In a complete victory for plaintiffs, a Texas court permanently enjoined the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rule banning nearly all employee noncompetes. In the absence of the court’s decision, the rule had been scheduled...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restrictive Covenants
In direct conflict with a recent Texas court ruling, on July 23, an Eastern District of Pennsylvania court denied ATS Tree Services’ motion for a preliminary injunction to stay the effective date of the Federal Trade...more
7/26/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pennsylvania ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Section 5
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) latest policy statement aims to dictate the outcome of contract negotiations between franchisors and their franchisees and to limit the potential negative impact on franchisees of...more
As workers were leaving their offices for the Fourth of July holiday, the Northern District of Texas issued its much-anticipated order preliminarily enjoining the effective date of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC)...more
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
There has been a great deal of press about the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) vote to ban employee non-competition provisions and policies. While the FTC describes the rule as a comprehensive ban, it acknowledges that the...more
4/30/2024
/ Banks ,
Credit Unions ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted along party lines (3 to 2) to ban all worker noncompetition provisions. The final rule applies to all employees, including senior executives, and will become effective 120 days after...more
4/25/2024
/ Competition ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that the commission will vote April 23 on its proposed rule to ban noncompete agreements. While the final rule may differ from the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in...more
Speaking at the Global Competition Review: Law Leaders Global Summit last month, Commissioner Alvaro M. Bedoya of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) argued that the FTC could — and should — combat worker misclassification...more
4/1/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB
On March 5, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a public workshop titled “Private Capital, Public Impact: An FTC Workshop on Private Equity in Health Care.” The event is part of the agency’s effort to publicize and...more
3/8/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Investment ,
Private Equity ,
Request For Information
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took the next step in its long-standing effort to encourage lower prices and increase competition in the pharmaceutical industry. As part of the Biden administration’s whole government...more
2/12/2024
/ Bayh-Dole Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Biosimilars ,
Competition ,
Drug Distribution ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food & Drug Regulations ,
Generic Drugs ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
March-in-Rights ,
NIST ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Regulatory Agenda
It was a busy week for the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) effort to investigate and police artificial intelligence (AI). In addition to its half-day AI Tech Summit, the commission authorized the issuance of “any and all”...more
2/2/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Collaboration ,
Competition ,
Discrimination ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Summits ,
Innovative Technology ,
Investment ,
Machine Learning ,
Regulatory Oversight
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
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released a new Policy Statement addressing one of its long-standing concerns in the pharmaceutical industry: the improper listing of patents in the Orange Book. In an open meeting of the...more
10/6/2023
/ Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
FTC Act ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hatch-Waxman ,
Life Sciences ,
Orange Book ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Policy Statement ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Statutory Violations
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
On August 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied Winn-Dixie’s appeal for a new trial in its lawsuit against the Eastern Mushroom Marketing Cooperative (EMMC). The supermarket chain alleged that EMMC, its...more
Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, has been openly and repeatedly skeptical of merger remedies and settlements: “Merger remedies short of blocking a...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’s (FTC) recent multipronged challenge to EQT Corporation’s acquisition from the Quantum Energy Partners private equity investment group “marks the FTC’s first case in 40 years that enforces...more
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
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently suffered another setback in its most recent effort to secure criminal convictions for labor-side violations of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. In perhaps the DOJ’s...more