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
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
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
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) 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
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
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
In early September, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment for defendants Burger King Corporation, Burger King Worldwide, Inc., and their ultimate parent Restaurant Brands International, Inc....more
9/26/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Burger King ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
No-Poaching ,
Sherman Act
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and several state attorneys general are challenging the American Airlines Group, Inc. (American) collaboration with competitor JetBlue Airways Corp. (JetBlue)....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
Introduction -
On August 10, the Sixth Circuit issued its opinion in St. Luke's Hospital et al. v. ProMedica Health System, Inc., reversing an unusual preliminary injunction under Section 2 of the Sherman Act that ordered...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
Over the past several years, the Democratic commissioners of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have made clear their dissatisfaction with the agency’s historic treatment of pharmaceutical mergers. Now, it appears that...more
Split along partisan lines, the Federal Trade Commission (Commission) voted last week to issue Commentary on Vertical Merger Enforcement (Commentary). The Commentary intends to “provide[] greater transparency to the public...more
On July 31, the FTC published its settlement with Therapy Source, LLC; its owner, Sheria Yarbray; and Neeraj Jindal, the former owner of a competing staffing company — Integrity Home Therapy (collectively, the respondents)....more
8/3/2018
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Section 5 ,
Settlement ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Wage-Fixing
Recent appellate decisions confirm the uphill battle hospitals face when merging with other hospitals. On October 31, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned the district court’s ruling in Federal Trade...more
The decision serves as a reminder of the uphill battle that merging health care providers have faced since the FTC’s adoption of its current rigid market definition standard in 2007.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the...more
10/18/2016
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Geographic Markets ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Hypothetical Monopolist Test ,
Merger Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued its first advisory opinion addressing clinical integration programs since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Without a doubt the advisory opinion is useful for...more