KKR To Pay 'Record' $250M To End DOJ Merger Notice Suit

By Lauren Berg

KKR & Co. has agreed to pay a $250 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it hid key documentation and entire transactions for merger notification, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday, calling it the largest-ever penalty for repeat violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

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Humana Keeps Conspiracy Claims Against Mylan, Lannett

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A federal judge refused to grant Mylan and Lannett summary judgment on claims in Humana's suit alleging a conspiracy to fix the prices of generic drugs ahead of its bellwether trial, calling it premature and noting that the other parties did not join the motion.

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DOJ Flags Breach Of Internal Policies In Apple Suit

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice told a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday that its staffers breached internal policies when they shared personally identifiable information with an outside discovery vendor that was hired not by the department, but instead by the DOJ's state attorneys general partners, in the monopolization case against Apple.

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Samsung, Apple Warn Against Google Payment Ban

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Samsung and Apple told the D.C. Circuit that they are backing he district court's decision to reject a proposed ban on Google's payments to device distributors, with Samsung saying the ban would deprive it of the revenue it needs to help fund research and development in its mobile business unit and Apple saying it would only benefit Google at the expense of customers and third parties. 

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Libertarian Org. Tells 9th Circ. Not To Let Canadian Sue Google

By Bryan Koenig

The Washington Legal Foundation sought Wednesday to back Google against a British Columbia man's efforts to revive "a thematic copycat" of Epic Games' antitrust lawsuit, telling the Ninth Circuit that a California federal judge rightly deemed Google's Play Store policies too disconnected from prices paid by Canadian Android users.

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Brief

Ill. Judge OKs Direct Buyers' Last Turkey Deals, Striking Trial

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge struck an October turkey price-fixing trial on Wednesday as he gave his early blessing to the last two settlements resolving direct purchasers' claims in the consolidated litigation.

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Iowa, Montana Ask Justices To Stop Paramount Merger Case

By Matthew Perlman

Iowa and Montana are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop California and other state enforcers from challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.'s planned purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the effort "a partisan enforcement action" that targets a procompetitive deal.

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CMA To Probe Cash Management Co.'s $6.6B Buy Of ATM Biz

By Dawood Fakhir

The U.K.'s antitrust regulator said Wednesday that it is launching a formal investigation into the $6.6 billion proposed acquisition of NCR Atleos Corp. by The Brink's Co. to determine whether the deal will harm competition in the country.

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Papermakers' €1.4B JV Plan Faces EU Competition Pushback

By Dawood Fakhir

The European Commission said Wednesday that a proposed €1.42 billion ($1.65 billion) joint venture between paper manufacturers UPM and Sappi could reduce competition in markets for making print materials such as magazines and books.

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Detroit Can't Fully Shake Telecom's Fiber Access Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge has allowed a telecommunications carrier to pursue claims that Detroit discriminated against it over access to city-controlled fiber conduit, while dismissing state constitutional, antitrust and mandamus counts. 

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Sports Betting Tech Co. Opposes Sportradar's Arbitration Bid

By Matthew Perlman

Altenar told a New Jersey federal court that Sportradar is trying to force a case accusing it of monopolizing the U.S. sports betting data market into arbitration in Switzerland based on a terminated contract that only covered foreign markets.

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French Auto Co. Says Marelli Can't Hire Ex-CEO After Ch. 11

By Clara Geoghegan

Automotive technology group OPmobility has asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to block its former CEO from working for Marelli Corp., a bankrupt competitor that is working to exit Chapter 11, saying the appointment would endanger trade secrets and violate a noncompete agreement.

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Pot Distributor Again Files Counterclaims In Contract Dispute

By Mike Curley

A cannabis distributor has filed renewed counterclaims against its former consulting partner and a rival distributor, alleging that the rival deliberately interfered with an exclusivity agreement with the consulting partner.

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Brief

Ill. Aid-Fixing Trial Delayed As 7th Circ. Review Proceeds

By Lauraann Wood

Students and several elite private universities will have to postpone their trial over an alleged financial aid fixing scheme while the Seventh Circuit reviews expert-related findings that have allowed the case to proceed as a class action, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday.

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3rd Circ. Hotel Ruling Flags Key Issues In Dynamic Pricing

The Third Circuit's recent decision in Cornish-Adebiyi v. Caesars Entertainment relies on allegations that competitors used nonpublic data to set real-time rates considered exorbitant, highlighting both the potential risks and substantial benefits of utilizing emerging technologies, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

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Calif. Bill Curbing PE Role In Litigation Heads To Newsom

By Lauren Berg

A California bill to ban corporate investors from influencing litigation strategy is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk after passing with bipartisan support from the state Legislature.

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Pillsbury Settles Ex-Recruiting Director's Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has settled a Black former director's suit claiming the law firm fired her weeks after she shared that she was pregnant and would need accommodations, according to a Tennessee federal court filing.

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Prosecutors Say Goldstein Must Stay Behind Bars

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday to keep convicted Supreme Court attorney Thomas Goldstein behind bars while he appeals his conviction, arguing that he remains a serious flight risk with wealthy overseas connections and "an ongoing danger" whose tax crimes continued "even after conviction."

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Arizona Atty Reprimanded For Series Of AI Errors

By Matt Perez

An Arizona federal judge has formally reprimanded a lawyer who admitted to filing four briefs that contained errors including false quotes and a faulty case summary generated with artificial intelligence amid an employment discrimination suit, noting the lawyer previously faced sanctions on two separate occasions for violating court rules.

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House Committee Wants DOL IG To Widen Info-Sharing Probe

By Benjamin Morse

Top House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans urged the U.S. Department of Labor's watchdog Wednesday to expand its review of information-sharing arrangements with outside groups, asking whether three additional agencies improperly disclosed confidential investigative material during the Biden administration.

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