Antitrust Law

Supreme Court: AmEx ban on merchant incentives for competitor cards doesn’t violate antitrust law

A provision in American Express contracts that banned merchants from steering customers to competitor credit cards with lower merchant fees did not violate antitrust law, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided.

Jun 25, 2018 3:27 PM CDT

Federal judge approves AT&T-Time Warner merger, warns stay request would be unjust

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has approved AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner after concluding that the U.S. Justice Department did not prove that the $85.4 billion deal would harm consumers.

Jun 12, 2018 4:39 PM CDT

Sanctions motion argues law firm secretly recorded job interview to gain information for suit

Updated: A motion filed last Wednesday claims a law firm secretly recorded a job interview with a former employee of a litigation opponent and then used the information in the lawsuit.

Apr 10, 2018 8:00 AM CDT

Florida Bar says former president can’t represent startup in suit claiming anti-competitive conduct

The Florida Bar argues that a former bar president should be disqualified from representing a Florida startup in its antitrust suit against the bar. The bar filed a disqualification motion Dec. 1 along with a motion seeking dismissal of the suit, the Daily Business Review (sub. req.) reports. TIKD Services,…

Dec 5, 2017 5:04 PM CST

Justice Department sues to block AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner; Trump tweets may factor in case

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday filed an antitrust suit seeking to block AT&T’s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner. The suit points out that AT&T’s DirecTV is the nation’s largest distributor of traditional subscription television, and Time Warner owns many top TV networks, including TNT, TBS, CNN, and HBO.…

Nov 20, 2017 4:40 PM CST

Ticket-fighting startup sues the Florida Bar and a law firm for alleged anti-competitive conduct

A Florida startup that matches drivers with lawyers contends in a federal lawsuit that the Florida Bar and a competitor have launched “a coordinated attack” to drive it out of business.

Nov 13, 2017 8:00 AM CST

Newer lawyers are needed on Legal Ed council, says Young Lawyers Division recommendation

Sparked by student debt discussions and a concern that the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to Bar may be out of touch with issues recent law school graduates face, the ABA Young Lawyers Division has recommended that the council add two young attorneys who are not employed in legal education as voting members.

Nov 1, 2017 3:54 PM CDT

Paul Weiss partner expected to be chosen by Trump to lead the Federal Trade Commission

A BigLaw lawyer who formerly worked at the Federal Trade Commission will be tapped to become its chairman. President Donald Trump plans to nominate Joseph Simons, a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and who is co-chair of its antitrust practice, report Bloomberg Big Law Business, Reuters, the…

Oct 20, 2017 10:09 AM CDT

California bar spins off its sections amid concerns over liquor spending, resort functions

The State Bar of California has spun off its 16 voluntary sections into a nonprofit entity, making the state bar strictly a disciplinary and regulatory agency that is mandatory for state lawyers. The changes are authorized in a bill signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, report Courthouse News…

Oct 3, 2017 1:12 PM CDT

Minor league players lose federal antitrust appeal over low wages

A federal appeals court has tossed a suit filed by professional minor league baseball players who claimed the league illegally depressed wages in violation of antitrust law. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on Monday that minor league baseball is exempt from antitrust laws, report…

Jun 27, 2017 4:00 PM CDT

EU announces $2.7B fine against Google for favoring its shopping service in search results

The European Union has fined Google a record $2.7 billion for using its search results to promote its comparison shopping service at the top of the search screen. EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said Google violated European antitrust rules and abused its market dominance, report the Washington Post and the…

Jun 27, 2017 8:18 AM CDT

Lex Machina adds commercial analytics

Law analytics platform Lex Machina has expanded its coverage to include commercial litigation. On Tuesday, the company announced that it has added more than 62,000 commercial cases filed since 2009, many in the realm of federal contract claims and business torts. The commercial module will allow users to forecast how much time it would take for a commercial case to be resolved, said Lex Machina general counsel Owen Byrd, as well as project the kinds of damages a user might be facing.

Jun 20, 2017 4:00 PM CDT

Foreclosure law firm accused of conspiring to inflate prices is mostly victorious at trial

The largest foreclosure law firm in Colorado has successfully fought civil allegations that it conspired with competitors and related businesses to fix prices and make more money on side costs, such as title insurance and foreclosure notices. Judge Morris Hoffman of Denver ruled on Tuesday that there was no conspiracy…

Apr 6, 2017 11:08 AM CDT

Judge blocks Anthem and Cigna merger

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the merger of health insurers Anthem and Cigna, giving the U.S. Justice Department a second antitrust victory in the health-care market in less than a month’s time. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson cited antitrust concerns in her decision (PDF), report the National law…

Feb 9, 2017 10:33 AM CST

Trial ends for foreclosure law firm accused of conspiring to inflate prices

A lawyer for the state of Colorado argued last week that Colorado’s largest foreclosure law firm conspired with competitors and related businesses to fix prices and maximize profits. The Denver-based Castle Law Group, along with the husband and wife team who ran it, are facing a civil suit that claims…

Feb 2, 2017 7:00 AM CST