlight on a potentially recurring problem — excessive government entanglement in an internal investigation. Counsel conducting such investigations should take certain steps to minimize the risk, say attorneys with Troutman Sanders LLP.
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Guest Feature
The Subtle Art Of Fred Fielding
He was White House counsel to two presidents. When Reagan was shot, he explained the chain of command to a four-star general. And until a few years ago, many people still thought he was Deep Throat during the Watergate scandal. Fred Fielding of Morgan Lewis & Bockius may be the quintessential Washington insider. White and Williams attorney Randy Maniloff learned more.
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What We Heard At The FTC Hearings: Day 14
The eighth hearing in the Federal Trade Commission’s series on competition in the 21st century addressed concerns that stock holdings by institutional investors of noncontrolling interests in competing portfolio companies may have anti-competitive effects. Barry Reingold of Perkins Coie LLP offers some key takeaways.
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10 Tips For Law Firms To Drive Revenue Via Sports Tickets
Many law firms have tickets or luxury suites at sporting events to host clients and prospects. Matthew Prinn of RFP Advisory Group and Matt Ansis of TicketManager discuss some of the ways that firms can use those tickets effectively.
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Whistleblowers May Spur More Gov't Contract Antitrust Cases
The U.S. Department of Justice's $236 million settlement last month with three South Korean companies was the largest ever for anti-competitive conduct against the U.S. government. A whistleblower’s role as the catalyst for that bid-rigging investigation may be a sign of things to come, say David Caputo and Zachary Arbitman of Youman & Caputo LLC.
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Inside Key ABA Guidance On Attorneys' Cybersecurity Duties
A recent opinion from the American Bar Association provides useful guidance on attorneys’ obligations to guard against cyberattacks, protect electronic client information and respond if an attack occurs, says Joshua Bevitz of Newmeyer & Dillion LLP.
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Opening Comments: A Key Strategic Decision In Mediation
Opening comments by parties in mediation that are made with the proper content and tone can diffuse pent-up emotion and pave the way for a successful resolution. But an opening presentation can do more harm than good if delivered the wrong way, say Jann Johnson and William Haddad of ADR Systems LLC.
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Opinion
DOJ Speech May Leave SEP Implementers In Dire Straits
I suspect the true audience for the U.S. Department of Justice’s disavowal last week of a 2013 policy statement on standard-essential patents is not the courts but rather the U.S. International Trade Commission, whose discretion to pressure standard implementers to accept onerous licensing terms will be tested in the coming years, says University of Minnesota Law School professor Thomas Cotter.
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Antitrust Risk In Agreements Restricting Online Advertising
For companies concerned about their competitors’ online advertising, the Federal Trade Commission's recent ruling on 1-800 Contacts' marketing agreements with competitors is instructive, say Amy Gallegos and Michelle Peleg of Jenner & Block LLP.
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Series
Judging A Book: Ginsburg Reviews 'The Curse Of Bigness'
When reading Tim Wu’s new book, "The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age," lawyers, economists and historians will find its broad brush maddening, and the generalist reader will simply be misled, says D.C. Circuit Judge Douglas Ginsburg.