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Nov 12, 2024 | 
concurrences.com | Katherine A. Forrest |Jacqueline P. Rubin |Scott Sher |Joshua Soven
Change is in the air and it is coming to antitrust and competition policy in the United States. The unexpected election of President-elect Donald J. Trump opened wide the speculation or mystery about what he and his advisors are planning concerning his administration’s antitrust policy. During (…)
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Aug 21, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Robert Atkins |Joseph J. Bial |Rebecca Coccaro |Lina Dagnew |Andrew J. Ehrlich |Reuven Falik | +19 more
A federal district court in Texas ruled on the merits that the FTC does not have statutory authority to promulgate the Non-Compete Clause Rule and that the rule is arbitrary and capricious. As a consequence, the court set aside the rule under the Administrative Procedure Act and ordered that it “shall not be enforced or otherwise take effect.” The order is nationwide in scope and not party-specific. Two other challenges to the rule are pending in other district courts.
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Jul 24, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Robert Atkins |Joseph J. Bial |Rebecca Coccaro |Lina Dagnew |Andrew J. Ehrlich |Reuven Falik | +16 more
Current state of affairsTwo different federal district courts have now issued two different rulings in similar challenges to the same FTC Non-Compete Clause Rule. In the first, Ryan, et al. v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 24-cv-986 (N.D. Tex. July 3, 2024), the court granted plaintiffs’ motions for preliminary injunction and stayed the effective date of the rule pending a ruling on the merits. In the second, ATS Tree Services, LLC v.
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May 28, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Joseph J. Bial |Andrew Finch |Jessica Phillips |Jacqueline P. Rubin |Scott Sher |Joshua Soven | +2 more
The U.S. federal antitrust agencies are seeking public comment from consumers, workers. suppliers, businesses, advocacy organizations, trade and professional associations, and others on “serial acquisitions and roll-up strategies” and may use information received to inform “enforcement priorities and future actions.” Comments are due by July 22, 2024.
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May 2, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Joseph J. Bial |Meredith R. Dearborn |Andrew Finch |Jacqueline P. Rubin |Scott Sher |Joshua Soven | +5 more
The FTC recently sued to block Tapestry’s proposed acquisition of Capri, alleging that the effect of the combination of the companies’ handbag brands may be to substantially lessen competition. The complaint relies heavily on the December 2023 FTC-DOJ Merger Guidelines and presents one of the first opportunities for a federal court to weigh in on the validity of several theories of harm described in those guidelines.
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Apr 24, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Robert Atkins |Joseph J. Bial |Rebecca Coccaro |Andrew Finch |Jarrett Hoffman |Brad S. Karp | +16 more
The FTC’s final non-compete clause rule would ban all new and nearly all existing employer-worker non-competes. The ban would go into effect 120 days after publication in the Federal Register. The final rule is only slightly narrower in scope than the initial proposed rule. The final rule does not ban existing non-compete agreements with “senior executives,” and it retains and expands upon an exemption for non-compete agreements related to sale of a business.
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Sep 26, 2023 | 
lexology.com | Andrew Finch |Katherine B. Forrest |Jacqueline P. Rubin |Scott Sher |Joshua Soven |Aidan Synnott | +2 more
Late last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued entities affiliated with private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (Welsh Carson), along with Welsh Carson’s partially owned portfolio company U.S. Anesthesiology Partners, Inc. (USAP), for allegedly pursuing an illegal “roll up strategy” to consolidate anesthesia practices in Houston, Dallas and other parts of Texas.
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Aug 24, 2023 | 
lexology.com | Katherine B. Forrest |Jacqueline P. Rubin |Scott Sher |Joshua Soven |Aidan Synnott |Brette Tannenbaum
On August 21, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced DPAs with Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA to resolve criminal price fixing, bid rigging and customer allocation charges. In general, DPAs are a middle ground between non-prosecution or leniency on the one hand and full criminal trial and prospect of conviction on the other. In a DPA, the defendant will typically admit to wrongdoing and pay a penalty, but will be able to avoid a conviction.
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Mar 9, 2023 | 
lexology.com | Andrew Finch |Jessica Phillips |Jacqueline P. Rubin |Aidan Synnott |Brette Tannenbaum |Jared Nagley
The New York Attorney General recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in furtherance of promulgating rules under New York’s price gouging law, which applies to the sale of certain goods or services during an “abnormal disruption of the market.” Among other things, the proposed rules would set a threshold for price increases that presumptively violate the law, prohibit companies with 30% or greater market share from raising prices and create a framework to determine whether companies...
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Feb 15, 2023 | 
lexology.com | Joseph J. Bial |Andrew Finch |Kenneth A. Gallo |Jacqueline P. Rubin |Aidan Synnott |Joshua Soven | +2 more
Republican FTC Commissioner Christine S. Wilson announced that she will soon resign her position, leaving the Commission with only three commissioners, all of whom are Democrats. Commissioner Wilson’s resignation is unlikely to significantly alter the FTC’s policy direction or enforcement decisions. However, without any Republican commissioners there likely will be a lack of dissenting statements explaining alternative points of view. On February 14, Commissioner Christine S.
