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☆ Drugmakers aim to strike down Medicare drug-price negotiations at Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

And Bristol Myers Squibb is trying protect its blood thinner Eliquis, which brought in $11.8 billion in sales last year, or about 25% of the company's $46 billion total revenue for 2022. Long legal battle aheadMerck, the chamber and Bristol Myers Squibb filed their lawsuits ahead of two key deadlines. Bristol Myers Squibb did not either. If circuit court decisions on the matter contradict one another, the Supreme Court would step in to decide the issue, Bagby said. Bristol Myers Squibb made an identical argument in its complaint.

Persons: Richard A, Gonzalez, Pascal Soriot, Giovanni Caforio, Jennifer Taubert, Johnson, Kenneth C, Frazier, Albert Bourla, Olivier Brandicourt, Win Mcnamee, Drugmaker Merck, Drugmaker, Bristol Myers Squibb, PhRMA, Eli Lilly, Merck, Bristol Myers, Robin Feldman, Nicholas Bagley, Bagley, Gretchen Whitmer, Chris Meekins, Raymond James, Antonin Scalia, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Meekins, Long, Xavier Becerra, Randolph Daniel Moss, Barack Obama, Judge Thomas M, Rose, George W, Bush, Kelly Bagby, Bagby, Amgen, Donald Trump, Karine Jean, Pierre, Biden, Jean, we'll, Becerra, Feldman Organizations: Senate, AbbVie Inc, AstraZeneca, Myers Squibb Co, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson, Merck & Co, Inc, Pfizer, Sanofi, Getty, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Bristol Myers Squibb, Washington , D.C, Southern, Southern District of, Democratic Party, U.S, Merck, Bristol, Pharmaceutical Research, Manufacturers of America, CNBC, Medicare, University of California College of, Justice Department, Michigan Gov, Bristol Myers, Human Services, Centers, Services, AARP Foundation, HHS, AARP, Specialty Pharmacy, Reuters, Supreme, Appeals, Democratic, U.S . Sixth, Republican, Third, White Locations: America, Washington , DC, Bristol, U.S, Washington ,, Southern District, Southern District of Ohio, New Jersey, Commerce's Dayton , Ohio, San Francisco

☆ Mark Cuban slams the SEC and says the Coinbase suit shows why no one trusts them
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Max Adams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Mark Cuban slammed the SEC's decision to sue Coinbase this week. The famed investor said the regulator could have helped the exchange comply instead of sue. The SEC this week sued Coinbase and Binance for allegedly operating illegally in the US. "They don't want to help companies get to compliance they want to challenge them to get to compliance," Cuban wrote. On Tuesday, the SEC unveiled its lawsuit against Coinbase, a day after it sued Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao.

Persons: Mark Cuban, Coinbase, —, doesn't, SEC didn't, Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Gary Gensler Organizations: SEC, Service, Securities, Exchange, Twitter, Coinbase Locations: Cuban

☆ Merck sues US government to halt Medicare drug price negotiation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Michael Erman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - Merck & Co (MRK.N) sued the U.S. government on Tuesday, seeking to halt the Medicare drug price negotiation program contained in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which it argues is violates the Fifth and First Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The Biden administration's drug pricing reform aims to save $25 billion annually by 2031 through price negotiations for Medicare. Merck called the talks with CMS coercive and forces drugmakers to participate in "political Kabuki theater" by pretending negotiations are voluntary. The first ever Medicare drug price reduction process is due to begin in September when CMS identifies its 10 most costly drugs. Merck's top selling drug, cancer immunotherapy Keytruda, could be subject to negotiations as soon as 2028.

Persons: drugmakers, Merck, Ameet, Robin Feldman, Wells, Mohit Bansal, Xavier Becerra, Chiquita Brooks, Michael Erman, Patrick Wingrove, Edwina Gibbs, Nick Zieminski Organizations: YORK, Merck & Co, U.S, U.S . Constitution, Biden, Medicare, District of Columbia, Merck, Reuters, CMS, Harvard Medical School, UC College of the, Supreme, U.S . Department of Health & Human Services, Centers, Medicaid Services, LaSure, HHS, Thomson Locations: U.S ., U.S, San Francisco

June 5 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrencies and shares in crypto and blockchain-related companies tumbled on Monday after the U.S. securities regulator sued crypto exchange Binance, another blow to the industry. The SEC crackdown has prompted some crypto companies to increase compliance, spike products, and expand overseas, moves that some marketwatchers said would likely be accelerated by this latest action against the world's largest crypto exchange. In April, the SEC charged crypto exchange Bittrex Inc with operating an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency, and settled with Kraken in February for $30 million over the exchange's U.S. crypto staking service. Shares of Coinbase (COIN.O) were down 9.1% on the news of the SEC's charges against Binance. Both Coinbase and crypto exchange Gemini launched international exchanges for crypto derivatives in May.

Persons: Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Binance's cryptocurrency, Gary Gensler, marketwatchers, John Reed Stark, Kraken, Bittrex, James Angel, Gemini, Rajeev Bamra, Sinéad Carew, John McCrank, Manya Saini, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price, Leslie Adler, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Reuters, SEC, Washington , D.C, Internet, Coinbase Global Inc, Georgetown University, Binance, Inc, Marathon, Mining, Moody’s Investors Service, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, U.S, New York, Bengaluru, Washington

☆ Why the Trump tape is so important for the documents investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

The main takeaway for me: prosecutors must determine if classified information meets a sort of Goldilocks test. It is about criminalizing (the information) being kept outside of a protected area, even by somebody who is allowed to have classified information. … All of the discussion has been about how Trump and others may have handled documents after knowing there’s a criminal investigation that exists. We know there’s an obstruction of justice investigation around that. A key thing in an obstruction of justice investigation is knowing that there’s a proceeding that you could potentially be obstructing, like a criminal investigation.

Persons: Donald Trump’s Mar, Trump, Katelyn, we’ve, – that’s, It’s, there’s, he’s, they’ve, We’re, Donald Trump, Margo Martin, … Trump, Bob Woodward, Woodward, WOLF, I’m, Mark Milley, …, Mueller, There’s, Justice Department won’t Organizations: CNN, White, Fox News, Justice Department, Trump, FBI, Joint Chiefs, Staff Locations: Lago, Iran, CNN’s Washington, New Jersey, Bedminster, Mar, Florida, POLANTZ, Washington , DC, what’s, Russia, Durham, litigate

☆ Google's patents cover tech in ChatGPT. But fighting rivals in court isn't worth it, legal experts say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Google invented AI technology like the Transformer, which led to breakthroughs in the chatbot race. Essentially, outside researchers gain access to a piece of AI technology from Google and continue iterating on it, which in turn benefits Google's own products. Several experts in patent law spoke to Insider about Google's AI patents, namely why it hasn't used them against competitors and whether it even could. Technical and legal questions aside, it would be somewhat hypocritical for Google to sue anyone for infringing its AI patents. Patent warsLegal experts pointed to the idea of "mutually assured destruction" to explain why tech companies would file patents without enforcing them offensively.

Persons: hasn't, Matthew D'Amore, Idong Ebong, Nixon Peabody Organizations: Google, Cornell University, Big Tech, Microsoft, Samsung, Apple, HTC, IBM Locations: OpenAI, ChatGPT

☆ Private equity is being squeezed from all sides
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Edward Chancellor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

But this time around there’s a lot more private equity money chasing a limited number of opportunities. So private equity funds could face the prospect of a prolonged period of higher borrowing costs, lower valuations, and depressed investment returns. The birth of private equity coincided with the Reagan administration’s policy of relaxing regulations and tax cuts. Recent high profile corporate bankruptcies owned by private equity include car-rental firm Hertz and retailer Toys R Us. The private equity industry could soon find itself caught in a pincer, between tighter financing on the one hand and tighter regulation on the other.

☆ Lawyer for Tiger Woods' ex-girlfriend, Erica Herman, alleges in court she has more details about sexual harassment claims against the golfer but says NDA is keeping her silent
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Under the federal law, judges can rule NDAs unenforceable in instances of sexual harassment or assault. Herman has alleged sexual harassment occurred during her relationship with Woods, both in how it started and how it ended. They've asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed and called the sexual harassment claims "utterly meritless." "A boss imposing different work conditions on his employee because of their sexual relationship is sexual harassment," Herman's attorneys argue in the court filing. She was then locked out of the house, away from her personal property and pets, court documents allege.

The landlord's filing was posted to the District of Columbia Superior Court docket on Monday. Crowell's lawsuit, filed in March, marked a fresh clash between a law firm and its landlord over pandemic-era rent. TREA said in its motion to dismiss the lawsuit that the lease's rent abatement provision is "expressly tied to specific events resulting from the loss of certain utilities." The case is Crowell & Moring v. The TREA 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue Trust, District of Columbia Superior Court, No. Read more:Law firm Crowell sues to recoup $30 mln in COVID-era rentLaw firm office leasing drops again after reboundJenner, Chicago landlord end lawsuits over unpaid rentOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Lachlan Murdoch Drops Defamation Lawsuit Against Australian Publisher
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( David Winning | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

Lachlan Murdoch in Sun Valley, Idaho, in 2019. And Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator.”Private Media rejected the claim that the article had defamed Mr. Murdoch and the case was due to go to trial in federal court in Sydney in October. On Friday, Mr. Murdoch’s attorney, John Churchill, filed a notice with the federal court stating that the Fox chief executive was discontinuing the proceedings. In a statement, Mr. Churchill said Mr. Murdoch was confident that he would have won the case at trial. Crikey, in a statement on its website, called the decision a victory for public interest journalism and said it stood by the original article.

☆ Lachlan Murdoch drops defamation lawsuit against Australian news website
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, April 21 (Reuters) - Fox Corp (FOXA.O) CEO Lachlan Murdoch dropped a defamation lawsuit against an Australian news site over an opinion piece he said accused him of complicity in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying the defendant was trying to generate publicity. A lawyer for Private Media, Michael Bradley, said Murdoch had discontinued his Federal Court claim without warning and that Murdoch would pay Private Media's costs. "It's complete vindication of their stand on the principle of press freedom," Bradley said in an email, referring to Crikey and its employees. Fox and its top-rated cable channel Fox News on April 18 settled a defamation lawsuit by ballot machine operator Dominion Voting Systems, on what was to be the first day of a trial where Lachlan's father, Fox Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch, had been expected to testify. In the Australian lawsuit, which was scheduled to go to trial in October, Lachlan Murdoch had accused Private Media and four employees of damaging his reputation in a June 29, 2022, opinion piece that described the Murdochs as "unindicted co-conspirators" in the effort by Trump supporters to overturn his election loss.

☆ Lachlan Murdoch drops defamation suit against Australian outlet Crikey in wake of massive Dominion settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

We won.”The legal dispute centers on a 2022 Crikey story that carried the headline, “Trump is a confirmed unhinged traitor. And Murdoch is his unindicted co-conspirator.”After the article was published, Murdoch demanded the story be removed and the outlet apologize. Murdoch followed through on the dare, filing a lawsuit against Crikey publisher Private Media. Crikey and Private Media said throughout the legal process that they would defend themselves and were confident in their case. Not only would he have been ensnared in another high-profile defamation case, his camp would have had to make effectively the opposite arguments it has made in the United States in regard to defamation law.

☆ Lachlan Murdoch Drops Libel Suit Against Australian News Site
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a statement on Thursday, Mr. Murdoch’s Australian lawyer, John Churchill, said Crikey had recently added to its defense case the thousands of pages of evidence that were made public in the recent lawsuit that Dominion Voting Systems, an election technology company, brought against Fox in the United States. Murdoch remains confident that the court would ultimately find in his favor; however, he does not wish to further enable Crikey’s use of the court to litigate a case from another jurisdiction that has already been settled and facilitate a marketing campaign designed to attract subscribers and boost their profits,” Mr. Churchill said. Mr. Churchill said that in the Dominion case, which was settled on Tuesday for $787.5 million just as a trial was about to begin, the judge had ruled that the events of Jan. 6 were not relevant and that Dominion did not plan to argue that Fox had caused the insurrection. “Yet this is what Crikey’s article alleged and what Crikey is attempting to argue in Australia,” Mr. Churchill said. Crikey, which has said it stands behind the article it published, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Trump could admit to having an affair — if only so he can use Melania as a defense if his case ever makes it to trial, legal experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Three former prosecutors told Insider that AG Alvin Bragg's hush-money case against Trump is weak. But if the matter does make it to trial, the former president could use his wife to his benefit. More than a week after former President Donald Trump was indicted on 34 charges of falsifying business records, legal experts are skeptical of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case. Three former prosecutors speculated about possible defense strategies the former president might use in such a case. But legal experts stressed that any speculation about a possible Trump defense at this point is still entirely conjecture.

☆ Several more companies are suing Twitter, claiming it owes them around $230,000 in unpaid bills and they don't know if they'll ever be paid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Four companies filed a class-action suit against Twitter, accusing it of failing to pay some bills. They said that Twitter has approved the invoices but they don't know when or even if they'll be paid. It's not the first time Twitter has been sued by companies claiming that their bills have gone unpaid. The company had provided Twitter with real-time captioning services throughout 2022, the lawsuit said. The four companies are suing Twitter for breach of contract and have asked for a trial by jury.

☆ A new group of Twitter vendors is suing the company for alleged unpaid bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A group of Twitter vendors on Tuesday filed a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that the company has failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in overdue bills. The company alleged that it began contacting Twitter in November about overdue and pending invoices for services rendered under a contract signed in March 2022. Twitter owes the captioning company around $42,000, according to the complaint. YES Consulting, which said it provided leadership training to Twitter employees per an agreement signed in March 2022, alleges that Twitter owes it approximately $49,000 for services provided between August and November last year. The vendors are seeking damages in the amount each company is allegedly owed by Twitter, as well as interest.

☆ Chipotle will pay a $240,000 penalty — roughly 1% of its daily revenue— for shutting down a store that tried to unionize
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The settlement is equivalent to the global revenue that Chipotle made in 15 minutes last year. The employees filed a petition to form a union last June — the first time Chipotle employees had taken that step. The payment will be split among the former location's employees, who will receive between $5,800 and $21,000 each based on their seniority, pay rate, and other factors, per the Journal. That math is based on Chipotle locations operating daily, and doesn't include locations closed on major holidays. Under the settlement, Chipotle will also offer the employees "preferential hiring" if they pursue jobs at the company's other locations in Maine.

☆ Chipotle agrees to pay ex-employees after closing store that tried to unionize
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Chipotle Mexican Grill will pay a total $240,000 in salary and back pay to the former employees of an Augusta, Maine, restaurant that the company shuttered after the workers tried to unionize. The settlement payouts — which are based on pay rates, average hours and seniority — will range between $5,800 to more than $21,000 to each of the affected employees. It’s a win for food service workers across the country,” said Brandi McNease, a former Augusta Chipotle employee and lead organizer of the Chipotle United union. But the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees labor relations at most US businesses, filed a complaint in November alleging that the closing was an effort to defeat the union organizing. One other Chipotle location in Lansing, Michigan, has voted to be represented by a union.

☆ Wall Street says TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew had a 'disaster' day in Congress — but the internet is loving him
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Reena Koh | Nidhi Pandurangi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Wall Street slammed Chew's testimony, dubbing it a "disaster moment" for TikTok. The video has over 1.2 million views, over 215,000 likes, and a range of comments expressing their approval for Chew. Two days before the Congressional hearing, TikTok's official account shared a rare video of Chew casually introducing himself to people. In the video, Chew gave context about the hearing and asked viewers to tell him what they enjoyed about the app.

CNN —New rules from the US government could soon let Americans more easily cancel free trials and subscriptions they no longer want, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The proposed rule change announced Thursday would apply to vast swaths of the US economy, covering both digital and physical subscriptions. Americans should not have to jump through hoops or be hounded by unwanted retention offers just to cancel their subscriptions, FTC Chair Lina Khan told reporters on a conference call Wednesday. The FTC in 2021 warned companies against deploying illegal dark patterns that trick or trap consumers into subscription services. Gyms, newspapers, phone companies and other businesses have faced lawsuits for imposing obstacles on consumers who try to cancel their services.

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - Distressed debt investors and large hedge funds are buying up Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) additional tier-1 bonds at rock-bottom prices after they were written down to zero in the Swiss bank's rescue by cross-town rival UBS (UBSG.S). AT1 bonds issued by other European banks tumbled on Monday as the treatment of Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders highlighted the risks of this type of debt. Buyers have included a mixture of hedge funds and deep distressed debt funds, which Southey expected would need to hold the bonds for an extended period before they paid off. Some of those buyers intend to join groups that would litigate to improve odds on cashing in on the bonds, Southey said. "It's quite possible that we will see demand from buyers of subordinated bank debt to have more explicit protections written into these bond prospectuses in the future."

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued crypto exchange Coinbase a Wells notice, warning the company that it identified potential violations of U.S. securities law. "Based on discussions with the Staff, the Company believes these potential enforcement actions would relate to aspects of the Company's spot market, staking service Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Wallet," Coinbase said in a regulatory filing. A Wells notice is typically one of the final steps before the SEC formally issues charges. Coinbase described the investigation as "cursory," and said the Wells notice provided relatively little information about potential violations. The SEC sent a Wells notice to stablecoin issuer Paxos in February.

☆ Don't bother writing a 'love letter' to home sellers. They're a waste of time and someone could get screwed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Moved by the note, dubbed a "love letter" in real-estate parlance, Byington decided to sell the house to her. Elizabeth Scire's "Barbie House" love letter to the seller. EtsyLove letters risk discriminationDeeply personal and emotionally written love letters, however, open sellers and their agents up to legal risks. In a 2020 blog post, the National Association of Realtors said love letters would be more accurately described as "liability letters." In September 2021, Oregon became the first state to enact a law that banned the practice of writing or sharing real-estate love letters during the homebuying process.

JetBlue will face "an uphill battle" as it fights the government," said Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute. "If I'm JetBlue, that's where I focus right now, developing that divestiture offer and lining up a buyer to 'litigate the fix,'" said Dryden. Whatever arguments JetBlue uses, a court fight could last six to eight months and cost tens of millions of dollars in attorney fees, legal experts said. Bill Baer, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division under former President Barack Obama, said the government's complaint "shows that there is meaningful competition between Spirit and JetBlue." "JetBlue brags about the 'JetBlue effect,' where they enter a market and fares tend to go down," he said.

☆ Elizabeth Warren leads cavalry into deal battles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It would be the third curious regulatory intervention in recent weeks, each encouraged by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. In a September letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Warren argued that the DOT should use its own tools, specifically in the Spirit situation. UnitedHealth (UNH.N) beat back a federal lawsuit against its plan to buy Change Healthcare; Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O) shrugged off an FTC attempt to stop its purchase of fitness app developer Within. JetBlue says it built time for a lawsuit into the Spirit merger agreement. As the senator charges up the competition cavalry, dealmakers may have to redraw their battle plans.

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