DOJ, Pinnacle Reach RealPage Rent-Fixing Settlement

By Isaac Monterose

The federal government wants to settle its antitrust claims against Cushman & Wakefield unit Pinnacle Property Management Services LLC, which was accused in North Carolina federal court of using property management software company RealPage Inc.'s revenue management technology to fix rental prices, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Calif. Urges Justices To Let Paramount Merger Case Play Out

By Matthew Perlman

California and other state enforcers that are challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.'s planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery have urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to expedite Iowa and Montana's case seeking to block the merger challenge.

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Cardboard-Makers Can't Duck Price-Fixing Class Action

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

An Illinois federal judge has rejected a bid from major containerboard manufacturers to dismiss a class action accusing them of conspiring to fix prices, saying the plaintiff purchaser's allegations concerning six price increases were well plead and sufficient "to show parallel conduct."

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Trial Is Quickest Path To IP Case's 'Finality,' Justices Told

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina software company told the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday not to pause an upcoming trademark trial with its former Dutch partner over a licensing agreement that went south, saying the quickest way to a resolution of the long-running litigation is to finally bring it to a jury.

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Amazon Nearly Controls Full Delivery Driver Market, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

Amazon rigged its delivery service partner program to abuse its monopsony power, suppressing wages and imposing working conditions so atrocious that drivers resort to relieving themselves in water bottles to meet inhuman delivery requirements, according to a proposed antitrust class action filed in California federal court.

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Tamarack, Headwater To Merge In $7.2B Canadian Energy Deal

By Al Barbarino

Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. and Headwater Exploration Inc. said Tuesday they have agreed to merge in an all-stock transaction valued at CA$10 billion, or about $7.2 billion, with Stikeman Elliott LLP and Burnet Duckworth & Palmer LLP advising, respectively. 

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'Resilience,' Scale Up For Changes In EU Merger Overhaul

By Bryan Koenig

With major European Union merger reforms due for finalization by the end of the year, the EU's top competition official said Sunday that enforcers plan to add more clarity to the draft merger guidelines, including by spelling out how improving environmental "resilience" can push transactions across the finish line.

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CMA To Work With MoD In Fight Against Bid-Rigging

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The U.K.'s competition regulator said Tuesday it is exploring whether Ministry of Defense procurement data could help tackle bid-rigging in defense supply chains, as it urged the government to make more procurement data available to tackle suspected cartels.

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Biogen Must Face Pharmacies' MS Drug Monopoly Suit

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss Walgreens and Kroger's lawsuit accusing Biogen Inc. of illegally stifling competition for its multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera, saying they've made sufficient allegations at this point in the case to suggest they've "suffered a concrete injury as a result of Biogen's conduct."

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NC Supreme Court Considers Reviving 'Cardiac Pack' NIL Suit

By Alex Lawson

The North Carolina Supreme Court pointedly questioned the NCAA over its refusal to compensate members of the 1983 North Carolina State University championship basketball team Tuesday, expressing skepticism that the dispute was entirely snuffed out over late claims.

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Amazon Says No Need For Early Discovery In NJ AG's Case

By Matthew Perlman

Amazon has told a New Jersey federal court there's no need to expedite discovery in the state's case accusing the e-commerce giant of using its market power to stifle competition for delivery drivers, saying the case belongs in front of the National Labor Relations Board.

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Eli Lilly 'Sabotaged' Rezpeg's Development, Nektar Tells Jury

By Bonnie Eslinger

Eli Lilly & Co. breached its deal with Nektar Therapeutics to co-develop the autoimmune-disease drug Rezpeg and instead "sabotaged" its development in favor of a different Eli Lilly drug, a Nektar lawyer told a California federal jury during opening statements Tuesday, while Lilly's counsel countered that Nektar was unharmed by the deal's termination.

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Amgen Tells 4th Circ. No Point In Keeping CareFirst Suit Alive

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Amgen urged the Fourth Circuit to overrule a Virginia federal judge's refusal to dismiss CareFirst's lawsuit accusing it of unlawfully delaying biosimilar competition for Enbrel, arguing that the health insurer's alleged injury was actually caused by court orders enforcing Amgen's patents.

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Motorola Tells DC Circ. That Google Search Payments 'Vital'

By Bryan Koenig

Motorola on Friday backed Google with a D.C. Circuit amicus brief arguing the U.S. Department of Justice is wrong to call for a complete ban on Google paying cellphone-makers like Motorola to incorporate Google search into their devices.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week saw disputes involving a former NFL star and a $2.5 million solar venture, Morgan Stanley's role in Fox Corp.'s planned $22 billion acquisition of Roku Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s effort to pause more than $20 million in legal-fee payments to former Frank executives.

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Womble Bond Says No Need To Share Rift Details In Exit Bid

By Emily Sawicki

Attorneys from Womble Bond Dickinson, seeking to withdraw as counsel of record for a Dutch software company embroiled in a trademark dispute with an American rival, told a North Carolina federal judge that they are not obligated under professional conduct rules to disclose the "substance of a confidential disagreement" underlying their withdrawal request.

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Auto Tools Trade Org. Says Antitrust Claims Are Baseless

By Spencer Brewer

An automotive lift trade association and several lift manufacturers asked a Texas federal court to toss antitrust claims brought by a Texas manufacturer, saying that the manufacturer failed to state a viable claim under the Sherman Act.

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SEC Sues Proxy Adviser Firm ISS For Client Voting Records

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a Pennsylvania federal court to enforce a subpoena against Institutional Shareholder Services, alleging the proxy advisory firm is improperly withholding information about the voting advice ISS gives institutional investors due to fears of retaliation.

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ABA Law School Accrediting Arm Repeals Diversity Standard

By Emma Cueto and Andrea Keckley

The American Bar Association council responsible for law school accreditation voted Tuesday to eliminate its diversity and inclusion standard, the final step in a process that the council hopes will ensure it remains an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

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Ex-DLA Piper Partner Must Face Claim He Raped Associate

By Lynn LaRowe

A Massachusetts state court has ruled it has jurisdiction over an assault and battery claim alleging a former DLA Piper partner raped a former Boston-based associate in Delaware, finding that purported incident was part of "a larger course of conduct encompassing multiple torts across several states, all circling around plaintiff's residence and work in Massachusetts."

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5th Circ. Backs Ax Of $125M Judgment Over Judge Friendship

By Mike Curley

A split Fifth Circuit panel Tuesday affirmed the vacatur of a trial by a magistrate judge that resulted in a $125 million judgment against Port of Lake Charles, finding the district court correctly found that the magistrate judge didn't fully disclose her 40-year, "close, multifaceted, and personal friendship" with IFG Port Holdings LLC's attorney.

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AG Blanche To Speak At GOP Midterm Convention

By Courtney Bublé

Attorney General Todd Blanche will speak at the Republican midterm convention this week in his "personal capacity."

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