Justices Want SG's View On 3 Antitrust Cases

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday called for the solicitor general's view in antitrust cases involving hard drive component prices, allergy testing and treatment, and insulin products sold through a drug discount program.

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9th Circ. Revives Antitrust Suits Against Invisalign

By Rae Ann Varona

The Ninth Circuit on Monday reversed Invisalign-maker Align's summary judgment win in two class actions accusing the company of monopolizing the clear teeth aligner market, saying in a published opinion that Align's true reason for ending tech interoperability with a rival is still up for dispute.

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Justices Won't Hear Google Maps Antitrust Case

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to scrutinize a Ninth Circuit decision declining to revive a proposed antitrust class action from app makers accusing Google of locking out rival maps products.

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Renters Seek Class Cert. For RealPage Antitrust Suit

By Isaac Monterose

A proposed class of renters asked a Tennessee federal court to certify it for its antitrust claims, saying property management software company RealPage Inc. allowed multifamily landlords to use its revenue management products for rent price-fixing.

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Casinos Lose Bid For 3rd Circ. Redo In Room-Pricing Suit

By Matthew Santoni

Atlantic City casino-hotels could not get the Third Circuit to go back on reviving a proposed class action accusing them of a price-fixing scheme for hotel rooms, according to a court order.

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DOJ, Google Differ On Ad Tech Fix Timing, Oversight

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice and Google offered disagreement Friday largely on relatively discreet points for the mandates meant to open up Google's advertising placement technology dominance, in a Virginia federal court filing where disputes centered heavily on how long the tech company has to implement changes and who'll monitor its compliance.

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Justices Won't Block Paramount's $110B WB Deal

By Dorothy Atkins

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday quickly rejected a request by consumers to immediately block Paramount Skydance's $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, which is expected to close Tuesday, while a lower court adjudicates their antitrust claims challenging the merger.

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Amazon Urges CAT To Reject £6.3B Claim As Duplicative

By Ronan Barnard

Amazon told a London antitrust tribunal Monday that a proposed consumer class action estimated to be worth up to £6.3 billion ($8.3 billion) should be rejected, arguing that it would duplicate work done for similar claims and "generate vast returns" for lawyers and funders.

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Clifford Chance Advises BT On £400M Deal For TalkTalk

By Irene Madongo

BT Group said Monday that it has bought broadband operator TalkTalk and its wholesale business PlatformX Communications out of administration in a £400 million ($529 million) deal that has triggered government intervention.

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DOJ, Google Want DC Circ. 'Priority' For Search Appeal

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice and Google jointly asked the D.C. Circuit to prioritize their cross-appeals in the search monopolization case in order to schedule oral arguments as soon as Dec. 9.

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Expedia Hit With Antitrust Suit Over Hotel Pricing Restrictions

By Rachel Riley

Expedia broke federal antitrust law by barring listed hotels from selling rooms at lower rates through their own booking channels and using algorithms to punish them for offering reduced prices on competing travel agency websites, consumers claimed in a proposed class action filed in Washington federal court Friday.

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McDonald's Accused Of Using AI To Hike Menu Prices

By Celeste Bott

A potential class action filed in Illinois federal court Friday accuses McDonald's of flouting federal and state antitrust laws by using artificial intelligence to coordinate prices among independently owned restaurants, causing customers to overpay and average menu prices to rise by roughly 40% in a five-year period.

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Big 3 Telecoms Want Antitrust Suit Over Wi-Fi Calling Tossed

By Nadia Dreid

The nation's largest three mobile carriers — AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile — are ready to wash their hands off a lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to offer free Wi-Fi calling as a way to monopolize the market for the service.

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FCC Evading Courts With 'Gamesmanship,' DC Circ. Told

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission is pursuing a road map for evading judicial review of major rulings, an advocacy group warned the D.C. Circuit in a case challenging Fox TV's Philadelphia license.

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Airbnb Can't Monopolize 'BNB' Acronym, Real Estate Co. Says

By Gina Kim

Airbnb cannot monopolize the acronym "BNB," which is an internationally recognized, generic and unregistrable abbreviation for "Bed and Breakfast," and its opposition to a luxury real estate management enterprise's trademark application for "LUXBNB" should be dismissed, alleges a declaratory action filed Monday in New York federal court. 

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High Court Won't Review DirecTV Standing In Nexstar Fee Suit

By Christopher Cole

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review whether DirecTV has standing to sue broadcast chain Nexstar for allegedly working with two other station owners to fix retransmission fees for broadcast programs.

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Justices Skip 2 Patent Cases, 1 Trade Secret Dispute

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a trio of petitions concerning patent and trade secret litigation, declining to review questions about damages apportionment and patent eligibility.

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Huawei And Qualcomm Strike Patent Licensing Deal

By Ryan Davis

China's Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc. said Monday they have reached a multi-year patent licensing agreement that involves Qualcomm purchasing some of Huawei's U.S. patents.

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Chancery Allows Discovery In Boehringer Trade Secrets Fight

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court Monday allowed Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. to move ahead with discovery in its trade secrets fight against United Therapeutics Corp., but rejected the drugmaker's request for a rapid-fire forensic discovery schedule, finding Boehringer waited too long to justify that level of emergency relief.

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Brief

Justices Won't Review SC Beach Gear Rental Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Supreme Court refused a petition Monday from a beach equipment rental company seeking to revive its antitrust case accusing a South Carolina city of using its municipal ordinances to monopolize the market.

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Brief

High Court Won't Review Medical Tape Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review a case accusing medical supplies group purchasing giant Vizient Inc. of locking in hospital customers, after the lower courts found a medical tape supplier failed to define a market that Vizient allegedly monopolized.

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Brief

PVC Pipe Price-Fixing Settlements Get Final OKs

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge has given her final blessing to more than $200 million in settlements consumers have struck in their antitrust suit accusing major polyvinyl chloride pipe producers of participating in an illegal price-fixing conspiracy, teeing the rest of the case up for the evidence-gathering phase of litigation.

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DOJ-Agri Stats Settlement Offers Key Benchmarking Lessons

A Minnesota federal court's recent approval of the Agri Stats settlement marks a significant milestone as it's the most granular U.S. Justice Department guidance on permissible competitor benchmarking since the 2023 withdrawal of the safety zone, lending predictability for companies in data-pooling arrangements, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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Why Importers Should Assess IEEPA Refund Claims Now

Businesses that wait for direction from U.S. Customs and Border Protection or the courts before seeking refunds of their finally liquidated International Economic Emergency Procedure Act duties in court may find them out of reach as the earliest potential limitation deadlines are approaching, says Samuel Finkelstein at LMD Trade Law.

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Ex-FBI Analyst Says Bove Ordered Illegal Protester Probe

By Courtney Bublé

A former FBI agent has come forward with a claim that when U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove was at the U.S. Department of Justice, he directed the Los Angeles field office to illegally investigate protesters.

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3rd Circ. Judge Faces Ethics Complaint For Managing PR Firm

By Adrian Cruz

A pair of U.S. senators from Delaware have filed an ethics complaint with the Third Circuit raising concerns over U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Mascott's purported operation of a public affairs agency, months after she was officially confirmed to the appellate court.

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Cornell Hires Ex-Deputy AG Yates To Lead Internal Review

By Christine DeRosa

Following widespread public outrage over how a former student's rape allegations were handled, Cornell University has hired former deputy U.S. attorney general and King & Spalding LLP partner Sally Yates to lead an internal review of its policies and procedures.

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Judge Newman Gets Suspension Fight Moved To 11th Circ.

By Dani Kass

Chief Justice John Roberts has transferred the Federal Circuit's investigation of suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman to the Eleventh Circuit, the latter court said Tuesday.

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Texas Justices Leery Of Banning AI Deposition Transcripts

By Spencer Brewer

Texas Supreme Court justices seemed hesitant to bar attorneys outright from using artificial intelligence voice transcription software during depositions, pointing out Tuesday that multiple safeguards exist to ensure accuracy.

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DOJ Says 12-Juror Rule Would Cause Unwarranted 'Upheaval'

By Brandon Lowrey

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to uphold precedent allowing states to use juries of fewer than 12 people in serious criminal cases, saying overruling it could unsettle thousands of convictions and force many states to change their criminal procedure laws.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Panter On Mediating Vs. Judging

By Cara Bayles and Kelley Marcano

When attorneys come before retired Judge Michael Panter, a former circuit court judge in Cook County, Illinois, they sometimes forget that he is not there to decide their cases, but to resolve them.

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UVA Law Prof Takes On Role Of USPTO General Counsel

By Elliot Weld

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said University of Virginia School of Law professor John F. Duffy has joined the agency as its general counsel and acting solicitor.

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