The bombshell lawsuit filed against Apple by the DOJ and several states joins a slew of other ongoing antitrust actions the government has taken against Big Tech firms accused of operating monopolies and abusing their power. The case against Apple alleges that the company has imposed software and hardware limitations on its iPhones and iPads to impede rivals from effectively competing.
The Apple case was filed during a lull in one of the government’s antitrust battles against Google, which went to trial last year. The government has accused the company of breaking the law to maintain its dominance over search. The evidentiary portion of the trial wrapped in November, and closings are set for May. The Google lawsuit was filed during the Trump administration, as was a lawsuit brought against Facebook parent Meta by the FTC. That lawsuit, which is still pending, accuses Meta of using acquisitions and other methods to hobble rivals.
The Biden administration has also filed a second case against Google over its dominance in advertising, as well as one against Amazon.com charging the company with harming consumers with higher prices.
Experts told our colleague Mike Scarcella the Apple lawsuit is modeled on the DOJ's watershed 1998 Microsoft case -- and why that could be a problem. |
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Artificial intelligence can enhance access to justice for low-income Americans, but legal aid attorneys need better access and training on tech tools that bolster lawyer efficiency, a Berkeley Law study found. Overall, 21% of the legal aid attorneys surveyed said they were already using AI. The study also found a significant gender gap in the adoption of AI tools—a notable finding given that 75% of legal aid attorneys are women.
- A bipartisan spending package unveiled by U.S. congressional leaders would increase discretionary spending on the judiciary for the 2024 fiscal year to $8.63 billion, up 2% from 2023 but below the $8.95 billion the judiciary had asked for in December. The spending package is set for a House vote today.
- A group of 10 lawyers from Constantine Cannon have launched their own firm to pursue whistleblower cases, bringing their existing tipster clients from Boeing, Facebook and Theranos along with them.
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Akerman is seeking more than $2.8 million in legal fees from a food services executive who was convicted for his role in a bribery and extortion scheme that involved bone and plastic-studded chicken tenders being served in New York City public schools, in a new lawsuit filed in New York state court.
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Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a letter urged the chief judge of a federal district court in Texas to implement a new judicial policy that would curtail the ability of conservative litigants to "judge shop" and steer cases challenging government policies to sympathetic jurists. Schumer has said the practice had become "rampant" in Texas' Northern District and should be addressed through the new reform.
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That is around how much a fundraising group run by Donald Trump, who is facing four criminal trials as he seeks the U.S. presidency, spent on legal fees last month, further draining money from efforts to return him to the White House, financial disclosures showed. The legal expenses reported for February by the group, known as Save America, marked the biggest single month of such spending since Trump formed the organization in 2020. Trump's financial squeeze is deepening due to multiple legal cases and expenses.
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Forum shopping for me but not for thee? In recent years, the Chamber of Commerce has been the staunchest of allies for companies that want the U.S. Supreme Court to restrict plaintiffs’ ability to pick where they can file lawsuits. But the group has a more expansive view of venue as the lead plaintiff in a suit in Fort Worth, Texas, federal court that challenges a new CFPB rule limiting late fees by big credit card issuers. With the judge in the CFPB case raising “concerns” about Fort Worth as the proper venue, Alison Frankel looks at the apparent disconnect.
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"If the problems are fish in a barrel, the complaint contains an entire school of tuna." |
—U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger, who threw out former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s lawsuit challenging the state’s law barring convicted felons from running for public office. Seeger did not mince words about the complaint, which Blagojevich filed without a lawyer, saying it would require him to undo the former politician’s impeachment by the state legislature. Through a spokesperson, Blagojevich said the ruling came as no surprise but the law remains unconstitutional.
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Lawyers for President Joe Biden's administration face a deadline to respond to an appeal filed by Elon Musk in his dispute with the SEC over a consent decree that requires Musk to get the OK from a Tesla lawyer on some of his posts on Twitter, now known as X. Musk in December asked the justices to consider whether the SEC overstepped its authority in enforcing the decree, which he has called a "muzzle" on his constitutional free speech rights.
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A North Carolina state judge is hearing arguments in Florida State University’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the school by the Atlantic Coast Conference as the two fight over Florida State’s efforts to exit the conference. The ACC sued FSU in North Carolina state court in December, arguing the school is tied to the conference through its media rights contract, and FSU sued the ACC in Florida a day later, seeking an order holding the ACC had breached the contract.
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Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes. |
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A group of 16 Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit seeking to block President Joe Biden’s pause on liquefied natural gas export approvals, arguing the federal government lacks the authority to broadly deny those permits. The lawsuit was filed in Louisiana federal court by a coalition of states including Texas, Louisiana and Florida that claims the U.S. Department of Energy's pause will harm the U.S. economy and undermine efforts to supply foreign allies in Europe with steady supplies of LNG as the region seeks to wean itself off piped gas from Russia.
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A divided 9th Circuit said Meta must face a class action by advertisers that accused the company of overcharging them by fraudulently inflating the number of people their ads might reach. The court in a 2-1 decision said advertisers could sue for damages as a group over Meta's claims about the "potential reach" of their ads.
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A U.S. judicial panel consolidated at least nine lawsuits challenging the SEC’s new rules requiring public companies to report climate-related risks in the 8th Circuit, a venue favored by Republican-led states and a business group.The St. Louis, Missouri-based federal appeals court was chosen randomly via a lottery and will consider the legal challenges to the landmark rule, which aims to standardize public company disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions, weather-related risks and how they are preparing for the transition to a low-carbon economy.
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The 5th Circuit said an FDA regulation requiring graphic warning labels on cigarette packages and advertisements is constitutional, handing a victory to the Biden administration and a defeat to the tobacco industry. Reversing a lower court ruling, the court said the warnings are "factual and uncontroversial," and satisfy the First Amendment.
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U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan dismissed a lawsuit by DirecTV accusing Nexstar and two other television station owners of scheming to drive up retransmission fees for distributing content to viewers. The judge ruled that DirecTV's lawsuit was "speculative" and that the company could not tie any losses it suffered to the alleged antitrust conspiracy.
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DLA Piper added Philadelphia-based partner Jennifer Wnek, who represents energy and transportation clients. She arrives from Allen & Overy. (DLA Piper)
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Reed Smith hired partner Tallat Hussain in London for its energy and natural resources group. Hussain previously was at White & Case. (Reed Smith)
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Katten hired financial markets and funds partners Thomas Laurer and Ryan Hansen, and transactional tax planning partner Daniel Lewin, in London. The trio arrives from Curtis, where they co-led the investment management practice. (Katten)
- Seyfarth Shaw brought on litigation partner Matthew Banham in London to its white-collar and investigations practice. Banham previously was at Dechert. (Seyfarth)
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Foley Hoag picked up labor and employment partner Patrick Scully in Denver from Sherman & Howard. (Foley Hoag)
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A trademark owner that needs to enforce its rights may often face a choice between initiating an opposition or cancellation proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board or filing a regular lawsuit in federal court. Aside from the lower cost of a TTAB proceeding, TTAB proceedings can offer several advantages to a trademark owner, writes Pat Arnold of McAndrews, Held & Malloy. Here are the top five.
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