AGs Say Live Nation Fix Can't Wait On DOJ Deal Approval

By Bryan Koenig

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. sparred with state attorneys general expected to seek a forced Ticketmaster sale after winning a New York federal jury antitrust verdict, with the company seeking to delay the breakup fight until after the judge reviews a separate U.S. Department of Justice settlement, and the enforcers preferring parallel proceedings.

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Altria, Juul Can Appeal Class Cert. Decision In Antitrust Suit

By Craig Clough

The Ninth Circuit on Monday granted Altria and Juul's request to appeal a ruling certifying several classes of e-cigarette buyers in an antitrust case alleging the companies schemed to have Altria exit the e-cigarette market.

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Apple Fights X's Bid To Depose Cook Over OpenAI Deal

By Sarah Jarvis

Apple has asked a Texas federal court for a protective order barring X Corp. from deposing CEO Tim Cook and another senior executive in a lawsuit accusing Apple of cutting an anticompetitive deal with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its devices.

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Canada Provinces Back Hockey League's Antitrust Dismissal

By Matthew Perlman

The governments of four Canadian provinces have urged the Ninth Circuit to reject an appeal from junior hockey players accusing the National Hockey League and its developmental organizations of suppressing compensation.

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FTC Wants More Info On IonQ's $1.8B Chipmaker Deal

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission has requested additional information about quantum computing company IonQ's planned $1.8 billion purchase of semiconductor maker SkyWater Technology, extending a waiting period that prevents the transaction from closing.

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United CEO Touts Merger Benefits Despite American Rebuff

By Linda Chiem

United Airlines' chief executive pressed the merits of a mega airline merger Monday, while also confirming recent reports that he had approached American Airlines about exploring a potential combination, and that American shut the door on any such talks.

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Brief

China Blocks Meta's Planned $2B Manus AI Acquisition

By Al Barbarino

China's top economic planning body on Monday ordered the cancellation of Meta Platforms Inc.'s planned acquisition of Chinese artificial intelligence company Manus.

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CDK Wants Monopoly Claims Cut From Software Rival's Suit

By Bryan Koenig

Auto dealership management software giant CDK Global LLC told a California federal court Friday that it's not giant enough to be accused of monopolization, as it seeks to scrap the leading claims from rival Tekion Corp.'s lawsuit alleging CDK effectively locked dealers into its system.

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IQVIA Accuses Ex-Execs, Syneos Of Poaching $180M Client

By Abigail Harrison

IQVIA Holdings Inc. is accusing former executives of defecting to a competitor in the clinical research organization industry and initiating a corporate raid that resulted in the loss of one customer worth at least $180 million, according to a lawsuit filed in North Carolina Business Court.

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DC Circ. Questions Alstom's Shot At Brightline Rail Deal

By Jared Foretek

A panel of the D.C. Circuit Monday questioned how competitive Alstom actually was in its bid to build train sets for Brightline West's forthcoming high-speed rail project between Las Vegas and Southern California, as the locomotive manufacturer argued it would have had a shot if not for a Buy America waiver granted to rival bidder Siemens.

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NJ Justices Skeptical Of Retroactivity Defense In Bond Suit

By Carla Baranauckas

New Jersey Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared skeptical of arguments by a group of major banks that a 2023 amendment to the state's False Claims Act is a substantive change that cannot be applied retroactively to long-running litigation over alleged bond-rate manipulation.

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Top Court Won't Hear Former Ohio Speaker's Bribery Appeal

By Cara Salvatore

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal by former Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder after he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the $1.3 billion FirstEnergy nuclear bailout scandal.

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Pool Co. Wins Extra $1.3M In Atty Fees For Unpaid Judgment

By Hayley Fowler

Attorneys from McCarter & English LLP, Womble Bond Dickinson and Georgiou Partnership LLP who represent a U.S.-based swimming pool parts manufacturer won an additional $1.3 million in attorney fees for their efforts to collect a more than $17 million judgment against a Chinese rival.

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Cannabis Co. Can't Shift Atty AI Sanctions To Rival Company

By Emily Sawicki

A Florida federal judge will not force a medical marijuana company to accept liability for sanctions incurred by its in-house counsel over the misuse of generative artificial intelligence, rejecting a rival company's arguments that the lawyer previously avoided monetary sanctions for filing errors and was likely to do so again.

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CBD Brewing Co. Can't Escape Trade Secrets Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

A Minnesota brewery cannot escape a beverage startup's fraud and trade secrets lawsuit, a federal court has ruled, ordering more discovery after a jury delivered a $1.8 million verdict in a separate case in which the co-founder admitted to faking paperwork.

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ABA Settles Scholarship Suit After Disavowing Racial Criteria

By Grace Elletson

The American Bar Association struck a deal to end a suit claiming a scholarship program for racial and ethnic minorities discriminated against white applicants, in line with a vow it made last year that its programs would be race-neutral, according to a filing Monday in Illinois federal court.

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2nd Trump Judicial Nominee Questioned Over Fla. State Case

By Courtney Bublé

For the second time in a year, a judicial nominee for a Florida federal court is under scrutiny for allegedly presiding over a state level case involving President Donald Trump while being considered for a federal judgeship.

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Reed Smith Targeted In Eletson Gas Ownership Fracas

By Caroline Simson

Reed Smith LLP and two of its partners are facing a $262 million lawsuit in a long-running and bitter dispute over ownership of an international gas shipping company, as well as other issues that remain unresolved following the vacatur of an underlying $102 million arbitral award for fraud.

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Alabama Justices Toss Case Over Atty's AI-Hallucinated Briefs

By Lauren Berg

The Alabama Supreme Court tossed an appeal and sanctioned a Mobile, Alabama, attorney for filing "grossly deficient" briefs that contained multiple inaccurate legal citations that the justices attributed to artificial intelligence "hallucinations."

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Justices Deny Ramey Appeal Of Sanctions In Google IP Case

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review $255,000 in sanctions on embattled attorney William Ramey and a client for bringing what a California judge said was a frivolous patent suit against Google, turning down his appeal arguing the decision used the wrong legal standard.

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Analysis

How A Rush To Trial Paid Off With A Rare FCPA Acquittal

By Phillip Bantz

A defense strategy to fast-track the trial in a yearslong criminal foreign bribery case against a Mexican businessman in Texas appeared to backfire when he was convicted and sent to prison last year, but the gamble ultimately paid off when a judge permanently tossed the case earlier this month.

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Toss Of Atty's LVMH Claim 'Problematic,' 2nd Circ. Judge Says

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit judge said Monday that he is having a "hard time" understanding how the firing of a LVMH lawyer wasn't connected to her earlier harassment allegations, indicating a willingness to revive retaliation claims against the luxury goods giant.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week tackled a fresh mix of deal litigation, procedural disputes and fiduciary duty claims, with several rulings and filings underscoring the court's continued focus on contractual precision, forum enforcement and the limits of stockholder challenges.

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