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
Continued focus on antitrust enforcement has led the New Jersey and California attorneys general (AG) offices to go on a hiring spree. New Jersey AG Matthew Platkin recently announced the establishment of a permanent,...more
6/5/2024
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Appointments ,
Anticompetitive Agreements ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
California ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
New Jersey ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State Attorneys General
On April 17, a group of five state attorneys general (AG) and Google filed briefs defending the proposed $700 million settlement agreement reached in three antitrust suits brought against Google....more
5/6/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Billing ,
Class Action ,
Google ,
Google Play Store ,
Popular ,
Settlement Agreements ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair Competition
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
In this episode of Regulatory Oversight, Ashley Taylor is joined by his colleague Drew Mann to discuss the recent increase in antitrust actions by state attorneys general (AGs) and the potential impact of the State Antitrust...more
Just over a year has passed since President Biden signed the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act (the State AG Venue Act or Act) into law, and state attorneys general (AG) have already taken advantage of the law’s...more
On March 6, the California Department of Justice’s (California DOJ) Antitrust Chief Paula Blizzard, announced at the American Bar Association’s National Institute on White Collar Crime that her office is planning to...more
3/14/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
California ,
Cartwright Act ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Sherman Act ,
White Collar Crimes
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 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a coalition of nine state attorneys general (AG) filed a lawsuit on February 26, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon seeking a preliminary injunction to stall Kroger...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
Most products with an online marketing presence generally have “customer reviews.” However, today’s consumers cannot always trust that those reviews are from real purchasers or provide honest feedback about the quality of a...more
Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform our economy, culture, politics, and civic lives. While the promise of intelligent, independent artificial intelligence systems has not yet materialized at scale,...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
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