DOJ Seeks Nod For HPE Merger Deal Over State Objections

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice has requested court approval for its settlement that would end a challenge of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's acquisition of a networking equipment rival, despite objections raised by state enforcers over allegations of improper lobbying influence.

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STB Eyes Easier Shipper Access Mandates Across Railways

By Bryan Koenig

Showing "anticompetitive conduct" would no longer be a requirement for shippers seeking to force rail carriers to work together to ferry their goods, under a proposed rulemaking Wednesday that the Surface Transportation Board said would shift such petitions back to consideration on a case-by-case basis.

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Warner Bros. Again Tells Shareholders To Nix Paramount Bid

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday implored shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance Corp.'s amended hostile takeover offer, saying the media conglomerate remains committed to the $82.7 billion deal it reached with Netflix in December.

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Live Nation Looks To Toss BOTS Act Case

By Matthew Perlman

Live Nation and Ticketmaster told a California federal court Tuesday the Federal Trade Commission is trying to use a statute designed to help ticket sellers fight scalping to target operation of the events and the ticketing giant's legitimate resale platform.

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OpenAI Can't Ax Musk's Fraud Claim Over For-Profit Plan

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge indicated Wednesday that she'll deny OpenAI's bid to toss Elon Musk's claims that the artificial intelligence company duped the billionaire into donating $45 million with false promises of remaining a nonprofit, saying "there's plenty of evidence" to take the claim to a jury.

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Lewis Brisbois Adds DLA Piper Antitrust Atty As DC Co-Head

By Alison Knezevich

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has tapped a veteran antitrust attorney most recently with DLA Piper to help lead its Washington, D.C., office.

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FCC Urged To Revisit AT&T-UScellular Spectrum Deal OK

By Christopher Cole

Consumer advocates are teaming up with rural wireless carriers to call for the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its recent approval of a $1 billion deal for AT&T to snap up spectrum held by broken-up UScellular.

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Compass' $1.6B Anywhere Buy Goes Unchallenged By Government

By Isaac Monterose

Real estate brokerage Compass Inc.'s $1.6 billion acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate Inc. is expected to move forward Wednesday without being scrutinized by the federal government even though congressional lawmakers previously urged the government to do so.

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Fans Defend Merch Monopoly Suit Against NFL, Fanatics

By Alex Lawson

Fans suing the NFL and Fanatics over merchandise licensing agreements are urging a New York federal judge to keep their case afloat, skewering the league's attempt to liken the suit to a similar antitrust case that sputtered recently.

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Expedia Wants Singapore's Help Getting Docs In Rival's Suit

By Emlyn Cameron

Expedia asked a Washington federal judge to help it seek assistance from Singapore's court system to get documents from Trip.com, saying the discovery is pertinent in an antitrust case brought by representatives for a defunct Swiss competitor.

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11th Circ. Affirms YouTube Win Over DMCA Safe Harbor

By Carolina Bolado

The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a win for YouTube in a dispute with a movie producer, finding that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act does not require YouTube to police its site for infringing clips beyond responding to takedown notices.

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NC Judge Warns Of 'Pandora's Box' In Shareholder Row

By Abigail Harrison

A North Carolina business court judge Wednesday cautioned counsel for a discharged director of a real estate and insurance company against potentially "opening Pandora's Box" as he argued that his client was targeted by his fellow directors — and family members — due to his age, but can be protected as an employee under state and federal law.

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Warner Bros. Hits Nokia With Antitrust Claims In Patent Case

By Ryan Davis

Warner Bros. has fired back at Nokia's video coding patent suit against it with allegations that the Finnish company has violated antitrust law by running an "unlawful monopolization scheme" on the technology and going back on pledges to license its patents on reasonable terms.

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Fed. Circ. Faults Lower Court In Parking Patent Case

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit said a new trial is needed to determine if a parking lot management patent is invalid under a rule prohibiting patents for technologies that were used or were on sale for more than a year before a patent application is filed.

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Brief

Vanderbilt QB's NCAA Fight Gains More Athlete Plaintiffs

By Alex Lawson

Following an antitrust battle that saw Vanderbilt University quarterback Diego Pavia earn an extra year of playing time from the NCAA, more than two dozen athletes are looking to replicate Pavia's success by joining his case in Tennessee federal court.

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House Talks Market Share Regarding Netflix-WB Merger

By Nadia Dreid

Rapid consolidation in the streaming market was on the minds of members of the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on antitrust when they met Wednesday, with Democrats questioning if competition was being threatened and if the president was exerting too much influence on merger reviews.

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Chancery Exec Noncompete Ruling Offers PE Buyer Lessons

In Derge v. D&H United Fueling Solutions, the Delaware Court of Chancery sided with a private equity-backed portfolio company by enforcing a noncompete against an executive, providing private equity buyers with a checklist of factors for an enforceable noncompete in the sale-of-business context, says Danielle Asaad at Squire Patton.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Intentional Career-Building

A successful legal career is built through intention: understanding expectations, assessing strengths honestly and proactively seeking opportunities to grow and cultivating relationships that support your development, say Erika Drous and Hillary Mann at Morrison Foerster.

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New Assistant AG For Fraud Will Report To White House

By Courtney Bublé

Vice President JD Vance announced on Thursday the creation of a new assistant attorney general role for fraud, which will be overseen by him and the president.

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US Atty In NY Northern District Serving Unlawfully, Judge Says

By Stewart Bishop

A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday held that the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York is unlawfully serving in his position, the latest in a string of rulings disqualifying prosecutors appointed by President Donald Trump.

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Calif. Judge Will Resign, Cop To Workers' Comp Fraud

By Lauren Berg

A California state judge has agreed to resign and plead guilty to a felony fraud charge after prosecutors alleged he knowingly hired a physician previously convicted of healthcare fraud to prepare medical reports to submit to the state's workers' compensation program, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

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Alito Recuses From Chevron, Exxon Coastal Pollution Case

By Keith Goldberg

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Thursday recused himself from considering Chevron and ExxonMobil's effort to place Louisiana pollution lawsuits stemming from the companies' World War II-era production in federal court, just days before the justices hear oral arguments in the case.

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Brief

House OKs $540M For Imperiled Legal Services Corp.

By Emily Sawicki

The "minibus" appropriations bill that the U.S. House of Representatives passed on Thursday includes a lifeline $540 million allocated toward the nonprofit Legal Services Corp. — representing a reduction of $10 million, or 3.6%, compared to fiscal year 2025's budget — whose funding the White House previously suggested should be slashed.

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La. Judge Is Senate's 1st Judicial Confirmation Of 2026

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 53-40 on Thursday to confirm former acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook to be a district judge in the Western District of Louisiana.

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