Getty Abandons Shutterstock Buy Amid Spinoff Mandate

By Bryan Koenig

Getty Images opted to abandon its plans to buy Shutterstock rather than sell its rival's editorial arm, in what United Kingdom antitrust enforcers cast as a course reversal after the companies had previously offered up the divestiture to address concerns that the $3.7 billion merger threatened news content competition.

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Resale Ticket Buyers Must Arbitrate Live Nation Claims

By Matthew Perlman

A New York federal court has sent antitrust claims from concertgoers who purchased Ticketmaster tickets on the secondary market to arbitration, after finding an arbitration clause in Live Nation's terms of service is enforceable.

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Amgen Wins Order Blocking Colorado's Enbrel Price Cap

By Lauren Berg

Colorado is preliminarily blocked from enforcing its price cap on Amgen's rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the biotech company is likely to succeed on its claim that federal patent law preempts the state's effort to limit the price of patented medications.

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Yelp Gets To Lock In Part Of DOJ's Search Win Over Google

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge Wednesday partially granted Yelp Inc.'s request to lock in liability findings from the U.S. Department of Justice's landmark antitrust win over Google LLC for its own case against the company, thereby precluding Google from arguing it didn't monopolize the market for general search services.

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Kroger Inks $1.65B Giant Eagle Deal With Planned Divestitures

By Al Barbarino

The Kroger Co. said Wednesday it will acquire regional grocer Giant Eagle in a deal worth $1.65 billion, with Jones Day advising Kroger and Giant Eagle tapping WilmerHale as lead counsel and Troutman Pepper Locke LLP as local counsel.

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Florida AG Launches Antitrust Probe Of FICO's Practices

By Matthew Perlman

Florida state enforcers are investigating the company behind the FICO Score credit rating, Fair Isaac Corp., over concerns it uses its monopoly power to raise prices and block competition.

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Bryan Koenig

Getty Images abandoned its plans to buy Shutterstock, Sysco disclosed an in-depth probe into its deal for Jetro Restaurant Depot, Nexstar and Tegna battled challenges to their tie-up, and Paramount Skydance navigated reviews and potential challenges to its purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Farm Says $99M Deere Right-To-Repair Deal Is Unfair

By Mike Curley

One of the farms suing Deere & Co. in federal right to repair litigation is objecting to a $99 million settlement that received preliminary approval in May, saying the deal provides minimal relief compared to what the class could have gotten at trial, especially since more than half of it may go to class counsel.

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Ukrainian Civilian Suit Against Semiconductor Cos. Dismissed

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge on Wednesday dismissed claims that semiconductor manufacturers negligently sold products the Russian government used to build missiles that killed Ukrainian civilians, but gave the Ukrainian civilians who brought the suit another shot at pleading their claims.

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Fubo Faces Adeia Streaming Patent Suit In Del.

By Adam Lidgett

Adeia Media Holdings on Wednesday sued FuboTV in Delaware federal court alleging the sports streaming venture infringed four of its patents, months after the patent owner announced a deal to end infringement litigation against Fubo's controlling company Disney.

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4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In June

By Julie Manganis

An advisory firm's failure to register as a broker before diving into work on a $2.1 billion take-private deal last year has cost it, while emails and text messages took center stage in several other disputes pending in Massachusetts state court in June.

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DOJ China Container Indictments Signal Global Cartel Risk

The U.S. Department of Justice's recent announcement that it had indicted Chinese manufacturers for conspiring to drive up the price of shipping containers sold in the U.S. illustrates the Antitrust Division's interest in pursuing overseas cartel conduct, especially in China, signaling that multinational companies with employees abroad should strengthen antitrust compliance to avoid running afoul of U.S. national security policy, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

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Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

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Goldstein Calls Gov't's Attack On Text Messages 'Hypocrisy'

By Jared Foretek

Lawyers for convicted SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein have rejected prosecutors' claims that the famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer may have deleted messages between himself and his poker backers, calling the government "hypocritical" after it had previously argued that Goldstein could authenticate the messages if he took the stand at trial.

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Judiciary Dems Seek DOJ Replies Before Blanche Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Ahead of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing for the permanent position, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding he provide answers to their outstanding oversight inquiries.

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Brief

Texas Federal Judge Requires Confirmation Of AI Checks

By Emily Sawicki

Attorneys and self-represented parties appearing before U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez of the Western District of Texas are now required to certify that they have independently verified the contents of any filings created or edited using artificial intelligence.

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'Do Your Part,' Mass. Judge Chides Read Case Attys Post-Leak

By Cara Salvatore

A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday lectured counsel in the high-profile civil case against Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman acquitted of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend, to honor their ethical obligations after sensitive information leaked on social media.

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U Of Ky. Appoints Controversial Dean Pick For Law School

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the Eastern District of Kentucky will retire from the bench later this month to become dean of the University of Kentucky's J. David Rosenberg College of Law, a move that sparked controversy in the state.

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Wash. Atty Loses Bid For Jury In Dispute Over Bar Sanctions

By Emily Sawicki

A Washington lawyer sanctioned and disciplined for bringing a "frivolous" election suit in 2021 against then-Gov. Jay Inslee has lost her bid to have her ethics charges heard by a jury, with a state appeals panel finding no error in a trial court's ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to take on the disciplinary matter.

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Analysis

High Court's Guardrails Won't Ease Fight Over Trans Athletes

By Alex Lawson

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision permitting states to ban transgender athletes from girls' sports was written in simple terms, but attorneys tracking the issue see the ruling as a flashpoint for further litigation.

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Analysis

Plea Deals Get Scrutiny In 'Hunter,' But Justices Stay Cautious

By Brandon Lowrey

The shock for Mary Fan came almost immediately after she began her career as a federal prosecutor in Southern California in the mid-2000s.

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5 NYC Legal Service Provider Union Contracts Have Expired

By Andrea Keckley

The collective bargaining agreements for five New York City-based indigent defense and civil legal aid providers expired at the end of the day Tuesday as multiple unions reported outstanding points of contention in their negotiations.

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Watchdog Says DOL Needs Better Info Sharing Controls

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's lack of controls over information sharing between subagencies and nongovernmental entities, including law firms and legal advocacy organizations, may have unfairly advantaged those parties with privileged investigative information, an agency watchdog reported, though use of the practice has dropped off. 

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of June

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Bayer, Harley-Davidson and PBS. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from June.

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