Visa Can't Duck DOJ's Debit Card Monopoly Case

By Matthew Perlman

A New York federal court has refused to throw out the U.S. Department of Justice's case accusing Visa of illegally maintaining a monopoly over debit card networks, rejecting arguments about the market at issue, discounts offered and the scope of deals with would-be competitors.

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Apple Assails 'Fundamentally Unfair' App Order At 9th Circ.

By Bryan Koenig

Apple urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to nix a district court's "unduly punitive" mandate blocking it from charging any commission on iPhone app purchases made outside its systems, arguing an Epic Games injunction redux goes far beyond the original order and attacks conduct that's not illegal under California law.

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FTC Commish Says Enforcement Is The Way, Not Regulation

By Nadia Dreid

The newest member of the Federal Trade Commission was preaching less regulation and increased enforcement as the path toward a more just and competitive business landscape in the United States at a Senate antitrust subcommittee hearing Tuesday afternoon.

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Judge Trims Homebuyer Antitrust Claims Against Brokerage

By Nate Beck

A Pennsylvania federal judge found homebuyers showed enough to continue claims that brokerage Hanna Holdings effectively inflated costs for buyers by following rules set by the National Association of Realtors, even while rejecting claims that the firm colluded with competitors.

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Rail Fuel Surcharge MDL Tossed In Sealed Opinion

By Bryan Koenig

Union Pacific Railroad Co., CSX Transportation Inc., Norfolk Southern Railway Corp. and BNSF Railway Co. scored a decisive win Tuesday against roughly 18 years of price-fixing litigation accusing the country's four largest railroad companies of colluding on freight fuel surcharges, in a sealed opinion issued in D.C. federal court.

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Former DOJ Antitrust Official Joins Latham

By Bryan Koenig

Latham & Watkins LLP on Wednesday announced the addition of a new D.C.-based antitrust partner with the hiring of Andrew Forman, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division who is rejoining private practice after three years of helping lead civil competition enforcement.

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CMA Outlines Potential Fixes For Google Search In UK

By Matthew Perlman

Britain's competition authority on Tuesday proposed applying the country's new digital markets regime to Google's search service and said it is considering potential interventions, including requiring choice screens and setting rules for search rankings.

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Calif. AG Asks 9th Circ. To Undo Limits On Pay-For-Delay Ban

By Lauren Berg

California enforcers on Monday asked the Ninth Circuit to overturn a district court's decision that a state law restricting "reverse payment" settlements between brand-name and generic-drug makers cannot be used to regulate deals that were struck outside the Golden State.

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9th Circ. Urged To Revive Players' NHL, CHL Antitrust Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

Hockey players' unions and individual players have appealed to the Ninth Circuit after a Washington federal judge dismissed their antitrust lawsuit accusing the National Hockey League and the Canadian Hockey League of conspiring to suppress wages for junior league players.

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Arkansas Insurance Dept. Fights Teamsters Plan's ERISA Suit

By Emily Brill

The Arkansas Insurance Department is looking to sink a challenge to a state insurance regulation filed by a Teamsters healthcare plan, telling an Illinois federal judge that the regulation isn't preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and, besides, the plan can't sue the department.

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Brief

Wash. Smoke Shop Settles Store Name TM Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

A Washington smoke chain has agreed to end claims against several rivals it accused of trademark infringement after they allegedly engaged in unauthorized use of its name, Smoke City, so they could trade on the goodwill it had developed with customers.

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Another Musk Case, Another Judge Recusal

By Bryan Koenig

A California federal magistrate judge on Tuesday became the latest federal judge to recuse from a case involving Elon Musk, this time stepping down from handling his lawsuit challenging OpenAI's now-abandoned transition to a for-profit enterprise.

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Key House Republican Calls For Telecom Law Reforms

By Christopher Cole

A top House Republican called Tuesday for reform of the 1992 Cable Act and for loosening the Federal Communications Commission's limits on broadcast media ownership, which he says would help modernize telecommunications law.

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Trade In Limbo: The Legal Storm Reshaping Trump's Tariffs

In the final days of May, decisions in two significant court actions upended the tariff and trade landscape, so until the U.S. Supreme Court rules, businesses and supply chains should expect tariffs to remain in place, and for the Trump administration to continue pursuing and enforcing all available trade policies, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

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Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

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Kasowitz Rebrands Amid Shift To Streamlined Firm Names

By Andrea Keckley

Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP announced Tuesday that it is rebranding to Kasowitz LLP, becoming the latest firm to shorten its name.

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3rd Circ. Pick Told DOJ To Defy Courts, Whistleblower Says

By Courtney Bublé

A top career official at the U.S. Department of Justice who was fired has come forward with a whistleblower complaint alleging Third Circuit judicial nominee Emil Bove, who was acting deputy attorney general at the beginning of the year, sought to defy court orders.

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Judiciary Warns Congress Of Cyber Risks To PACER

By Courtney Bublé

PACER, the online public repository of federal court documents, is vulnerable to cyberthreats, a top judiciary official told members of Congress on Tuesday.

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Winston & Strawn Sues Hunter Biden For 'Unpaid Legal Fees'

By Alison Knezevich

Winston & Strawn LLP is suing Hunter Biden in Washington, D.C., alleging he owes the BigLaw firm more than $50,000 for legal work related to his federal criminal case in Delaware and other matters.

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ABA Announces New Research Into Attorney Mental Health

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association announced Tuesday it is launching a national research project on attorney mental health, which will provide an updated benchmark of the issue nearly a decade after its 2016 study.

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Trump Hones Immunity Argument In 2nd Circ. Carroll Appeal

By Pete Brush

Counsel for President Donald Trump told the Second Circuit on Tuesday that he did not "unequivocally and explicitly" waive presidential immunity before a jury awarded writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in their defamation battle, refining the theory that he cannot be held liable.

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Analysis

Anthropic Copyright Ruling May Spur More AI Licensing Deals

By Ivan Moreno

The first federal court decision on the fairness of taking copyrighted material to train generative artificial intelligence is a mixed outcome for tech companies and content creators that could prompt both parties to seek coexistence, according to attorneys, with the judge concluding that while the technology is "spectacularly" transformative, using pirated material is inexcusable.

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