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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.

"Phhhoto has failed in its 69-page amended complaint of 222 paragraphs to allege sufficient facts that cure the untimeliness of all of its federal claims," Matsumoto wrote. The court declined to allow Phhhoto to fine-tune its case and bring another complaint. Phhhoto's lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged Facebook aimed to "crush" the photo-sharing application, which called itself in court filings "an innovative nascent competitor." Facebook is defending against claims from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., federal court that the company abused its personal social networking dominance. The case is Phhhoto Inc v Meta Platforms, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No.

Companies Re/Max Holdings Inc FollowMarch 29 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Chicago on Wednesday ruled that home sellers accusing the National Association of Realtors and a group of real estate brokerages of conspiring to inflate commission rates can move forward as a class action. In a statement, The National Association of Realtors said it was "disappointed" in the decision and defended industry listing practices. The lawsuit challenges a requirement that sellers make "blanket unilateral offers of compensation" to buyers' brokers when a home goes on sale via a multiple listing service. That system puts pressure on sellers to offer high commissions to attract buyers' brokers, the sellers claimed. The case is Moehrl et al v. The National Association of Realtors et al, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No.

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.

[1/2] The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, January 5, 2023. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle on Friday came in a prospective antitrust class action that has estimated damages of between $55 billion to $172 billion. Amazon has denied the plaintiffs' claims, arguing that its "Fair Pricing Policy" has procompetitive benefits and that U.S. antitrust law encourages such a policy. Attorneys general in California and Washington, D.C., also have sued Amazon over pricing policies. The case is Frame-Wilson et al v. Amazon.com Inc, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, No.

Companies Google Inc FollowAlphabet Inc FollowMarch 24 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday set a fast-paced schedule in the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit challenging Google LLC's digital advertising technology practices, moving the case along more quickly than either side had proposed. A Justice Department spokesperson and a representative from Google had no comment on Friday. The Justice Department and eight states filed the case in January, seeking to force Google to sell its ad manager suite, claiming that the company unlawfully curbed competition over advertising technology. The case is one of two Justice Department antitrust actions against Google. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, assigned to the digital advertising case, will preside at the January pretrial conference.

"Plaintiffs' general allegation that the merger may cause 'higher prices, less innovation, less creativity, less consumer choice, decreased output, and other potential anticompetitive effects' is insufficient," wrote U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Corley. The decision does not affect the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) regulatory challenge to the largest-ever gaming industry deal. Microsoft announced its bid last year, and it also faces competition scrutiny in the EU and UK. A spokesperson for Microsoft and lawyers for the company did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The case is Demartini v. Microsoft Corp, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 3:22-cv-08991.

March 20 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google has denied intentionally destroying evidence in the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit over the company's search business, in a response to the government's bid for sanctions in federal court. The Justice Department last month alleged Google failed to preserve certain internal corporate "chat" communications. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on Monday. Mehta last year denied an earlier Justice Department bid for sanctions against Google over claims it was shielding too many documents from review. The case is United States v. Google LLC, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No.

☆ U.S. Justice Dept opposes Google bid to move advertising antitrust case to New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Mike Scarcella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The case, alleging anticompetitive abuses of advertising technology, was filed in January in Alexandria, Virginia, federal court and threatens to break up a key part of Google's business. But moving the case to the Southern District of New York won't eliminate the chance of divergent trial judgments or appellate decisions, the DOJ's lawyers said. The cases consolidated in New York can return to their originating district courts for trial, the government told Brinkema. In its bid seeking to get the DOJ case to New York, Google's lawyers said the government's "case lags far behind other pending ad tech antitrust cases" and "adds nothing of substance to those earlier-filed cases." The case is United States et al v. Google LLC, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1:23-cv-00108-LMB-IDD.

Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ruling that "gruyere" can legally be used to describe cheese regardless of where it was made. The USPTO rejected a bid by two groups representing cheese producers from Switzerland and France for a mark that would restrict the use of "gruyere" to cheese from Gruyère itself. Gruyere cheese, "widely considered among the greatest of all cheeses," was first made in the Swiss district of La Gruyère in 1115, the court said. Switzerland's Interprofession du Gruyère and France's Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Gruyère asked the USPTO in 2015 to certify that gruyere cheese only comes from the Gruyère region. Circuit Court of Appeals, No.

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoMarch 3 (Reuters) - Urban scooter company Lime sued Hertz Corp on Thursday alleging unfair competition and accusing the rental car giant of improperly hiring the startup's senior engineers. The loss of engineers has "significantly harmed" Lime, which provides short-term e-bike and scooter rentals in about 30 countries. Hertz Corp, which operates the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty vehicle rental brands, is a subsidiary of Hertz Global Holdings Inc (HTZ.O). Cong, now at Hertz, did not immediately respond on Friday to a message seeking comment. A representative from Lime did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Companies Google Inc FollowAlphabet Inc FollowMarch 2 (Reuters) - Consumers suing Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google LLC over its data collection practices have lost their early appeal to pursue money damages as a class action seeking billions of dollars. Plaintiffs sued Google in 2020, claiming that Google continued to collect data from users despite their use of private-browsing in Chrome's "Incognito" mode. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Wednesday rejected the plaintiffs' bid to appeal a lower court decision last year that denied class action status for money damages claims against Google. The damages class would include at least "tens of millions" of Google browser users, court filings indicate. Google has denied that it deceived anyone over private-browsing, saying its Chrome browser users consented to the company's data collection.

Companies Google Inc FollowAlphabet Inc FollowFeb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Justice Department lawyers say that Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) destroyed internal corporate communications and have asked a federal judge to sanction the company as part of the government's antitrust case over its search business. The DOJ's sanctions bid marks at least the second time in the case that the government has sought to punish Google. Last year, the DOJ alleged Google unfairly kept internal documents away from antitrust investigators, claiming they were protected by attorney-client privilege. The judge declined in April 2022 to sanction Google for conduct that occurred prior to the start of the litigation in 2020. The case is United States v. Google LLC, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No.

U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond's order in Philadelphia federal court granted a request by Unisys to depose Leon Gilbert and Michael McGarvey, former leaders of Unisys' "digital workplace solutions" business unit. Representatives for France-based Atos and lawyers for Gilbert and McGarvey did not immediately respond to messages on Wednesday seeking comment. Unisys in a court filing said that "this case involves the theft of huge quantities of Unisys trade secrets," including technologies and business strategies for digital workplaces. Attorneys for Gilbert and McGarvey disputed the allegation and said "Unisys has not identified a single trade secret." The case is Unisys Corp v. Leon Gilbert and Michael McGarvey, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The case involves a group of consumers who contend Facebook exploited user data to maintain its market power. Representatives for Quinn Emanuel and Facebook declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Hagens Berman did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Scarlett in recent court filings said Quinn Emanuel was not respecting her view as a leading antitrust attorney based on her gender. Quinn Emanuel denied the claim, saying it has "worked very hard to be cooperative with all counsel on the case, including female counsel." Donato started the appointment process from scratch in January amid quarreling between Seattle-based plaintiffs' firm Hagens Berman and 900-lawyer Quinn Emanuel.

☆ Boies, co-counsel move to grab control of all private FTX cases
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, that the judge overseeing their Miami cases, U.S. District Judge Michael Moore, has already proven in their brand ambassador cases that he can steer FTX cases quickly and efficiently. Not everyone pursuing claims on behalf of FTX customers agrees with Boies and Moskowitz. (To be clear, these private cases are different from cases that could be brought by a court-appointed receiver or trustee in FTX’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.) If the cases go to California, the California slate is a likelier candidate. It will be a few months before any ruling on the Boies and Moskowitz consolidation petition.

☆ Facebook, Gibson Dunn sanction order is light on dollars, heavy on message
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

CompaniesCompanies Law firms Meta Platforms Inc FollowFeb 10 (Reuters) - To Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and its lawyers at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, $925,000 isn't a whole lot of money. Chhabria, as you've probably heard, ordered Facebook and its lawyers to pay that sum to plaintiffs' lawyers as recompense for their bad-faith litigation tactics. "Does anyone really think that Facebook was planning on taking this case to trial?" This is, by far, the most likely explanation for Facebook and Gibson Dunn’s conduct." Facebook and its lawyers fell into their roles with ease, and then they took things way too far.”Gibson Dunn and Meta both declined to provide a statement on Chhabria’s order.

Companies Alphabet Inc FollowFeb 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Football League (NFL) must face a $6 billion class action alleging it unlawfully limited televised games and drove up the cost of its "Sunday Ticket" package, a U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the NFL on Wednesday did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Google-owned YouTube (GOOGL.O) in December signed a multi-year deal for exclusive streaming of Sunday Ticket package games. Google did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

☆ Sorry crypto world, but SEC isn’t backing down on ‘regulation by enforcement’
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Right now, Wahi argued, crypto users are simply left guessing about their exposure to SEC enforcement — and that's not sustainable. That strategy, Hodl Law asserted, didn't give token-holders fair notice about whether their coins are securities. Otherwise, Hodl Law said, Ethereum users have no idea if the SEC will swoop in with an enforcement action. The SEC also said that it's not obliged to warn crypto users about its interpretation of securities laws. It also, however, provides the first robust explanation of an argument I expect to see more often in SEC crypto cases: SEC enforcement, according to Wahi, is precluded by the Supreme Court’s recently articulated major questions doctrine.

Part of the clash included a Hagens Berman partner accusing Quinn Emanuel of discounting her views based on her gender. Quinn Emanuel denied the allegation, calling it a "mystery." The two law firms on Friday night submitted their pitches to Donato about why he should appoint them solely rather than jointly to lead the consumer class. A representative from Hagens Berman did not immediately comment, and a Quinn Emanuel spokesperson declined to comment. Hagens Berman and Quinn Emanuel have been on opposite sides in other cases.

SummarySummary Companies Number of cases totals 57, court records showFeb 6 (Reuters) - Nearly 60 lawsuits claiming hair relaxer products sold by L'Oreal USA Inc and other companies cause cancer and other health problems will be consolidated in Chicago federal court, according to a Monday order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. At least 57 lawsuits have been filed in federal courts across the country over the products, which use chemicals to permanently straighten textured hair, court records show. The lawsuits allege the companies knew their products contained dangerous chemicals but marketed and sold them anyway. In a statement posted online after the first lawsuits were filed, L'Oreal said it is "confident in the safety of our products and believe the recent lawsuits filed against us have no legal merit." She estimates that thousands of women could end up suing over the products, which are typically marketed to women of color.

☆ Grocery consumers sue to block Kroger’s $25 bln buy of Albertsons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Mike Scarcella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Kroger is the biggest grocer in the U.S. by revenue, and Albertsons is the second-largest supermarket chain. Nearly 5,000 grocery stores would be under one corporate umbrella if the deal, announced in October, goes through. A representative for Albertsons declined to comment on Friday, and a Kroger spokesperson did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Kroger operates stores under banners including Harris Teeter, Pay Less and King Soopers. U.S. antitrust law lets private consumers sue over proposed mergers and acquisitions, apart from any enforcement action brought by a state or federal agency policing competition laws.

Google said the new DOJ case, filed jointly with eight states last month, which also alleges advertising-related abuses, overlaps with multidistrict litigation in New York that formed in 2021. Google has disputed the claims in the new lawsuit, saying it "duplicates an unfounded" one that Texas filed and now is part of the New York litigation. "They just want DOJ versus Google, nobody else," Vladeck said. Fox also said there is a new federal law that gives state plaintiffs their preference for venue in antitrust litigation. The case is In re Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1:21-md-03010-PKC.

☆ Video gamers sue Microsoft in U.S. court to stop Activision takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Mike Scarcella | Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It was filed on behalf of 10 video game players in California, New Mexico and New Jersey. A Microsoft representative on Tuesday defended the deal, saying in a statement that it "will expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers." After the FTC sued, Microsoft President Brad Smith said, "We have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present our case in court." Private plaintiffs can pursue antitrust claims in U.S. court, even while a related U.S. agency case is pending. The FTC previously said it sued to stop "Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio."

[1/2] Police walk through the parking lot after a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S. November 23, 2022. REUTERS/Jay Paul/File PhotoCompanies Walmart Inc FollowNov 29 (Reuters) - An employee at the Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, where a supervisor fatally shot six people last week, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the company, claiming she and others had warned management about the shooter’s behavior and that nothing was done. A Walmart spokesperson said the company is reviewing the complaint and will respond in court. Prior to the shooting, Prioleau said Bing had asked her if she liked guns, and asked coworkers if they received their active shooter training. Walmart continued to employ Bing, despite complaints from Prioleau and others, the lawsuit claims.

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