Analysis

EU Merger Guidelines Overhaul Leaves Door 'Slightly Open'

By Bryan Koenig

Antitrust lawyers are optimistic that European Union merger reforms will be more favorable toward transactions' potential efficiencies and benefits, but they are waiting to see if that new leniency is granted in practice.

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Students Win Class Status In Elite College Aid-Fixing Suit

By Nadia Dreid

Cornell University and several other elite schools are now facing a certified class action accusing them of conspiring to fix the amount of financial aid they gave out after the Illinois federal judge overseeing the case certified a 74,000-strong class Monday.

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States Back FTC's DC Circ. Appeal In Meta Monopoly Case

By Matthew Perlman

More than two dozen state attorneys general have thrown their support behind the Federal Trade Commission's bid to revive its lawsuit accusing Meta of monopolizing social networking through its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram.

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Judge Limits Google's Access To Search Rival's Data

By Bryan Koenig

A D.C. federal judge imposed limits on the data Google can access from would-be rivals seeking its search data and syndicated search results, agreeing with the U.S. Department of Justice that the company can't access every piece of information submitted to a technical committee overseeing its monopolization remedies.

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Judge OKs 3rd Circ. Review For Homebuyer Antitrust Case

By Nate Beck

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Monday allowed brokerage Hanna Holdings to ask the Third Circuit to review a March decision largely rejecting its attempt to escape claims from homebuyers that its allegiance to National Association of Realtor rules drove up the cost of purchases.

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DOJ Says Ohio Health System Can't Duck Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice defended its antitrust case accusing OhioHealth Corp. of blocking competition through its contracts with insurers, telling an Ohio federal court the health system is depriving consumers of lower-cost health plans.

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Brief

Judge Questions NCAA Tennis Settlement's Relief Gap

By Elaine Briseño

A North Carolina federal judge questioned why a proposed $2 million settlement agreement between the NCAA and a class of tennis athletes challenging the organization's prize-money rules did not provide relief for enrolled students playing the sport for their schools.

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Microsoft Sued Over Alleging Price-Fixing Pact With Valve

By Rachel Riley

Microsoft has been hit with a proposed class action in Washington federal court by two gamers who claim the tech giant broke federal antitrust law by striking a price-matching deal with video game developer Valve Corp. for PC games sold in their respective digital storefronts.

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'Sauce For The Goose': X Can't Limit Apple, OpenAI Depos

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Texas federal judge on Friday ordered Elon Musk's X Corp. to offer up 20 of its employees for extra depositions in its antitrust suit against Apple and OpenAI, saying that since the court granted X more depositions, "sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander."

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Real Estate Co. Opposes CoStar Bid To Pause Antitrust Suit

By Grace Dixon

A real estate brokerage asked a Virginia federal court to allow proceedings to continue in its antitrust case against CoStar, noting that, although the parties agree that similar cases should be consolidated with the Virginia case, the suit need not be frozen in the meantime.

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Fed. Circ. Debates Line Between Extortion And Settlement

By Dani Kass

A Federal Circuit panel Monday questioned whether OpenSky Industries LLC should be punished for allegedly extorting VLSI Technology LLC by threatening to challenge its patent, or if any misconduct would be covered under a doctrine meant to protect those petitioning the government.

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Justices Skip CareDx's Bid To Revive $45M False Ad Award

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a challenge to a Third Circuit decision that wiped out a nearly $45 million false advertising award against Natera Inc., preserving a ruling that said proof of actual consumer deception is required to support damages.

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AI Mapping Co. Says Rival's Copyright Suit Is Too Vague

By Rachel Konieczny

An artificial intelligence mapping software company sought to throw out a competitor's lawsuit accusing it of copying thousands of the firm's property maps, telling a Colorado federal judge the competitor never identified which maps had allegedly been infringed.

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TriZetto, Infosys Fight Each Side's CEO Deposition Bids

By Ivan Moreno

Cognizant TriZetto Software Group and Infosys Ltd. have filed dueling motions to block depositions of each other's top executives in a trade secret lawsuit over allegations that Infosys misused confidential access to TriZetto's healthcare software to build competing products.

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3rd Circ. Preview: AI Copyright Spat, NJ Gun Law Battle

By Carla Baranauckas

A copyright fight over the future of AI‑powered legal research heads to the Third Circuit, where a legal publisher will argue this month that a legal technology company's use of its headnotes does not constitute fair use of copyrighted material. The court will also take up a challenge to New Jersey's firearm nuisance law in a case that asks when a trade group can bring a federal suit over a state statute.

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Brief

Unclaimed Stagecoach Class Action Payout To Fund Legal Aid

By Eddie Beaver

A national grant-making charity said Monday that it will distribute £3.9 million ($5.3 million) in unclaimed damages from a class action against rail operator Stagecoach to 16 legal and consumer advice organizations across Britain.

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Law School Antitrust Dismissal Leaves Room For Review

A Pennsylvania federal court's recent dismissal of Risner v. Law School Admission Council, a class action that argued a centralized law school application platform violated antitrust law, reflects judicial reluctance to assume that higher education joint efforts are automatically anticompetitive, but also sets out a road map for future pleadings, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

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Ill. Passes Bill To Restrict Outside Investment In Legal Sector

By Emma Cueto

The Illinois state Legislature has passed a bill that aims to stop attorneys from fee sharing with non-lawyer-owned firms in other states and from accepting outside investment via a managed service organization structure.

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Bonus Spotlight

Hueston Hennigan To Pay Summer Bonuses Up To $35K

By Tracey Read

Trial firm Hueston Hennigan is the second boutique to announce it will dole out midyear bonuses to associates.

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As Judicial AI Use Gains Steam, Training Lags

By Emily Sawicki

Court systems around the country are emerging bullish on the use of generative artificial intelligence by judicial officers, but implementation, training, resources and overall regulations remain scattershot, giving rise to concerns that a learning gap could lead to missteps.

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of May

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Chevron, Barclays and Topgolf. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from the last full month of spring.

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Plaintiffs' Counsel In Tylenol MDL Agree To $50K Donation

By Gianna Ferrarin

A plaintiffs' attorney and law firm sanctioned in multidistrict litigation alleging prenatal exposure to acetaminophen can cause autism agreed to donate $50,000 to maternal health organization March of Dimes in lieu of paying attorney fees, according to a letter filed Monday in New York federal court. 

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DOJ Will Obey Order Freezing $1.8B 'Slush Fund'

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday it will abide by a federal judge's decision to temporarily pause the $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, adding that it disagreed with the ruling.

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Kia, Hyundai Workers' Attys Get $3.45M Fee Award In Visa Suit

By Benjamin Morse

A Georgia federal court on Monday awarded $3.45 million in attorney fees and costs to lawyers for workers who reached an $11.5 million settlement over claims that a Hyundai supplier, a Kia plant and staffing agencies recruited skilled Mexican engineers for production work and underpaid them.

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Roundup

Hub Hires: Foley Hoag, Holland & Knight, Paul Hastings

By Julie Manganis

The rapidly expanding gaming and sports betting industry brought more legal industry players to the table in Massachusetts in May, with two firms beefing up their bench in that area, while other local attorneys made midcareer leaps into new roles.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Labaton Keller's Michael Canty

By Allison Grande

When Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP partner and general counsel Michael Canty decided to pursue a legal career, he had no doubt about what type of lawyer he wanted to be. 

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