The same group of authors, book publishers and booksellers that urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Amazon for antitrust violations last summer recently voiced its support for Apple in its attempt to overturn the adverse verdict against it entered by a New York federal judge in connection with the DOJ’s civil prosecution of
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FTC revises HSR and interlocking directorate thresholds
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the notification thresholds for filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR), as well as certain other values under the HSR rules. As background, the HSR Act requires that acquisitions of voting securities or assets that exceed certain thresholds be disclosed to U.S.…
FTC commissioner dissents from FTC/DOJ joint statement on South Carolina’s Certificate-of-Need law
Certificate-of-Need laws (CON laws) require health care providers to obtain state approval for significant capital expenditures, such as expanding the number of beds in a hospital or investing in robotic surgery capabilities. The National Health Planning and Resources Development Act of 1974 prompted the wide enactment of CON laws by the states by making it…
“Made in USA” class actions target condiments and energy drinks
By Jared Klaus
The Times Square ball was not the only thing that dropped on New Year’s Eve for condiment maker H.J. Heinz and energy-drink maker Rockstar Inc. Both were hit with consumer class actions last Thursday in California Federal Court, alleging that their products are falsely labeled “Made in the USA” in violation of California’s ultra-strict “Made…
Can a class be certified if some members have no injury?
Our colleagues in the class action and product liability practice groups recently posted an article that should be of interest to our readers. The article discusses the court’s conundrum: Can it certify such a broad class even though some of the purchasers likely have no injury? When the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals says yes…
Private citizens leapfrog federal antitrust enforcers and seek to block merger of beer giants
Twenty-three residents of Oregon, Washington and California are suing to enjoin the announced $100 billion merger of multinational beer brewers Anheuser-Busch Inbev (ABI) and SABMiller. A merger of the two corporations — which also involves household American companies, Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Company–would combine the largest and second-largest brewers in the United States.
The December…
Nordstrom and jeans designer settle “Made in USA” class action lawsuit
By Jared Klaus
As we reported in December 2014, a wave of class action lawsuits has been pounding some of the nation’s largest retailers thanks to an until-recently obscure California statute that declares it a deceptive practice for a product to be labeled “Made in USA” if even the smallest component of the product is manufactured abroad. One…
FTC chief administrative law judge: No harm, no foul
By Jay L. Levine & Ryan Graham
In a long awaited decision, the FTC’s chief administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled against FTC staff and held that LabMD did not violate Section 5 of the FTC Act by not reasonably securing customer data. The basis for the decision was that staff could not prove that customers would suffer “substantial injury” from LabMD’s…
Third Circuit affirms FTC authority to sanction companies’ insufficient cyber security postures
By Ryan Graham
The Third Circuit’s recent ruling in FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp., No. 14-3514 (3rd Cir. Aug. 24, 2015) marks a watershed moment in the ongoing saga of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation’s (Wyndham) data breach litigation. Prior to this decision, federal cyber security regulation has existed in the legal badlands, with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the…
Violate the Rules Once, Shame on You, Violate the Rules Twice…Go Get Your Checkbook
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) have a slightly different take on the old saying of “fool me once” when it comes to violating the premerger notification requirements as two investors recently found out. As we have reported before, under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976, 15 U.S.C.…