Medtronic Denied Bid To Nix $382M Antitrust Loss

By Matthew Perlman

A California federal court has denied Medtronic Inc.'s attempt to ditch a roughly $382 million trial loss in an antitrust case accusing the company of maintaining its monopoly over a surgical device through contracts that a jury found blocked competition.

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Illumina Looks To Duck DNA Rival's Renewed Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

Illumina told a California federal court an antitrust case from DNA sequencing startup Element Biosciences should be tossed for good because it continues to attack legitimate discounts that do nothing to block competition.

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Live Nation Pushes Bid To Nix Antitrust Trial Loss

By Christine DeRosa

Live Nation is backing its bid for judgment in its favor and a new trial after state enforcers won a jury verdict finding the company monopolized key parts of the live entertainment industry.

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Firmenich Agrees To $33M Deal In Fragrance Antitrust Suit

By Craig Clough

A group of direct purchasers has asked a New Jersey federal court to preliminarily approve a $33 million settlement with DSM-Firmenich AG and subsidiaries in a sprawling antitrust case accusing four major fragrance ingredient makers of fixing prices, with Firmenich also agreeing to help the plaintiffs prosecute their case against the remaining defendants. 

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Chrysler Dealer Says Competitor Got $30M Edge In NC Market

By Abigail Harrison

The automotive giant manufacturing Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler cars provided a dealer with a $30 million slush fund that has now given it the upper hand over a nearby dealer, according to a lawsuit filed in North Carolina federal court.

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Judge Says No To Amicus On Attorney Privilege In FTC Case

By Nadia Dreid

A defense bar advocacy group will not get a chance to weigh in on the FTC's antitrust case against Amazon over allegations the e-commerce behemoth used attorney-client privilege to hide evidence from discovery after a Washington federal judge declined to hear from the group.

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Feature

The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term

By Jeff Overley

When one of the U.S. Supreme Court's most talkative members suddenly struggled to speak, the atmosphere at oral arguments grew increasingly anxious — until the justice deadpanned that it was an advocate's golden opportunity to avoid a grilling.

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Analysis

After Tense Terms, Hints Of High Court Harmony With Circuits

By Jeff Overley

Following several U.S. Supreme Court terms teeming with reversals and rebukes of lower appeals courts, the justices this term found fault less often with rulings by circuit judges, who are likely becoming better attuned to the conservative supermajority, attorneys say.

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Analysis

The Moments That Shaped The Monsanto Decision

By Cara Bayles and Steven Trader

U.S. Supreme Court justices forged unusual alliances when they ruled a federal statute preempts claims Monsanto failed to warn consumers its Roundup weed killer may cause cancer. Oral arguments provided insights on the 7-2 outcome, highlighting issues the jurists were grappling with and showcasing rationales that found their way into the opinion.

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Bang & Olufsen Accused Of Unlawful Dealer Sale Restrictions

By Eddie Beaver

Bang & Olufsen is being sued at the competition tribunal by a procurement and logistics business, which claims the Danish premium electronics maker unlawfully restricted competition by instructing authorized dealers to refuse sales to customers who use the company as their purchasing agent.

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Apple Moves To Toss App Developers' Off-App Purchases Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

Apple has urged a California federal court to toss, or at least pause, a proposed class action that seeks payback of profits it allegedly received in violation of an injunction blocking prohibitions on developers steering customers to alternative purchasing mechanisms, saying a prior settlement released the plaintiff developers' claims.

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NY Distillery Targets Wash. Liquor Sales Laws At 9th Circ.

By Ben Adlin

A New York distillery during a hearing Monday urged a Ninth Circuit panel to strike down Washington's liquor laws that allow only in-state producers to sell spirits directly to consumers, contending a lower court wrongly relied on case law around alcohol retailers — not producers — when it deemed the laws constitutional.

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Walmart Pays $13M To Settle Texas AG's Driver Pay Claims

By Spencer Brewer

Walmart Inc. has agreed to pay $13 million to settle claims brought by the Texas attorney general alleging the company stiffed delivery drivers participating in its Spark Driver program, and said it will additionally implement "honest" compensation practices going forward.

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Deloitte Drops Trade Secrets Beef With Sagitec For Now

By Hailey Konnath

Deloitte agreed to voluntarily dismiss its suit accusing competitor Sagitec of stealing Deloitte's copyrighted computer program for unemployment insurance claims, according to a notice filed in Delaware federal court Monday though a related criminal case against a pair of former Deloitte employees is still slated for a January trial.

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Roundup

NC Biz Court Bulletin: Rapid-Fire Rulings, Word Of Warning

By Hayley Fowler

Summer is heating up in North Carolina Business Court with a slew of recent rulings, including one greenlighting a data breach class action brought by current and former workers who allege Charlotte-based Bojangles failed to guard their personal information from hackers.

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How Maine's Expanded Health Deal Reviews Complicate M&A

A pair of recently approved Maine competition laws establish notice and approval requirements for certain healthcare transactions and expand state antitrust oversight, creating new hurdles for dealmakers as states take a more aggressive role in policing healthcare consolidation, especially involving private equity, say attorneys at McDermott.

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Sealing The Deal

How Gibson Dunn Helped SpaceX Pull Off Its $75B Global IPO

By Al Barbarino

When SpaceX completed its record-breaking $75 billion initial public offering last month, the transaction was notable not only for its size — the largest IPO ever — but also for breaking new ground in how public offerings can be structured to reach retail investors around the world.

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CEO Cops To Conspiracy In BigLaw Insider Trading Case

By Sydney Price

A Dubai-based CEO and trader has pled guilty in Massachusetts federal court to charges that he worked with a former BigLaw associate and others to carry out a far-reaching insider trading scheme.

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Justices To Defend Court's Budget In Rare Hill Testimony

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan will testify before House and Senate committees on July 14, marking the first time in seven years that a sitting justice has gone before lawmakers.

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Ex-DOJ Employees Tell Senate To Reject Blanche Nomination

By Emily Sawicki

Hundreds of former Justice Department employees and appointees urged the Senate in a Tuesday letter to reject the nomination of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for the permanent role, particularly noting what they called Blanche's work toward politicizing the department.

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ChatGPT Edits Weren't 'Knowing' Errors, Conn. Justices Told

By Aaron Keller

A GLG Law LLC lawyer who blamed ChatGPT for misquotes and citation errors in three filings told the Connecticut Supreme Court on Tuesday he did not violate an ethics rule requiring candor to the tribunal because his briefs, though inaccurate, contained correct assertions about the law.

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Ogletree Co-Founder Deakins, 'Beacon Of Wisdom,' Dies At 90

By Emily Johnson

A co-founder of the global labor and employment juggernaut Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC died Monday after decades of helping shape the firm's values of honesty and transparency.

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McCarter Atty's Work 'Fell Short' In $20M Deals, Judge Told

By Brian Steele

McCarter & English LLP and one of its Connecticut attorneys failed to uphold the applicable standard of care when advising insurers on $20 million worth of loan transactions that ultimately fell apart because the borrower stopped paying, an expert witness told a Connecticut state court on Tuesday.

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House Dems Push To Ban Judges From Prediction Markets

By Emily Sawicki

Ranking members of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday called on the federal judiciary to ban judges from taking part in prediction markets amid growing concerns that court-related wagers could undermine judicial integrity.

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