DOJ Wants To Quash Apple's Look At Fed Phone-Buying

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice is asking a New Jersey federal court to overrule an order in the government's monopolization case giving Apple a look at how the Pentagon, CIA, U.S. Department of State and other agencies purchase smartphones and smartwatches.

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5th Circ. Upholds NAR Exit From Membership Rules Case

By Nate Beck

The Fifth Circuit found a Texas real estate broker failed to show enough evidence in a third amended complaint to bring antitrust claims challenging rules from the National Association of Realtors that mandate trade group membership to gain access to home listings.

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9th Circ. Calls Foul On Judge's NCAA Five-Year Rule Injunction

By Tom Lotshaw

The NCAA's five-year eligibility limit may be a commercial rule subject to antitrust scrutiny, but a Nevada federal judge improperly blocked it to let a college baseball player keep playing with little evidence it constrained competition, the Ninth Circuit has said.

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Lilly Owes Nektar $1B If It Breached Rezpeg Deal, Jury Told

By Bonnie Eslinger

Nektar Therapeutics' damages expert told a California federal jury on Thursday that Eli Lilly & Co. could owe the biotechnology company nearly $1 billion if it finds that the pharmaceutical giant breached a license agreement to co-develop Nektar's autoimmune-disease drug Rezpeg.

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Deals Rumor Mill

TPG, Blue Owl, CVC Exploring Deals, And More Rumors

By Al Barbarino

Private equity firm TPG may be looking to sell Lyric, which could value the healthcare software company at $5 billion; asset manager Blue Owl Capital is exploring the launch of a real estate investment trust; and CVC Capital Partners could sell personal care company Arthea at a $2 billion valuation. 

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EU Beats Challenge To Block €1.6B Booking.com Buy

By Bryan Koenig

A European Union court refused to upend an EU decision blocking Booking.com's €1.63 billion ($1.89 billion) purchase of Swedish flight booking service eTraveli, rejecting Booking's assertions that the European Commission went against its own merger review guidelines.

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CMA Clears Welltower's $14B Care Home Deal

By Dawood Fakhir

The U.K.'s antitrust authority said Thursday that it has cleared Welltower Inc.'s $14 billion acquisition of several care homes in the U.K. after the U.S. real estate investment trust took steps earlier in September to address the regulator's concerns.

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Nielsen Tells 2nd Circ. Court Altered Terms Of Cumulus Order

By Nadia Dreid

Nielsen is headed back to the Second Circuit after a New York federal court changed the terms of a preliminary injunction that the appellate court had already upheld, the company said, requiring Nielsen to not only unbundle its national radio ratings data from its local offerings but also to provide that data on specific terms.

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Fox Must Produce Carriage Deals In Newsmax Antitrust Suit

By Carolina Bolado

Fox News has to produce its top carriage agreements with cable and streaming providers in Newsmax's antitrust suit accusing Fox of pressuring providers not to carry the rival right-leaning broadcaster, a Florida federal magistrate judge ruled Thursday.

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Clinical Trial Buyer Says Ex-Owner Breached $100M Deal

By Jarek Rutz

Surge ECN Holdings LLC and ECN Operating LLC have accused the former owner of a clinical trial research network of violating a five-year noncompete and other restrictions tied to a deal worth more than $100 million, alleging he diverted customers, recruited key physicians and used confidential information to build a competing business.

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Chinese Vape Co. Wants Price-Fixing MDL Tossed

By Jonathan Capriel

Downstream buyers of cannabis vape brand CCell parts are unable to show that an inherently illegal price-fixing and customer-allocation conspiracy existed between the Chinese manufacturer and four distributors, the companies argued in a dismissal bid, telling a California federal court that the multidistrict litigation complaint describes only "ordinary" business dealings.

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Thomson Reuters Says DOJ AI Stance Doesn't Back Ross

By Rae Ann Varona

Thomson Reuters told the Third Circuit Thursday in defunct legal tech startup Ross Intelligence's interlocutory appeal of a summary judgment ruling that it infringed Westlaw headnotes that a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice flagged by Ross does not support its fair-use defense.

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Citizens Says SoFi's Poaching 'Decimated' Conn. Mortgage Biz

By Isaac Monterose

Citizens Bank is suing SoFi Bank in Connecticut federal court, alleging its rival poached Citizens Bank employees, stole its trade secrets and "decimated Citizens' mortgage business" in Connecticut. 

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Biosimilars Boast Big Savings But Face IP Risks, Report Says

By Theresa Schliep

There are no biosimilar drugs in development for 90% of biologic products set to lose their patent exclusivity by 2034, according to a report released Thursday by the Association for Accessible Medicines, which warned that current patent policy threatens generic-drug development. 

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Series

Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

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ABA Study Shows 20% Of Attys Under Severe Mental Distress

By Tracey Read

About one-fifth of attorneys across the country meet moderate-to-extremely severe symptom thresholds for depression, anxiety and stress, according to the largest-ever study of mental health and well-being in the legal profession.

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Mass. Judge Sanctioned Over Handling Of ICE At Courthouse

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court on Thursday sanctioned a judge over her handling of a case involving a defendant wanted by immigration agents in 2018, an incident that led to federal charges that were dismissed after the judge agreed to a disciplinary process.

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Ed Martin Reprimanded Over Unauthorized FBI Contacts

By Courtney Bublé

Last summer, when Ed Martin was still head of the weaponization working group at the U.S. Department of Justice, he was reprimanded after his team communicated with the FBI without authorization, according to recently released emails.

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2 At DOJ Sued Over Conn. Immigration Court Record Access

By Christine DeRosa

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Connecticut has filed suit in Connecticut federal court challenging the Hartford Immigration Court's refusal to provide access to immigration court records.

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JPMorgan Aided Ex-Atty Kossoff's $18.5M Theft, Trustee Says

By Hailey Konnath

The Chapter 7 trustee representing bankrupt firm Kossoff PLLC on Wednesday sued JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, claiming the bank helped the firm's principal steal at least $18.5 million from clients, and it "should be made to account."

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Analysis

Executive Privilege Questions Cloud Congressional Probe Prep

By Phillip Bantz

As corporate leaders brace for the possibility of Democrats retaking control of Congress and launching aggressive investigations into the Trump administration's dealings with a vast array of companies, attorneys say a U.S. Justice Department opinion on executive privilege could complicate the probes.

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DOJ Urges High Court To Revisit 9th Circ.'s Bar Of Nev. US Atty

By Madison Arnold

The Justice Department has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit a recent Ninth Circuit ruling disqualifying the Trump administration's top federal prosecutor in Nevada, calling it a decision that imposes "ongoing confusion" in the executive branch.

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Jay-Z Can't Undo Buzbee's Win In Rapper's Defamation Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A California state appeals court has refused to revive claims that Texas attorney Tony Buzbee defamed and extorted music superstar Jay-Z by roping him into a sexual abuse suit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, saying the case was properly thrown out under California's free speech statute.

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