Competition : Law360 : Legal News & Analysis (2024)

Elon Musk's X Sues CVS, Mars, Ads Group Claiming 'Boycott'

Elon Musk's X Corp. sued the World Federation of Advertisers, Unilever, Mars Inc., CVS Health and Ørsted in Texas federal court Tuesday, inspired by a House Judiciary Committee Republican staffer report decrying efforts to avoid advertising next to hate speech and other "disfavored" content as an anticompetitive group boycott.

Britain's competition authority said Tuesday that it has provisionally cleared Tate & Lyle's planned acquisition of the U.K. business ofTereos, dissolving earlier antitrust concerns after it found that the loss-making producer of agricultural raw materials would probably fold if the deal does not go ahead.

Drugmakers Can Fight To Nix Pay-For-Delay Claim, CAT Says

An antitrust court in the U.K. has green-lit a challenge by a Danish drugmaker to an earlier decision not to apply a two-year limitation period to government claims that it raised prices of an antidepressant by having generics manufacturers put their rival medicines on hold.

DOJ Wants Google Held Accountable For Deleted Chats

The U.S. Department of Justice has told the Virginia federal court overseeing the government's case accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology the company needs to be held accountable for implementing policies that destroyed evidence.

FTC Says Syngenta 'Distorts' Info Rules In Competition Case

The Federal Trade Commission is urging a North Carolina federal court to force Syngenta Corp. to produce documents in a lawsuit accusing the chemical maker and Corteva Inc. of suppressing competition from cheaper generic pesticides, emphasizing that the information is relevant to the case despite Syngenta's contentions to the contrary.

FTC Looks To End Noncompete Ban Challenge In Texas

The Federal Trade Commission defended its noncompete ban to a Texas federal judge, arguing in a new motion for summary judgment that its rule is well within the bounds of the FTC Act's plain language.

AT&T Inc. CEO John Stankey met with Federal Communications Commission members to lobby for the company's first responder network to lead the national public safety band, despite band users' concerns that AT&T could control the band for its own self-serving interests.

Pegasystems Slams Appian's 'Animus' After $2B Verdict Axed

Business software maker Pegasystems says rival Appian's "animus" is behind a series of what it says are irrelevant, premature and burdensome discovery requests, after a Virginia appeals court vacated a $2 billion trade secrets judgment against Pegasystems.

Hillrom's 'Intrusive' Funding Probe Needs To Stop, Rival Says

Hospital bed maker Linet has urged an Illinois federal court to block Hill-Rom Holdings Inc.'s"increasingly intrusive" bid for litigation funding documents in its antitrust suit targeting allegedly anticompetitive supply agreements, arguing that the records are off limits because they're irrelevant and legally protected.

4th Circ. Revives Duke Monopoly Suit, Orders New Judge

The Fourth Circuit on Monday revived Florida-based NTE Energy Services' lawsuit accusing Duke Energy of squeezing it out of the market in North Carolina, concluding that the lower court should have looked at the big picture of the allegations.

Poultry Co. Fights Bid For $217K In Legal Costs For Subpoena

A poultry rendering company suing Tyson Foods for allegedly deploying anticompetitive tactics in order to force a dramatically undervalued buyout is fighting a bid from Darling Ingredients, a nonparty in the suit, to recoup the money spent fighting a subpoena.

Musk Accuses OpenAI Of Fraud, RICO Over Business Model

Elon Musk on Monday accused OpenAI Inc. and its leaders of violating several laws related to fraud, conspiracy, contract violations and false advertising by claiming he was wrongly told the company would remain a nonprofit, in a suit filed in California federal court.

TikTok Removes 'Addictive' Feature In EU Amid Pressure

TikTok has agreed to permanently discontinue a viewing rewards program from the European Union after regulators there said its "addictive" nature could pose a risk to users' mental health, the European Commission announced Monday.

Google Abused Monopoly Over Search Market, Court Finds

A D.C. federal judge ruled on Monday that Google is a monopolist in the general search market and has violated antitrust law by paying billions of dollars to make its search engine the default on devices made by Apple, Samsung and others.

JetBlue, Spirit Scoff At Flyers' $34M Fee Bid Over Nixed Deal

JetBlue and Spirit said air travelers who challenged their merger shouldn't get a cent of a late and exorbitant request for up to $34 million in attorney fees in a case where they simply "piggybacked" on the U.S. Department of Justice's successful effort to block the deal.

Truck Buyers Get OK To Bring £2B Price Fixing Class Action

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has agreed to certify a trade group to represent a class of truck drivers who say that major truck-makers owe them some £2 billion ($2.6 billion) after running a price-fixing cartel to inflate the price of the vehicles.

Ex-Exec Can't Escape Drug Co.'s Trade Secret Suit

The North Carolina Business Court refused to give a win before trial to the former president of a United Therapeutics Corp. subsidiary on a claim that he took trade secrets to a rival, with the court reasoning the drug company took reasonable steps to protect the secrets beyond a three-year limit in his employment agreement.

NFL's $4.7B Hail Mary Hinged On Debunking Experts

A California federal court tossed a $4.7 billion jury verdict Thursday in an antitrust case over the NFL's Sunday Ticket broadcast package due to concerns about experts that testified for the subscribers, but the move raises questions about why the court waited so long to exclude them.

British Air Parent Drops Air Europa Deal Due To EU Scrutiny

British Airways' parent company has abandoned its €400 million ($436 million) plan to buy the rest of Air Europa from Spanish tourism company Globalia amid pushback from European competition authorities, telling investors that the merger was "no longer probable."

Public Interest Groups Back ISP Bulk Billing Opt-Out

More than 30 public interest groups urged the Federal Communications Commission to allow consumers in multitenant environments to "escape" bulk billing for broadband service but quickly saw pushback from an industry group that calls the arrangements beneficial.

US Soccer's Antitrust Suit Settlement Talks May Be Stalling

Settlement talks between the U.S. Soccer Federation and Relevent Sports LLC appear to be stalling in the sports promoter's antitrust suit against soccer's American governing body over its alleged monopoly on professional matches.

DOJ Says Apple 'Has No Basis' To Delay Discovery

The U.S. Department of Justice is urging a New York federal judge to get the ball rolling on discovery in its case accusing Apple of anticompetitively restricting app access to lock users into the iPhone.

3 Candidates In Running To Replace Washington AG

Washington voters on Tuesday will narrow the candidates aspiring to become the state's next attorney general, choosing from among a former U.S. attorney, a state lawmaker who was a county prosecutor, as well as a mayor and attorney who is a gun rights advocate.

Taxation With Representation: Sullivan, Dechert, Kirkland

In this week's Taxation With Representation, BNP Parabis SA acquires an investment management subsidiary for €5.1 billion, Cleveland accounting firm CBIZ merges with competitor Marcum for $2.3 billion, and Arcosa Inc. inks a deal with a family-owned construction materials business for $1.2 billion.

Off The Bench: NFL Reversal, Drone Spying, UFC Deal Tossed

In this week's Off The Bench, a bombshell ruling wipes out a $4.7 billion antitrust verdict against the NFL, Canada takes it on the chin for Olympic drone spying, and a nine-figure settlement to address UFC wage suppression is rejected.