Meatpacking Probe Continues, Agri Stats Deal Expected

By Matthew Perlman

Federal officials said Monday an investigation into potential collusion and foreign ownership in the cattle meatpacking industry is continuing, as the Justice Department separately nears a settlement with Agri Stats over claims that it helped processors exchange sensitive information.

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FTC Swears Off Media Matters' Boycott Probe, Forever

By Bryan Koenig

Media Matters for America announced a "legally binding settlement" Monday resolving its retaliation claims against the Federal Trade Commission, securing a promise by the agency "to forgo ever reissuing or issuing a substantially similar" administrative subpoena to the left-leaning watchdog in the search for censorship of conservatives.

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Gas Stations Bound To Visa Swipe Fee Deal, 2nd Circ. Says

By Bryan Koenig

A Second Circuit panel refused Monday to let a group of gas stations separately sue Visa and Mastercard over their swipe fees, holding the would-be plaintiffs cannot get out of a $5.6 billion antitrust settlement the credit card giants inked with merchants.

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Apple Asks High Court To Pause Epic Games App Store Order

By Hailey Konnath

Apple on Monday asked the Supreme Court to stay a mandate upholding an injunction barring Apple from charging developers high commissions on in-app purchases until a district court judge decides what exactly Apple can charge, arguing there are important questions that need to be resolved first.

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Attys Defend $85M Fee Bid Blasted By Judge In Google Deal

By Bonnie Eslinger

Consumers who pursued an antitrust class action against Google urged the California federal judge who criticized their 98,000 hours billed as "grotesquely bloated" to approve their $85 million fee request, emphasizing Friday that they filed suit a year before state attorneys general joined the case and maintained a leading role in the litigation.

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Analysis

Spirit Airlines' Demise To Reshape Low-Cost Competition

By Linda Chiem

Rival airlines have scrambled to boost routes, plug service gaps and snatch up Spirit Airlines customers in the two days since the budget carrier's demise, raising alarms about what other casualties might be in store for an airline industry reeling from skyrocketing jet fuel costs.

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FTC Stipulates Unit Sale For $848M Food Kiosk Deal

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission is requiring 365 Retail Markets LLC to unload a food service kiosk business in order to move ahead with its planned $848 million acquisition of fellow self-service retail company Cantaloupe Inc.

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Kroger Fights AGs' $10M Fee Ask In Albertsons Merger Case

By Rachel Riley

Kroger and Albertsons are urging an Oregon federal judge to reject a $10 million legal fee request from nine attorneys general who joined the Federal Trade Commission in successfully challenging a proposed $24.6 billion merger of the grocery giants, saying the plaintiff states played a "minimal role" in the litigation.

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OkCaller Tells 11th Circ. Its Google Suit Wasn't 'Incoherent'

By Nadia Dreid

OkCaller.com is asking the Eleventh Circuit to revive its lawsuit accusing Google of monopolizing the market for search engine services, arguing that the lower court was wrong to adopt Google's "straw man" and treat the reverse phone number lookup website's argument as "incoherent."

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Oil Giants Say Mich. AG's Climate Antitrust Suit Is DOA

By Keith Goldberg

Global oil giants and an industry group have said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has no basis to allege they conspired to restrict renewable energy and delay the transition away from fossil fuels in violation of federal antitrust laws.

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Nexstar Tells Justices DirecTV Fee Case Creates Circuit Split

By Nadia Dreid

Nexstar is not pleased with the Second Circuit's decision to revive DirecTV's antitrust suit accusing the broadcasting giant of trying to fix the price of retransmission fees, and it's hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will step in and overturn the ruling.

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State Farm Bungled LA Wildfire Claims, Calif. Regulator Says

By Lauren Berg and Bonnie Eslinger

California's insurance regulator announced Monday that it's pursuing major penalties against State Farm over its alleged mishandling of claims related to 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, the same day the U.S. Department of Justice alleged in court that insurers conspired to cancel homeowners' policies in the years before the fires.

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Calif. Tribes Back Stay In Kalshi Case Before 9th Circ. Rules

By Joyce Hanson

Three California tribes have asked a federal judge to stay their litigation seeking to stop prediction market platforms from conducting what they say is illegal gambling on their lands, saying they can wait until the Ninth Circuit rules on their appeal challenging a denied preliminary injunction.

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Fla. Cites Petty Defense Of Social Media Law, Groups Say

By David Minsky

Tech groups urged a Florida federal court to deny an attempt to end a lawsuit challenging a state law that punishes social media websites for banning accounts of political candidates' based on viewpoint, calling officials' defense of the legislation "borderline frivolous."

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Hedge Fund Says Expert Loss Isn't Fatal To Spoofing Case

By Jon Hill

A hedge fund that is suing units of Bank of America and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce for alleged spoofing by their clients has told a New York federal court that a recent decision to exclude the hedge fund's damages expert doesn't doom its case, pushing back on a bid from the banks for an end to the litigation.

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Dell Asks Shareholders To Move Legal Home To Texas

By Spencer Brewer

Dell Technologies Inc. became the latest company to consider the Lone Star State as its new legal home, telling shareholders Monday that updates to the state's corporate laws and its business-friendly attitude have created a compelling case to make the move.

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Brief

Ohio Labeling Co., Ex-Manager Settle Noncompete Suit

By Brian Steele

A former manager at an Ohio labeling and packaging facility and his ex-employer have settled a federal lawsuit alleging he took a job with a competitor and then poached another employee, in violation of his noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements.

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FCC Told Sports Rights Fix May Lie In Fewer Rules, Not More

By Elaine Briseño

The Free State Foundation has urged the Federal Communications Commission to remove the antitrust exemption for sports leagues when negotiating with content providers, arguing it could allow broadcasters to compete more equitably with streaming apps.

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Cooley Adds Kirkland Partner To Lead DC Antitrust Practice

By Jack Rodgers

A nearly 20-year veteran of the Federal Trade Commission, who most recently was a Kirkland & Ellis LLP antitrust and competition partner, has joined Cooley LLP as chair of the firm's global antitrust and competition practice, the firm said Monday.

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DOJ's Stance On Antitrust And Patent Law Reflects Balance

Recent statements of interest in patent litigation and a speech from a key U.S. Department of Justice official communicate the view that strong patent rights and competition policy are complementary, and offer important guidance for intellectual property practitioners and businesses navigating patent enforcement, standard‑setting and licensing, say attorneys at Wiley.

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2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

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Bondi Spurs Ethics Doubts By Using DOJ Official As Counsel

By Courtney Bublé

Harmeet Dhillon, an official with the U.S. Department of Justice, is representing former Attorney General Pam Bondi in proceedings before the House oversight committee, which Democrats on the panel say raises ethical quandaries.

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Military Atty Can Prosecute Minn. Civilian Despite Regulations

By Jack Karp

A Minnesota federal judge won't stop a military attorney from being appointed to prosecute a civilian accused of assaulting federal immigration officers, despite finding that the appointment violates binding U.S. Department of Defense regulations.

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DOJ Apology For Hidden Warrant Not Satisfying For Judge

By Tom Lotshaw

A Rhode Island federal judge, whom the U.S. Department of Homeland Security criticized for releasing a noncitizen with an alleged overseas warrant for homicide, was dissatisfied with an assistant U.S. attorney's apology for not disclosing the warrant to the court beforehand.

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Wash. Bar Task Force Spotlights Atty Mental Health Issues

By Rachel Riley

A Washington State Bar Association wellness survey of roughly 900 members found that nearly 10% said they experienced suicidal thoughts or self-harm in the past year, and about 20% expressed concerns about their alcohol consumption, a task force reported to bar leadership on Saturday.

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Lewis Brisbois Gets Ex-Paralegal's Claims Sent To Arbitration

By Adrian Cruz

A Florida state judge determined that a former Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP paralegal has to arbitrate her claims accusing the firm of defamation and costing her a job at another firm.

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Sinema Pans 'Gross Distortion' By Ex-Guard's Wife In Tryst Suit

By Abigail Harrison

Former Arizona U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Friday doubled down on her contention that a North Carolina federal court lacks jurisdiction over a lawsuit alleging she destroyed a marriage by sending lascivious texts to her ex-security guard.

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Analysis

DOJ's In-House Detention Legal Aid Plan Is MIA

By Courtney Bublé

A year ago, U.S. Department of Justice officials said the government would be taking over a program historically run by nonprofits to provide legal orientations and referrals for pro bono representation for adults in immigration detention facilities. But those involved in the program say the Trump administration hasn't taken any steps to run the program.

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2nd Circ. Raises Concern Over Challenge To NY US Atty's DQ

By Stewart Bishop

A Second Circuit panel on Monday voiced concern over the U.S. Department of Justice's argument that a now-former acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York was serving lawfully when he subpoenaed the New York Attorney General's office over a pair of cases disfavored by President Donald Trump.

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Maduro Gets June Court Date After US Relents On Atty Fees

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge on Monday directed former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to return to court in June, after he and his wife, Cilia Flores, reached an apparent agreement with the Trump administration to access Venezuela government funds for their legal fees.

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Mass. Justices Uneasy Over Judge's Handling Of ICE Incident

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' top court on Monday appeared concerned that a state district court judge in 2018 offered to detain a defendant sought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, as the justices considered a public reprimand.

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Atty Seeks Docs To Back Ogletree DQ Bid In Bias Suit

By Adrian Cruz

A Georgia attorney on Monday asked a federal judge to allow discovery related to her bid to have Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC disqualified from defending ADT LLC against discrimination claims while concurrently defending Microsoft Corp. in the attorney's own pregnancy bias suit.

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Longtime South Fla. Federal Judge James King Dies At 98

By Carolina Bolado

U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King, a Nixon appointee who spent more than half a century on the federal bench and helped shape the Southern District of Florida, died Saturday at the age of 98.

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Calif. District OKs Civil Court Audio Feeds Including Musk Trial

By Dorothy Atkins

The Northern District of California modified local court rules late Friday to allow judges to stream audio for civil jury trials in the district, accompanying its announcement with a separate notice that the high-profile Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial over OpenAI's for-profit conversion is available to access via audio stream.

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