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Qualcomm has denied any wrongdoing and had asked the judge to reject the consumers' claims. The consumers' case was in Corley's court following a 9th Circuit ruling in 2021 that struck down an order certifying a nationwide consumer class action. In January, Corley dismissed core antitrust elements of the plaintiffs' claims but let the case move forward. The consumers' lawyers told Corley that "Qualcomm turns a blind eye to the massive evidentiary record" backing the consumers' allegations of exclusive dealing. The case is In re: Qualcomm Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jacqueline Scott Corley, Corley, Joseph Cotchett, Kalpana Srinivasan, Susman Godfrey, Robert Van, Van, Gary Bornstein, Richard Taffet, Morgan, Lewis, Bockius Read, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: Qualcomm, REUTERS, Tuesday, U.S, Apple, U.S . Federal, Circuit, Qualcomm Antitrust Litigation, Court, Northern District of, McCarthy, Thomson Locations: California, San Francisco, San Diego, Northern District, Northern District of California, Cotchett, Pitre, U.S

☆ Op-ed: FTC's crackdown against Amazon is necessary for long-term innovation, startup investor argues
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Bradley Tusk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The howls will begin the minute the FTC's lawsuit against Amazon hits the clerk's desk. What you don't see on that list is anything that could attempt to compete with Amazon or Meta or Apple or Microsoft or Google . Whenever we look at a startup that would directly compete with a company like Amazon, the answer to the second question is always, "yes, definitely." I think Amazon is a great company. Luckily, as these earlier giants started to falter, companies like Apple and Microsoft took off, and companies like Google, Amazon and Meta came along.

Persons: Lina Khan, Khan, I'm, we're, Bernie Sanders, it's, there's, Bradley Tusk Organizations: Yale Law, Amazon, FTC, Tusk Venture Partners, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, GE, Google, Meta, Department of Justice Locations: Larchmont , New York, Alma, Manhattan

Two other defendants, American Airlines (AAL.O) and Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), previously settled for a respective $45 million and $15 million. Delta and United called their seating capacity reductions a legitimate response to reduced demand, rising fuel prices and the 2008 global financial crisis. Both carriers went through bankruptcy not long before the purported conspiracy began, with United emerging in 2006 and Delta emerging in 2007. United said it was disappointed with the judge's decision, and will seek to have it reconsidered or file an appeal. Payouts will not begin until claims against Delta and United are resolved.

Persons: Doug Parker, Gary Kelly, Scott Kirby, John Laughter, Sara Nelson, Colleen Kollar, Defendants, Kotelly, United, Jonathan Stempel, Grant McCool Organizations: American Airlines Group Inc, Southwest Airlines Co, United Airlines Holdings Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Washington , D.C, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, U.S . Department of Justice, Passengers, United, Delta, Antitrust Litigation, District of Columbia, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington ,, New York

☆ Google reaches tentative settlement in US Play Store lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 6 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google on Tuesday tentatively settled a class action suit alleging that its U.S. Play Store had violated U.S. federal antitrust rules by overcharging customers, according to a court filing. Google, which had denied wrongdoing, declined to comment on the proposed settlement. Google is facing similar lawsuits which allege that it has generated enormous profit margins from its Play Store by engaging in illegal tactics to preserve monopolies in selling Android apps and in-app goods. The case is In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Persons: Steve Marcus, Tim Sweeney, Anirudh, Mike Scarcella, Kanjyik Ghosh, Jamie Freed, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Google, U.S, District of Columbia, Epic, Court, Northern District of, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, Utah, Northern District, Northern District of California, Bengaluru

☆ US judge set to decertify Google Play class action
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A US judge plans to free Google from having to defend against a class action by 21 million consumers who claimed it violated federal antitrust law by overcharging them in its Google Play app store. Monday’s decision by US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco could significantly reduce damages that Google, a unit of Alphabet, might owe over the distribution of Android mobile applications. The judge said he couldn’t decertify the class immediately because Google had been appealing his November order. The class action included consumers from 12 US states and five territories, who were not part of a similar case against Google brought by various state attorneys general. The case is In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, US District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Persons: overcharging, James Donato, Donato, couldn’t Organizations: CNN, Google, US, Consumers, District of Columbia, Epic, Court, Northern District of Locations: San Francisco, Northern District, Northern District of California

☆ Gilead quarterly profit falls on COVID sales drop, legal settlement charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Gilead Sciences is seen during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Oceanside, California, U.S., April 29, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoCompanies Gilead Sciences Inc FollowAug 3 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences (GILD.O) on Thursday reported lower second-quarter profit as costs from a legal settlement and sharply lower sales of its COVID-19 treatment offset another strong performance by HIV drugs. The drugmaker raised its full-year revenue forecast, even as it trimmed its estimate for COVID antiviral Veklury due to lower pandemic-related hospitalizations. Wall Street analysts had expected an adjusted profit of $1.64 per share on revenue of $6.44 billion, according to Refinitiv data. The California-based company raised the low end of its 2023 revenue forecast range to $26.3 billion from $26.0 billion, but kept the high end at $26.7 billion.

Persons: Mike Blake, Gilead, Deena Beasley, Michael Erman, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Gilead Sciences, REUTERS, Wall Street, Thomson Locations: Oceanside , California, U.S, Gilead, California

☆ US chicken producers ordered to face price-fixing claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Tyson Chicken Nuggets, owned by Tyson Foods, are seen for sale in Queens, New York, U.S., November 16, 2021. Restaurants, supermarkets, distributors and consumers have accused chicken producers of having conspired starting in 2008 to inflate prices, through tactics such as restricting production and sharing nonpublic data about supply and demand. But the judge also narrowed the case to cover alleged "anomalous decreases in broiler production" in 2008-2009 and 2011-2012. Pilgrim's Pride, Sanderson and Tyson did not immediately respond to requests for comment after market hours. The case is In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No.

Persons: Tyson, Andrew Kelly, Pilgrim's, Sanderson, District Judge Thomas Durkin, Durkin, Perdue, Brazil's, Jonathan Stempel, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Nuggets, Tyson Foods, REUTERS, District, Georgia Dock, Agri Stats, Brazil's JBS SA, Antitrust Litigation, Court, Northern District of, Thomson Locations: Queens , New York, U.S, Chicago, Northern District, Northern District of Illinois, New York

☆ Senate Democrats press for Justice Department inquiry into PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — Two top Senate Democrats with a track record of scrutinizing business and antitrust activity have called for a Justice Department investigation into the merger agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi-funded LIV Golf. The letter follows Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal's inquiries to PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman for details on the merger. The PGA Tour also insists the deal isn't a merger and that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will be a minority investor. The deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf would put an end to pending antitrust litigation between the two golf organizations. Family members of 9/11 victims have protested the Saudi golf league due to the terrorists' ties to the country.

Persons: Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, LIV, Elizabeth Warren of, General Merrick Garland, Jonathan Kanter, Connecticut Democratic Sen, Richard Blumenthal's, Jay Monahan, Greg Norman, Monahan, LIV Golf, DOJ didn't, Yasir Al, Rumayyan, LIV Golf's, Osama Bin Laden, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jamal Khashoggi, Warren, Wyden, –, Jessica Golden Organizations: U.S, Capitol, WASHINGTON —, Democrats, Justice Department, PGA Tour, Saudi, LIV Golf, Oregon, Connecticut Democratic, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, DOJ, CNBC, PGA, Public Investment Fund, Washington Post, Senate Banking Committee, Finance Locations: Sens, Washington , DC, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, U.S, Saudi, Saudi Arabia

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour rejected bids from Apple and Amazon to dismiss the prospective class action on various legal grounds. Lawyers for Apple and Amazon and representatives for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. In 2018, according to the lawsuit, there were some 600 third-party Apple resellers on Amazon. Apple agreed to give Amazon a discount on its products if Amazon reduced the number of Apple resellers from its marketplace, the lawsuit alleged. The judge in Seattle said "countervailing" motivations for the agreement between Apple and Amazon would be addressed later in the litigation.

Persons: iPads, John Coughenour, Coughenour, Steve Berman, Apple, Steven Floyd, Read, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: District, Apple, Amazon, Ninth Circuit, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Western District of Washington, Thomson Locations: U.S, Seattle, Western District

Companies Indivior PLC FollowJune 2 (Reuters) - Indivior Plc (INDV.L) said on Friday it agreed to pay $102.5 million to settle a lawsuit by dozens of U.S. states accusing it of illegally suppressing generic competition for its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone. Suboxone was approved for U.S. sale in 2002, and Indivior had the exclusive right to sell the treatment in tablet form until 2009. States said Indivior switched to an oral film version of Suboxone from a tablet version to extend its monopoly, just as generic manufacturers were poised to sell their own lower-cost tablets. Generic tablets obtained federal approval in 2013. Indivior expects to pay the $102.5 million in cash this month.

Persons: drugmaker, Indivior, Suboxone, Josh Kaul, Mariam Sunny, Jonathan Stempel, Maju Samuel, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Indivior, D.C, U.S, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Thomson Locations: Chesterfield , Virginia, U.S, Washington, Indivior's, Philadelphia, Suboxone, Wisconsin, United States, Bengaluru, New York

Fox will pay $6 million, and CBS, now known as Paramount Global (PARA.O), will pay $5 million, the court filing showed. Representatives for Cox, Fox and CBS either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Representatives from those defendants either declined to comment on the pending litigation or did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Plaintiffs' attorney Megan Jones at law firm Hausfeld, on Tuesday did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The case is In re: Local TV Advertising Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No.

Persons: Cox, District Judge Virginia Kendall, schemed, Sinclair, Kendall, Megan Jones, Hausfeld, Freed, Robins Kaplan, Jennifer Giordano, George Cary, Cleary Gottlieb Steen, Nathan Eimer, Eimer Stahl, Weil, Brian Sher, Bryan Cave Leighton, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: Fox, CBS, Cox Media Group, Fox Corp, CBS Corp, Northern, Northern District of Illinois, Paramount Global, U.S, District Judge, Cox, Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc, Scripps Company, TEGNA Inc, U.S . Justice Department, Local, Antitrust Litigation, Northern District of, Millen, Latham, Watkins, Hamilton, Thomson Locations: U.S, Northern District, Chicago, Northern District of Illinois

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday dismissed long-running litigation by investors who accused HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) of conspiring to fix silver prices. U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan said the investors lacked legal standing to pursue federal antitrust claims under the Sherman Act, or claims under the federal Commodity Exchange Act. Investors had accused HSBC, Scotiabank and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) of manipulating silver prices from 2007 to 2013, saying they had "smoking gun" evidence of a price-fixing conspiracy among those banks and several other silver market makers. The judge also said the investors were not "efficient enforcers" of their private antitrust claims, unlike people who might have sold silver at the Fix price. The cases is In re London Silver Fixing Ltd Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

April 12 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday approved a $75 million settlement between Smithfield Foods Inc and a class of consumers who accused the pork producer of conspiring to restrict supply in order to keep prices artificially high. Pork consumers last year settled with Smithfield rival JBS SA for $20 million. The judge in a separate order on Tuesday awarded nearly $25 million in legal fees to the plaintiffs firms representing the consumer class. The consumer class attorneys said in a court filing in January that they'd spent more than 37,000 hours pursuing antitrust claims over four years. The case is In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, No.

In the data privacy case, Google has said its Chrome browser users consented to the company's data collection. The sanction in the data privacy action is not the first time Van Keulen has punished Google in the same case. The new sanctions order and the prior one from May 2022 addressed internal Google evidence concerning consumer use of the company's private browsing mode. Google, according to the judge's order, will be barred from relying on certain employee witnesses in the case. Van Keulen also said Google must pay fees associated with two experts working for the plaintiffs, and must also pay a $79,000 fine.

U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco said in his order that Google "fell strikingly short" in its duties to preserve records. Separately, the plaintiffs will have a chance to urge Donato to tell jurors that Google destroyed information that was unfavorable to it. The lawyers said Google was deleting chat records every 24 hours and "did so even after this litigation commenced." Google is separately fighting claims in a U.S. Justice Department antitrust case in Washington, D.C., federal court of destroyed chat records. The case is In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Google should be sanctioned for failing to preserve chat messages between employees related to an antitrust case brought by Epic Games, a federal judge in California ruled on Tuesday. The company "adopted a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy for keeping messages, at the expense of its preservation duties," the judge said in the filing. A Google spokesperson said at the time of the DOJ's filing that it disagrees with the DOJ's claims. Epic alleged that Google failed to retain chat messages between employees that it should have preserved while under a litigation hold. Exhibits presented by Epic seem to show that Google employees saw chats as a less formal way to communicate.

☆ Ticketmaster is looking for a new social media director, and it's asking the hire to be 'brave' after months of fury from fans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ticketmaster is hiring a Director of Social, and the company is asking bravery of the new hire. Posted five days ago on LinkedIn, Ticketmaster is searching for a social media expert to take over its North America marketing leadership team. Months of messy ticket sales led by Ticketmaster have put the massive entertainment sales site under the microscope. The ticketing debacle even prompted a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "That's the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment," where a bipartisan group of senators grilled Joe Berchtold, the president and CFO of Live Nation Entertainment. "For too long, Live Nation and Ticketmaster have wielded monopoly power anticompetitively, harming fans and artists alike."

☆ Google stacks its legal team with former DOJ employees as it faces antitrust cases
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

Former DOJ employees make up both its in-house team and members of outside counsel firms it employs. Google also uses four different outside counsel firms loaded with nearly 20 former DOJ officials, many of whom worked in the Antitrust Division at various times. The DOJ made the accusation in a legal filing after Epic Games raised the concern in its own antitrust litigation against Google. Those firms collectively have around 20 former DOJ employees on their staff, many of them working in antitrust. For example, DOJ antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter previously worked for clients including Microsoft and Yelp which have complained of Google's allegedly anticompetitive behavior.

[1/2] Visa credit and debit cards are seen in this picture illustration taken August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit TessierMarch 15 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a $5.6 billion antitrust class-action settlement with more than 12 million retailers that accused Visa Inc (V.N) and MasterCard Inc (MA.N) of improperly fixing credit and debit card fees. The operators and the companies both claimed to have been injured after accepting Visa and MasterCard for gas sales. The settlement resolved claims that Visa and MasterCard overcharged retailers on interchange fees, or swipe fees, when shoppers used credit or debit cards, and barred retailers from directing customers toward cheaper means of payment. Settling retailers would be barred from bringing further claims from within the 15-year class period, and for five more years after the settlement became final, court papers show.

"Tesla needs to open up its ecosystem and allow competition for the servicing of Tesla [vehicles] and sales of parts," said plaintiffs lawyer Matthew Ruan of Freed Kanner London & Millen, who filed one of the proposed class actions. The proposed class in both cases would include anyone who has paid Tesla for repairs or parts since March 2019. Ruan said the potential class includes hundreds of thousands of Tesla owners and lessees, so damages could total hundreds of millions of dollars. Tesla joins other major vehicle makers facing "right to repair" antitrust litigation over alleged exclusionary conduct. Read more:Harley-Davidson hit with class actions over 'right to repair' restrictionsU.S. FTC settles with Weber grills over 'right to repair'FTC votes to make 'right to repair' a priority, drops 1995 merger policyReporting by Mike ScarcellaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Here's what market forces and company innovations Club members care about most
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

I spent the day last weekend with CNBC Investing Club members in New York City. We own Meta, Amazon and Alphabet for my Charitable Trust, which we use as our Club portfolio. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.

☆ As the Department of Justice reportedly investigates Ticketmaster amidst Taylor Swift ticket chaos, Attorney General Merrick Garland reveals he's a huge Swiftie
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Taylor Swift fans apparently have one of their own in the Department of Justice: Attorney General Merrick Garland. The Wall Street Journal reports he's a die-hard Swiftie after Garland made Swift references in Senate testimony. Even before ticketing chaos for Swift's Eras Tour, the DOJ was reportedly investigating Ticketmaster. He plunged head first into Swiftie-dom with both her debut album and "Fearless," which his two daughters would play when he drove them to school, Garland told the Journal. "My daughter sent me Midnights right away as a CD, which I appreciate is a little prehistoric at this point," Garland told the Wall Street Journal.

☆ The Senators who grilled Ticketmaster's executives over Taylor Swift tickets want the Department of Justice to keep examining the company's merger with Live Nation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee are asking the DOJ to keep examining Ticketmaster and Live Nation. The letter and hearing come after renewed interest in the 2010 merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation. Neither Live Nation Entertainment nor the Department of Justice immediately replied to Insider's request for comment. The senators note that, following their hearing on Ticketmaster and Live Nation, they, like Swift, had a question. They said they asked how many concerts every year were simultaneously promoted by Live Nation and ticketed by Ticketmaster.

☆ DOJ alleges Google destroyed chat messages that it was required to save during antitrust investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

According to the DOJ, Google should have adjusted its defaults in mid-2019, "when the company reasonably anticipated this litigation." Meanwhile, DOJ alleged, Google "falsely" told the government it had "'put a legal hold in place' that 'suspends auto-deletion.'" The alleged issue is one that previously came up in Epic Games' antitrust litigation against Google. The DOJ alleged that even after Epic confronted Google about the chat deletion concerns in that case, Google still withheld its deletion policy from the federal government "and continued to destroy written communications in this case." Scallen said that if Google "didn't give clear directions to retain" relevant chats "this notion that they left it to the individuals, that's just not responsible."

☆ The Senate Judiciary Committee says it's 'watching' Ticketmaster as the battle for Beyoncé tickets begins
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate Judiciary Committee is "watching" Ticketmaster as tickets are about to go on sale for Beyoncé's upcoming tour. But the Senate Judiciary Committee has warned the embattled platform against having a repeat of the Taylor Swift ticket fiasco. "We're watching, @Ticketmaster," the Senate Judiciary Committee tweeted Thursday. But, in that Senate Judiciary Committee meeting last month, some senators argued Ticketmaster — which merged with Live Nation in 2010 — holds a monopoly over the ticket-buying business. Lawmakers and witnesses repeatedly hammered Live Nation Entertainment over the impact of its 2010 merger, which combined Live Nation and Ticketmaster into the larger firm.

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