Good morning. Here's what you need to know today: The FTC's fight to stop Kroger's acquisition of Albertsons is set for closing arguments today, but it's just the beginning of the challenges against the deal, Jody Godoy writes. Plus, the judges weighing the TikTok ban had some tough questions for the company, and Exxon and Chevron dodged a consumer lawsuit over gas prices. Let's get to it. Were you forwarded this email? Subscribe here. |
The FTC's bid to block Kroger's $25 billion bid to buy rival grocer Albertsons is scheduled to wrap up today with closing arguments in Oregon federal court, but the deal's legal challenges have just begun, with two more trials this month to hear complaints the merger could jack up grocery bills, our colleague Jody Godoy reports. Washington state's trial to block the merger began on Monday in Seattle, and the deal will face a Colorado judge later this month. "It's a notable increase in the cost, stretches out the timeline, and is an unwelcome additional collection of obstacles" for the companies, said William Kovacic, an antitrust professor at George Washington University. In addition to arguing the deal will raise prices and diminish choices for shoppers, Washington state has argued it will make it easier for Kroger to close stores where workers are unionized and reopen them as non-union. Kroger and Albertsons have spent $864 million in merger costs this year, and they oppose all three cases. Kroger says the merger will result in lower prices and higher wages. |
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- A federal judicial panel rejected a misconduct complaint against two of 13 judges who in May signed a letter announcing they would boycott hiring law clerks from Columbia University over its handling of protests about the situation in Gaza.
- Litigation funder Burford Capital hired legal industry veteran Travis Lenkner for a newly created business development role focused partly on exploring potential equity investments in law firms. Lenkner previously worked briefly at Burford after it acquired Gerchen Keller Capital in 2016.
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That's the number of Rupert Murdoch family members — his four oldest adult children — who are at the heart of a succession fight in Nevada court. The billionaire media titan is looking to ensure that, upon his death, his media companies News Corp and Fox remain under control of his eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, according to The New York Times, which obtained a sealed court document detailing the succession drama. Lachlan Murdoch is viewed as ideologically aligned with his conservative father. |
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried contends in an appeal of his 2023 fraud conviction that the Manhattan federal judge who oversaw his trial irreparably tainted the proceeding with "bizarre" and "egregious" rulings on Bankman-Fried's right to cite advice he received from the crypto exchange's lawyers. Alison Frankel explains why the 2nd Circuit's consideration of Bankman-Fried's advice-of-counsel argument is important not just for white-collar defendants but also for any corporate lawyers whose advice could surface in criminal proceedings. |
"Alivio's position – if accepted – would neuter the National Labor Relations Act." |
—U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings in Chicago, who ruled that Alivio Medical Center is unlikely to prevail in its challenge to the structure of the National Labor Relations Board and declined to block the agency's case against the center from moving forward. Cummings rejected Alivio's claims that NLRB administrative judges and members are improperly shielded from being removed by the U.S. president. |
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- In Minnesota, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank will hold a status conference in the multidistrict litigation accusing UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare of failing to protect data privacy. Dozens of lawsuits from individual consumers and healthcare providers were consolidated in June.
- Lawyers for Vanda Pharmaceuticals at McDermott will argue that the FDA's structure for reviewing new drug applications is unconstitutional. Vanda last month sued the agency and asked U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in D.C. to issue a preliminary injunction.
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Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes. |
- The U.S. Naval Academy at trial in Baltimore urged U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett to reject a lawsuit accusing the school of unlawfully considering race in the admissions process. Bennett is presiding over a two-week bench trial in a case lodged by the conservative group Students for Fair Admissions.
- Oil companies including Exxon Mobil and Chevron defeated an appeal by consumers who accused them of colluding with the Trump administration, Russia and Saudi Arabia to cut oil production and boost prices at the pump. The 9th Circuit said the consumers' claims were largely barred because they addressed political questions and sought to litigate the oil-producing policies of foreign countries.
- Samsung Electronics owes an inventor's company, Mojo Mobility, more than $192.1 million for willfully infringing five patents related to wireless device charging, a Texas federal jury found.
- St. Louis-based U.S. District Judge Sarah Pitlyk dismissed a lawsuit accusing agriculture giants Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta and others of conspiring with wholesalers and retail outlets to fix prices for seeds and crop protection chemicals, saying the allegations were insufficient to allege antitrust violations.
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- Robert Hur, the U.S. special counsel who investigated whether President Joe Biden improperly handled sensitive government materials, has rejoined King & Spalding as a D.C.-based partner. The firm also rehired Leah Grossi, a former White House associate counsel, as a partner in D.C. (Reuters)
- Gibson Dunn brought on partner Ryan Kim in New York to head the firm's private credit efforts. Kim was previously at Akin Gump. (Gibson Dunn)
- Milbank added litigation and arbitration partner Olivia Choe in D.C. Choe was previously chief litigation counsel for the SEC's Division of Enforcement. (Milbank)
- Sullivan & Cromwell hired financial services partner Charles Gray, who was previously the deputy general counsel of the Federal Reserve Board. (Sullivan & Cromwell)
- Jasmine Rosner joined Weil as a partner in the antitrust practice group, based in the firm's D.C. office. Rosner was previously senior corporate counsel at Amazon. (Weil)
- ArentFox Schiff added restructuring and bankruptcy partner Scott Lepene in the firm's New York office. Lepene was previously at Thompson Hine. (ArentFox)
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A ruling out of the federal bankruptcy court in New Jersey should serve as a cautionary tale for potential claimants who do not pursue their claims at the earliest possible date, write Bethany Simmons and Noah Weingarten of Loeb & Loeb. Read today's Attorney Analysis. |
Correction: Monday's edition of The Daily Docket misidentified Johnson & Johnson as one of the defendants in a trial beginning on Monday in Baltimore over the city's opioid epidemic. Baltimore settled with Johnson & Johnson before the trial began. |
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