Federal and state antitrust enforcers, as well as private plaintiffs, are actively investigating and challenging both the companies using pricing algorithms, and the software vendors or the data analytics firms providing the...more
6/14/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Analytics ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Reporting ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Popular ,
Pricing ,
Sherman Act ,
Software ,
State Attorneys General ,
Statutory Violations
A Texas federal court dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) lawsuit against private equity (PE) owner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (Welsh Carson), while allowing to proceed the agency’s challenge against U.S....more
6/12/2024
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTCA Section 13(b) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Monopolization ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Private Equity Firms
On May 9, Assistant Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Kanter announced that Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division has formed a Task Force on Healthcare Monopolies and Collusion (HCMC). The initiative will bring...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act notification thresholds. The HSR Act requires all persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions, which meet or exceed...more
1/26/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Statutory Violations ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Venture Capital
In June of 2022, McDonald’s obtained a judgment on the pleadings, ending antitrust litigation challenging the legality of the no-hire restraints it previously included in its franchise agreements. More than a year later, the...more
10/4/2023
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Former Employee ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
McDonalds ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sherman Act ,
Statutory Violations
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has focused on the potential harm that loyalty discounts and bundled prices could cause to competitors and their access to customers. A vendor offers a bundled discount when it...more
With the end of summer and fall right around the corner, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division is gearing up for several crucial displays of its criminal enforcement priorities across multiple...more
9/13/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Government Investigations ,
Monopolization ,
Price-Fixing ,
Sherman Act ,
White Collar Crimes
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division announced that they will hold three workshops regarding their jointly issued Draft Merger Guidelines. The first virtual workshop will be...more
8/30/2023
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Merger Agreements ,
Merger Controls ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly issued new draft Merger Guidelines on July 19. The draft Merger Guidelines were created with the goal "to better reflect how the agencies...more
8/4/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
NAICS ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
On April 3, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division (DOJ) filed a complaint against and settlement with Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision), alleging the company violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act....more
4/10/2023
/ Activision ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Contract Drafting ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
eSports ,
Final Judgment ,
Salary Caps ,
Sherman Act ,
Tax Liability ,
Video Games ,
Wage Withholding
Senate Proposal Opens the Door for More State Antitrust Lawsuits -
On July 14, the U.S. Senate advanced legislation that puts all businesses at risk of defending antitrust lawsuits across different jurisdictions...more
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act (the “State AG Venue Act”). This law puts all businesses at risk of defending antitrust lawsuits across different jurisdictions...more
As a sport, golf has rarely, if ever, been described as "cutting edge." But in the courtroom, golf may be at the forefront of the latest antitrust developments. In the coming months, the legal war unfolding in professional...more
The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently secured its first criminal conviction for a labor-side violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act after VDA OC LLC (VDA) entered a guilty plea....more
On Tuesday, December 6, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division, announced the unsealing of criminal charges against 12 individuals in the Southern District of Texas as part of an 11-year price fixing and...more
On November 10, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a “Policy Statement Regarding the Scope of Unfair Methods of Competition Under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act” (Policy Statement). The Policy Statement...more
Antitrust in labor markets remains a “hot topic” for government, business, and labor. The antitrust enforcement agencies, consistent with the Biden administration’s “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American...more
The FTC is increasingly focused on competition in gasoline and fuel markets and has “redoubl[ed] its commitment” to “aggressive antitrust enforcement” in these areas. The most recent example of this renewed commitment came...more
On September 23, the U.S. Senate advanced legislation that puts all businesses at risk of defending antitrust lawsuits across different jurisdictions at the same time. Senate Bill 1787 (S. 1787) — the Antitrust Enforcement...more
On July 9, President Biden signed an executive order on promoting competition in the American economy, listing broad priorities for antitrust enforcement. In conjunction with this order, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and...more
7/16/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Executive Orders ,
FCC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
USDA ,
Vertical Mergers
On June 28, while both congressional bodies continue to introduce and consider numerous legislative proposals to “reform” and amend the existing legal analytical framework, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia...more
Last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) held its first open Commission meeting in over 20 years. Chair Lina Khan led the meeting and promised future open meetings of the Commission on a “regular” basis....more
While the debate continues about whether the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the authority to make rules governing antitrust or competition law issues, on March 25, Acting FTC Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter announced the...more
In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the competition law enforcement agencies are implementing policies and procedures aimed at operational continuity while reducing the risk of the spread of the virus among their...more
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced the annual changes to the thresholds contained in section 7A (Hart-Scott-Rodino) and section 8 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 18a, 19) (Interlocking Directors). The new HSR...more
1/29/2020
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Popular ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Section 8 ,
Size of Persons Test ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements