California’s labor law enforcement agencies, including the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (“LWDA”) also known as the “Labor Board” has the authority to investigate whether employers violate the California Labor Code,...more
On September 9, 2021, a California Court of Appeal issued its ruling in Wesson v. Staples the Office Superstore, LLC, delivering a welcome victory to employers battling representative actions under the Private Attorneys...more
In a case of first impression, last week, the Second District California Court of Appeal held that judges have inherent authority to limit, and even strike, unmanageable PAGA claims. ...more
On September 9, 2021, the California Court of Appeal issued its opinion in Wesson v. Staples, Inc., holding that (1) courts have inherent authority to ensure that Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims can be fairly and...more
During its Q4 earnings report yesterday, Netflix announced a significant departure from past practice: it’s done borrowing money (for now, at least). After borrowing “over $16 billion to feed its titanic appetite for content”...more
SquareTrade, Inc. (“SquareTrade”) sells protection plans for consumer products. Adam Starke (“Starke”) purchased a SquareTrade plan from Amazon to cover a CD player ordered from Staples....more
In the process of green-lighting a vertical merger with a firewall remedy, the current Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) exposed a significant partisan divergence in the commissioners’ approach to vertical...more
On January 28, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had accepted a proposed settlement with office supply distributors Staples and Essendant in connection with Staples’ proposed $482.7 million acquisition...more
On January 28, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into a consent order allowing, with firewall conditions, the vertical merger between Staples and office-supply distributor Essendant. In order to resolve the...more
A banner round of stress-testing for the US’s biggest banks (all passed for the first time in the test’s 7-year history) is seen as paving the way for banks to pay out their largest dividends in nearly a decade....more
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is pleased to present its 2016 Antitrust Year in Review. In this report, we summarize the most significant antitrust matters and developments of the past year. We begin with a look at the...more
Retailers that advertise sale prices in comparison with regular prices in California should ensure that the products were actually offered for sale at those regular prices within the preceding three months, in order to avoid...more
This post updates the public deal antitrust reverse termination fee database through September 30, 2016. An antitrust reverse termination fee (ARTF), sometimes called an antitrust reverse breakup fee, is a fee payable by...more
The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice have continued their aggressive stance against proposed mergers that the antitrust agencies perceive as harmful to competition. So far this year, the FTC obtained a...more
Companies contemplating mergers should review the effect of the transaction on each customer type, application and product, not just on the broad customer base. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia...more
A federal court in Washington, D.C. issued an order blocking Staples' acquisition of Office Depot on the grounds that it would substantially lessen competition in the sale of consumable office supplies to national business...more
After more than a year-long battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the proposed acquisition of Office Depot, Inc. (ODP) by Staples, Inc. (SPLS) was blocked by the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District...more
On May 17, 2016, one week after announcing his decision, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia released a public version of his opinion siding with the Federal Trade Commission in its...more
On May 10, Staples and Office Depot announced that they would be terminating their $6.3 billion merger in the wake of a federal judge’s decision to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the deal. This represents the second...more
On May 10, 2016, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia released his highly anticipated decision in the matter of Staples’ acquisition of Office Depot, granting the Federal Trade...more
After last month’s bench trial, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan has granted the FTC a preliminary injunction enjoining the merger between Staples and Office Depot. As a result, the companies have decided to end their efforts to...more
The fallout from Lending Club’s surprise news about Renaud Laplanche’s departure continues, with Goldman Sachs and Jeffries LLC hitting the pause on planned LC bond sales – WSJ... A Treasury Department white paper...more
FTC Files No-AG Suit Against Pharmaceutical Companies - On March 30, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaintin the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against several drug...more
Yesterday, Staples closed its defense in the case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to block the Staples-Office Depot merger—without calling any witnesses. (We covered the first week of the trial here.) Judge...more
On Monday, Staples and the Federal Trade Commission began presenting arguments in the D.C. District Court on whether the FTC should be entitled to a preliminary injunction to halt a potential merger between Staples and Office...more