Agri Stats Reaches Meat Price-Fixing Deal With States, DOJ

By Hailey Konnath

Agri Stats has agreed to stop putting together certain sales reports for broiler chicken processors to resolve the U.S. Department of Justice's allegations that those reports enabled price-fixing by meat processors, according to an announcement made Thursday.

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Judge Wants States To Outline Live Nation Antitrust Remedies

By Matthew Perlman

A New York federal judge asked state enforcers on Thursday to outline the remedies they intend to seek from Live Nation, along with the discovery they expect to need, before deciding a schedule for the next steps in the antitrust case against the major live entertainment company.

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DOJ Antitrust Head Tells Merging Firms: No Games

By Bryan Koenig

Combating "gamesmanship" remains top of mind for the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division as it reviews mergers, according to a New York speech Thursday from acting head Omeed A. Assefi warning parties against "altering" merger notification material or trying to "play games with documents and data."

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6th Circ. Tosses Ohio's Out-Of-State Wine Limits

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Sixth Circuit has struck down as unconstitutional Ohio's restrictions on out-of-state retailers' ability to sell wine directly to consumers in the Buckeye State.

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Zillow, Redfin Can't Escape FTC's Antitrust Suit Over Ad Pact

By Jared Foretek

A Virginia federal judge denied Zillow and Redfin's bid Wednesday to toss the Federal Trade Commission's suit accusing the companies of colluding through a $100 million payment to stop competing on multifamily rental listings, ruling that the "fact-intensive nature" of the commission's complaint justifies it surviving past the pleading stage.

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ZoomInfo Must Face Apollo Antitrust, False Ad Claims

By Jarek Rutz

A Delaware federal judge has allowed Apollo.io to press ahead with most of its counterclaims against competitor ZoomInfo Technologies LLC, finding that Apollo plausibly alleged that its larger rival used monopoly power, patent litigation and negative customer messaging to suppress competition in the sales-intelligence data market.

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Apple Can't Trim 'Novel' £3B ICloud Overcharge Class Action

By Eddie Beaver

Apple has failed to strike out part of a consumer group's collective action of approximately £3 billion ($4.1 billion) accusing the tech giant of operating a cloud storage monopoly that overcharges customers, as an appellate tribunal recognized that the case raises novel points of law.

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UK Says Welltower's Senior Home Deals May Hurt Competition

By Isaac Monterose

The United Kingdom's antitrust authority determined Thursday that several of Welltower Inc.'s U.K. senior housing acquisitions create "a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition."

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IOC Lifts Olympic Ban On Belarus, But Russia Still Out

By David Steele

The International Olympic Committee lifted its ban on Belarus on Thursday, saying that athletes deserve to compete despite the actions of their countries, but continued the suspension of Russia imposed after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

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Porsches Designed To Create Repair Monopoly, Suit Says

By Kelcey Caulder

Porsche Cars North America has been hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court alleging it unlawfully monopolizes the market for repair services performed on Porsche vehicles sold since 2021 by intentionally designing them so that only authorized dealers can complete the repairs.

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Firm Sanctioned For Misleading Merchants In Swipe-Fee Case

By Hailey Konnath

A New York federal judge on Thursday sanctioned personal injury firm Betz & Baril PLC and its referral partner ClickFunds for misleading would-be class members in long-running antitrust litigation against Visa and Mastercard, ordering the firm and ClickFunds to notify clients about the misinformation.

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OpenAI CEO Altman Fueled 'Toxic Culture Of Lying,' Jury Told

By Dorothy Atkins

California federal jurors weighing Elon Musk's challenge to OpenAI's for-profit conversion on Thursday watched prerecorded testimony from a former OpenAI board member who voted to oust CEO Sam Altman in 2023 over concerns his pattern of lies and deception fostered a "toxic culture of lying."  

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Nielsen Tells 2nd Circ. To Upend Cumulus' Data-Tying Order

By Bryan Koenig

An attorney for Nielsen urged a Second Circuit panel Thursday to undo an order, which is currently stayed, effectively blocking it from conditioning media company Cumulus' access to national radio ratings data on buying its local offerings.

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Netlist Backs DOJ Stance On Essential IP In Samsung Case

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Department of Justice is correct that having a patent included in a standard does not necessarily give the patentholder market power, Netlist said in defending itself against Samsung's lawsuit accusing it of exploiting a standard-setting process.

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Womble Bond Atty's 'Draconian' Penalty Gives 4th Circ. Pause

By Hayley Fowler

A Fourth Circuit panel seemed to struggle Thursday with what one judge described as a "draconian" contempt order against a Womble Bond Dickinson partner, with the panel nudging counsel for both sides toward a simpler solution that wouldn't force the court's involvement.

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Warren Asks Meta About Reported Stablecoin Payment Plans

By Sarah Jarvis

The top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee has called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to provide more information about the company's reported plans to introduce stablecoin-based payment features for its users, accusing it of a "deeply troubling" lack of transparency about the project.

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Bowlers Sue Lucky Strike Over 'Starbucks Of Bowling' Tactics

By Elaine Briseño

Lucky Strike has been engaging in a yearslong anticompetitive scheme to acquire rival bowling alleys across the United States so it can drive up costs and increase its own profits, while diminishing the experience of bowlers, a group of customers has alleged.

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Non-Nicotine Vape Maker Accuses Rival Of Patent Infringement

By Mike Curley

Ready Mix Naturals LLC is suing a rival vape maker in Nevada federal court, alleging rival Globrands LLC and its subsidiaries are infringing Ready Mix's patents for non-nicotine vape products.

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Series

Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

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Ex-Jackson Walker Atty Seeks Breakup With Romance Suit

By Adrian Cruz

A former Jackson Walker LLP partner said Thursday that she should be dropped from a suit accusing her, a former Texas bankruptcy judge she had a secret relationship with and multiple law firms of fomenting "mass corruption" in Houston's bankruptcy court.

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SEC Fines Ex-BigLaw Atty For Insider Trades On Apollo Deal

By Hailey Konnath

A former Buchalter PC shareholder has agreed to pay $71,625 to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's allegations he purchased stock ahead of Apollo Global Management's $1.5 billion acquisition of Bridge Investment, which the commission said he was representing in an unrelated matter at the time.

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Comey Retains NC Criminal Defense Pro For 2nd Indictment

By Rachel Rippetoe

Former FBI Director James Comey has added a North Carolina white collar defense pro to his legal team fighting an indictment by the Trump administration over a social media post last year that prosecutors characterized as a threat of violence against the president, according to a court filing on Thursday.

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Judiciary Panel Punts AI Rules, Mulls Judges' Survey Results

By Jeff Overley

Buckle up: Efforts to modernize evidentiary rules amid artificial intelligence fears are getting bumpy, as judiciary advisers Thursday agreed to dramatically delay action while digesting an AI survey of nearly 1,000 judges and organizing a symposium of litigators and tech pros.

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Toss Of Ex-Shkreli Atty's Deal May Be Error, 2nd Circ. Hints

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit judge hinted Thursday that a trial judge may have erred in rejecting a retirement-fund garnishment deal that would have protected Martin Shkreli's convicted former lawyer from a potential $1 million "punitive tax event."

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Analysis

How Litigation Funding Disclosure Could Affect ITC Cases

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. International Trade Commission's proposed rule to require disclosure of litigation funding in intellectual property cases could bring more transparency to disputes and promote settlements, but it could also discourage some suits if it's not carefully tailored, attorneys say.

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NC Judge Tosses Atty's Suit Against State Bar Panel Member

By Andrea Keckley

A North Carolina federal judge dismissed a suspended attorney's lawsuit against a State Bar Disciplinary Hearing Commission member he accused of bias and due process violations, finding Thursday that the defendant is entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity.

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Analysis

Why Compliance Is Getting Complicated In Latin America

By Phillip Bantz

White collar compliance is getting trickier for companies that do business in Latin America, according to experts, who say they are seeing big shifts in the region connected to cartel crackdowns and efforts to strengthen corporate regulations, including relatively recent pushes for voluntary self-disclosure.

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