8th Circ. Won't Force Judge's Recusal In Pork Price-Fixing Case

By Matthew Perlman

The Eighth Circuit has denied a mandamus petition from Agri Stats Inc. and major pork producers who are seeking a Minnesota federal judge's recusal in price-fixing litigation based on a law clerk's previous work on a related case.

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Justices Refuse Drug Price-Fixing Class Action

By Abigail Harrison

The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it will not review the Fourth Circuit's decision to back the dismissal of a proposed class action accusing drugmakers of conspiring and inflating the price of a medication for Huntington's disease.

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DOJ Looks To Settle RealPage Rent Price-Fixing Claims

By Isaac Monterose

The federal government filed a proposed final judgment on Monday that aims to settle antitrust claims accusing property management software company RealPage Inc. and multiple landlords of conspiring to use RealPage's revenue management software to fix rent prices.

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Google Calls Rumble's Recusal Bid Irrelevant To Its Appeal

By Andrea Keckley

Google is urging the Ninth Circuit to disregard concerns Rumble has raised about the trial judge's relationship with the tech giant's litigation vice president, saying Friday that the information is irrelevant to the YouTube rival's appeal of the court's ruling that its antitrust lawsuit was filed too late.

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Anti-Disinformation Nonprofit Latest To Buck FTC Subpoena

By Bryan Koenig

The Federal Trade Commission has revealed another challenger that is contesting its subpoenas looking for potential group boycotts of advertising on disfavored platforms.

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Apple Fights Bid To Recertify 200 Million IPhone Buyer Class

By Bonnie Eslinger

Apple has urged the Ninth Circuit to deny a petition from customers seeking to restore certification of a consumer class plaintiffs say reaches "upwards of 200 million" with a collective $20 billion in damages, in litigation claiming that the tech giant violated antitrust laws with its App Store policies.

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FTC Abandons In-House GTCR Merger Case After Court Loss

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission formally dropped its administrative case challenging GTCR BC Holdings LLC's acquisition of a medical coatings supplier after an Illinois federal judge refused to put the deal on hold.

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Ohio High School Board Opens Up NIL Deals For Athletes

By Elaine Briseño

The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced Monday that it will now allow student-athletes to earn money from contracts for their name, image and likeness, following an Ohio court's temporary pause on a bylaw that banned such deals.

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Schwab's Antitrust Deal Gets Final OK Over Objections

By Sydney Price

The Charles Schwab Corp. and a group of investors Monday received a Texas federal judge's final approval of a settlement of a lawsuit challenging the financial services company's merger with TD Ameritrade on antitrust grounds, following dozens of objections by the Iowa attorney general and others.

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Analysis

3 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In December

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit's argument calendar for December includes a festive $71.4 million patent dispute about artificial Christmas trees, as well as a software company's bid to revive a nine-figure trade secrets and contract verdict against Ford that was slashed to a nominal $3.

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Judge Pushes To Resolve Gaming Status Of $700M Casino

By Crystal Owens

A D.C. federal court judge is asking the federal government and several tribal nations for a report that lays out their positions on the Department of the Interior's reconsideration of gaming eligibility for a $700 million resort-style casino and hotel project in Vallejo, California.

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Israeli Co. Can't Expand Contract Breach Suit Over $25M Deal

By Abigail Harrison

An Israeli smart packaging company can't enlarge a North Carolina Business Court contract breach suit, a judge ruled Monday, saying the amendment would "wholly transform" the case and prejudice defendant Sealed Air Corp.

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Naval Architect Says 4th Circ. Got No-Poach Ruling Right

By Madeline Lyskawa

A former naval engineer accusing shipbuilders of conspiring to suppress industry wages has told the U.S. Supreme Court that their petition for review of a Fourth Circuit decision reviving her proposed class action rests on a rule the panel never adopted.

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Williams Sonoma Sues Quince Over 'Dupe' Comparisons

By Rae Ann Varona

Williams-Sonoma Inc. on Friday sued Quince in California federal court, accusing the direct-to-consumer retailer of falsely advertising to consumers that its products, though cheaper, are of the same high quality as Williams Sonoma's products.

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Brief

Tennis Australia Gets Stay As Antitrust Deal Looms

By Elaine Briseño

A New York federal judge has granted Tennis Australia Ltd. a stay in a lawsuit filed by professional tennis players that accused it and other tournament organizers of manipulating pay and rankings through an illegal cartel.

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Brief

ITC To Probe Imported Van Trailers For Possible Duties

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. International Trade Commission will investigate whether Mexican, Chinese and Canadian trailers for vans entering the U.S. are harming the domestic industry, according to a notice published Monday. 

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Judge Lets FERC's $1B Market Manipulation Case Proceed

By Keith Goldberg

A North Carolina federal judge on Monday declined to block the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from imposing nearly $1 billion in enforcement penalties against an energy efficiency aggregator, saying the company hasn't shown its constitutional rights have been violated.

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9th Circ. Clarifies FTC's Sanction Power In Backing $7M Win

By Dorothy Atkins

The Ninth Circuit affirmed Monday a $7.3 million compensatory sanction and asset-freeze injunction against executives behind the "Success By Health" pyramid scheme, rejecting their argument, among others, that the justices' AMG v. FTC ruling requires the Federal Trade Commission to hold administrative proceedings before suing over rule violations.

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Gordon Rees Hires Commercial Litigator In Alexandria

By Jack Rodgers

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP has hired a litigator in Alexandria, Virginia, who joined the firm after almost 13 years with Smith Gambrell & Russell, to work with its commercial litigation and antitrust practices, the firm recently announced.

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What To Watch As NY LLC Transparency Act Is Stuck In Limbo

Just about a month before it's set to take effect, the status of the New York LLC Transparency Act remains murky because of a pending amendment and the lack of recent regulatory attention in New York, but business owners should at least prepare for the possibility of having to comply, says Jonathan Wilson at Buchalter.

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Series

The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Making The Case To Combine

When making the decision to merge, law firm leaders must factor in strategic alignment, cultural compatibility and leadership commitment in order to build a compelling case for combining firms to achieve shared goals and long-term success, says Kevin McLaughlin at UB Greensfelder.

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Bonus Spotlight

5 BigLaw Firms Match Prevailing Year-End, Special Bonuses

By Anna Sanders

BigLaw continues to dole out extra cash for attorneys just in time for the holidays, with five more firms matching the year-end and special bonuses previously announced by their peers.

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Feds' Claim Against Judge Weighing Trans Troops Ban Tossed

By Lauren Berg

The D.C. Circuit's chief judge tossed the U.S. Department of Justice's misconduct complaint against the federal judge overseeing litigation challenging the Trump administration's ban on transgender troops serving in the military, saying judicial misconduct proceedings are not the appropriate avenue to address concerns about a judge's impartiality.

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Comey, James Defeat Charges Over Halligan's Appointment

By Ryan Boysen

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the headline-grabbing indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding the controversial prosecutor handling both cases was not properly appointed.

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Calif. Personal Injury Law Firm Sued Over Ransomware Attack

By Gina Kim

A former Adamson Ahdoot LLP client lodged a proposed class action in California state court on Friday over a Nov. 3 ransomware attack, alleging the law firm failed to protect his personal information despite touting on its website that it follows industry standards to do so.

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Feature

Prep, Panic & Poise: Inside An Associate's First Oral Argument

By Jeff Overley

Fraser M. Holmes followed a long professional path to a Texas court's lectern. He'd been a baseball blogger, travel writer and social studies teacher before appellate law beckoned. After years of toil, a milestone moment — his first oral argument — finally arrived, but as justices took the bench, his heart sank: "Oh, my God. I think I've just forgotten my entire argument."

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Oversight Chair Seeks USPTO Briefing On Litigation Funding

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is seeking a briefing by the end of the month from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on third-party litigation funding and reforms the agency is working on.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week delivered a packed mix of fraud allegations, merger fallout, corporate-governance reforms and jurisdictional fights, while a new academic report ignited debate over attorney fee awards in Delaware's influential corporate forum.

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