Put down the lemonade and break out the pumpkin spice: summer is coming to an end. And while you were in the pool – or maybe just answering emails poolside – the antitrust agencies showed no signs of a summer slowdown. Before...more
Following a nine-week bench trial starting in September 2023 and closing arguments in May 2024, District of Columbia district court judge Amit Mehta ruled on August 5, 2024, that Google illegally maintained its monopoly in...more
After "an extensive public consultation process" since late July 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division on Dec. 18, 2023, jointly announced the release of final Merger...more
WHAT HAPPENED - On March 2, 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers revealed that the DOJ intends to investigate and pursue alleged criminal violations...more
In the first case of its kind, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute...more
The typical path for the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice when it determines that a contemplated merger is anticompetitive is to sue in federal court to block the merger. Recently, however, the DOJ, for the...more
Providers that are not financially or clinically integrated must keep separate operations. This can extend to the use of a common agent for the non-integrated providers. The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade...more
The fact that a merger might be anticompetitive is not a reason to prohibit a transaction if all of the elements of the “failing firm defense” are met, as described below. In fact, the antitrust agencies have long recognized...more
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently sued former joint venture partners because they allegedly coordinated their competitive activities beyond the legitimate scope of their venture. This case illustrates several...more
The United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced on November 15 that it was settling its antitrust lawsuit against Atrium Health (formerly known as Carolinas Health System)....more
Blockchain technology, particularly private blockchains, can provide a technological curtain behind which business transactions occur. Still, any anticompetitive practices that stem from private blockchains are subject to...more
WHAT HAPPENED - • The Wall Street Journal has reported that the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently investigating whether advertising sales teams for competing television station owners...more
On Friday February 9, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division announced a settlement with Henry Ford Allegiance Health (“Allegiance”) of claims that Allegiance and certain other hospitals unlawfully...more
HIPAA and Emerging Technologies - Editor’s Note: According to a HIMSS Mobile Technology Survey of healthcare provider employees, about 90% say they are using mobile devices to engage patients in their healthcare—and 36%...more
Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released their formal recommendation that South Carolina repeal its certificate of need (CON) law regulating...more
Speaking at an industry conference on November 13, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer reiterated the government’s focus on competition concerns in the health care industry. According to Baer, head of the Department of...more
As most people know, agreements between competitors to fix prices or allocate or divide markets are clear violations of the antitrust laws and can result in serious penalties. In industries as diverse as foreign exchange...more
Lessons From the Frontlines: Strategies for Supporting Informed Consumer Decision-Making in the Health Insurance Marketplace - Editor's Note: As marketplaces prepare for the third open enrollment period, consumers are...more
On June 29, 2015, Sysco Corp. announced that it was pulling the plug on its $3.5 billion proposed merger with US Foods Inc. The news comes less than a week after a Washington, D.C., federal judge concluded that the Federal...more
Together with the State of Michigan, the United States Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has filed a civil suit against four Michigan hospital systems for allegedly agreeing to limit marketing in each other’s...more
Late last week, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Michigan Attorney General (AG) filed suit against four southern Michigan hospitals, alleging that they secretly agreed not to compete with each other in...more
The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division continue to stake out an aggressive health care antitrust agenda — and they have “the wind at their backs.” In important recent decisions, two...more
U.S. and European antitrust agencies had similar enforcement priorities last year, a trend we expect to continue in 2014. Nonmerger enforcement will continue to focus on intellectual property, financial services and...more
In her first speech since becoming Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, Deborah Feinstein highlighted five benefits arising from addressing antitrust violations through consent orders and...more
The worst antitrust offenses involve conspiracies involving multiple actors. Hard-core offenses under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, such as price-fixing, market division, customer allocation, or bid-rigging, require...more