At the end of January, Attorneys General Jonathan Skrmetti of Tennessee and Jason Miyares of Virginia filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee alleging that the NCAA’s newest name, image and likeness (NIL) policies place “anticompetitive restrictions” on the NIL rights of current and prospective athletes. Specifically, the
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Industry Challenges Lead to Postponement of New FTC CARS Rule to Stop Car Dealership ‘Scams’
A recent rule promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeks to regulate possibly deceptive practices in automobile sales. Finalized in December, the Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Rule looks to protect consumers, including by limiting two common illegal acts encountered by consumers: imposing hidden junk fees and using bait-and-switch tactics. The rule aims to…
Does New York’s Failed Noncompete Bill Forecast a Similar Fate for the FTC’s Proposed Noncompete Rule?
Supreme Court will not review judgment-sharing agreement among defendants in Broiler Chicken Case
In its Jan. 8 order list, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal concerning a “judgment sharing agreement” among major U.S. meat-supplier defendants in the Broiler Chicken antitrust case (In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, N.D. Ill. Case No. 1:16-cv-08637). The agreement allows defendants to proportionally share any adverse judgment related to the case.…
Voluntary Dismissal as DOJ Contemplates Future of Criminal No-Poach Cases
As we previously wrote, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) April 2023 loss in United States v. Patel, its fourth in a criminal no-poach case, cast a pall over the agency’s enforcement efforts. The following month, the DOJ Antitrust Division sought to contain the fallout from Patel in another criminal no-poach case, United States v.…
Executive Order on AI: Antitrust Issues
On Oct. 30, the White House issued Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (Executive Order). In the wide-ranging Executive Order, the White House provides a road map for its policy positions and administrative priorities with respect to the rapidly developing and expanding advent of artificial intelligence (AI).…
FTC Takes Nontarget to Court in Robinson-Patman Act Investigation
There have been reports that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is leveraging the long-dormant Robinson-Patman Act as a basis for civil investigations into potential price discrimination by distributors in the alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverage industry. Those suspicions were confirmed last week when the FTC sued major wine retailer Total Wine & More in the…
New DOJ and FTC Approaches to Prosecuting Antitrust Conduct
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is continuing its aggressive prosecution of criminal cases, while also now utilizing alternative methods to pursue alleged monopolistic conduct. Specifically, the DOJ is using its amicus brief program to advocate for favorable positions in civil litigation. In the past year alone, the DOJ has filed amicus briefs in civil suits…
UPDATE: Are Hospital Acquisitions with COPA Authorization Exempt from HSR Premerger Notification?
In my earlier post in the Antitrust Advocate Blog, I noted recent setbacks that the Federal Trade Commission has experienced with respect to its regulatory authority. I then asked whether the FTC would suffer another regulatory setback, namely whether there is an exemption from Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) premerger notification when an acquisition is subject to…
State Attorneys General Take a Strong Pro-Enforcement Stance in Comments to Draft Merger Guidelines
By Matt Schock
On Sept. 18, 2023, 19 Democratic state attorneys general (AGs) filed public comments to the Draft Merger Guidelines (Draft Guidelines) proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (the Agencies) earlier this year. The Agencies are seeking to update the Merger Guidelines for the first time since 2010. According to Agency…