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On April 3, 2018, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced the first no-poaching antitrust settlement of the Trump Administration. Previously, senior DOJ officials had made public comments indicating that the DOJ intends to aggressively police no-poaching agreements, including via criminal prosecutions. According to the DOJ, the antitrust conspiracy involved two of the world’s largest … Continue reading
In a surprising continuation of Obama-era policy, the Trump DOJ has announced that it will pursue criminal action against firms using no-poaching agreements. On January 18th, 2018, while speaking at an Antitrust Research Foundation conference, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim noted that the DOJ has not backed away from previous no-poaching guidance. Instead, AAG Delrahim … Continue reading
Let’s beat the same drum but only this time, take it a step further: Widespread Ignorance About Non-Competes & Antitrust Certain practitioners and judges have absolutely no understanding of the antitrust principles upon which non-compete law is based. True story: I was in a hearing in front a federal judge who I will not … Continue reading
A recent case out of Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeals raises important raises important issues related to physician non-compete agreements. Let’s take a look: Before addressing the specifics of this case, some context is necessary: Agreements not to compete are restraints of trade. In any non-compete case, there are two lenses: restraint of trade … Continue reading
A recent case out of the Louisiana Court of Appeal reminds us that some states will enforce physician non-compete agreements, even in the absence of a clear protectable interest and even where such enforcement threatens harm to the public. But the case does more than that: It forces us to take a hard look at … Continue reading
In 2014, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated a series of antitrust actions and transferred them to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The Middle District of Florida now presides over the multidistrict litigation entitled In re Auto Body Shop Antitrust Litigation, which includes cases originally filed in fifteen … Continue reading
In the past few months, we have seen a number of decisions involving non-compete issues in the grocery industry— from appellate courts, no less. That trend continues. This case comes out of the Eighth Circuit and involves some of my former colleagues from Boies, Schiller & Flexner. C&S and SuperValu are the two largest grocery … Continue reading
A recent non-compete dispute in Florida raises questions about the concept of legitimate business interests under Florida law. Until October, prominent Florida chef Domenica Macchia ran the kitchen at a St. Petersburg restaurant called Three Birds Tavern. After leaving Three Birds last fall, Macchia became the chef at another local restaurant called Beak’s Old Florida. … Continue reading
Over the past two years, we have heard an endless stream of pundits, analysts and lobbyists weigh in on the possible antitrust case against Google. The most outrageous such commentary came from Thomas Barnett, a partner at Covington and Burling and lobbyist for Microsoft and other Google competitors. When interviewed for a CNET article, Barnett … Continue reading
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission issued a final decision approving a consent order that will invalidate the non-compete agreements of ten cardiologists who are terminating their employment with Renown Health in Reno, Nevada. The move has been expected since late this summer, when the parties reached a tentative agreement on the matter. The situation … Continue reading
the non-compete blog 