Category: news

An investigation by Attorney General, New York (‘OAG’), uncovered that two major players in New York City’s tourism industry, Bus Tours Limited (‘Big Bus’) and Twin America, LLC (‘Twin America’), were engaged in collusive agreements to stifle competition, by reducing service options for the consumers and potentially raising prices for tourists. Both companies agreed to pay more than $2.5 million as settlement amount and to permanently discontinue all such agreements in the future.

The Supreme Court of India (‘SC) observed that when the suit is barred by law in terms of main relief, then other ancillary reliefs also becomes unenforceable. The SC held that as auxiliary reliefs are dependent upon the main relief, they cannot be granted until and unless the plaintiff succeeds in the main relief.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (‘Meta’) faces a major antitrust trial after a six year-long investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (‘FTC’). The FTC alleged that Meta engaged in a “buy and bury” approach in regards to the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, and regarded the acquisitions as a calculated strategy to stifle competition and maintain its dominance in social media market. FTC pushed for Meta to divest both Instagram and WhatsApp as a remedial measure.

The lawsuit concerning the distribution of the narcolepsy treatment drug Xyrem against Jazz Pharmaceuticals (‘Jazz’) by a group of indirect purchasers reached a settlement of $145 million. The suit pertained to allegations against Jazz for engaging in an anti-competitive “pay-for-delay” scheme, where Jazz made arrangements to delay the market entry of lower-cost generic versions of Xyrem.

The Supreme Court (‘SC’), stating the order to be ‘perverse orders and therefore untenable at law’, set aside the anticipatory bail granted by Punjab and Haryana High Court (‘High Court’) to various persons accused in the Adarsh Group of Companies scam. The SC held that economic offences are ‘class apart’ and offences and anticipatory bail, in such cases, should be granted sparingly. The SC further criticised High Court’s decision to grant anticipatory bail to the accused, despite repeated issuance of non-bailable warrants and the initiation of proclamation proceedings by the Special Court.

A U.S. Federal Judge dismissed a lawsuit by Blue Cross Blue Shield (Plaintiff) accusing Bristol Myers Squibb of unlawfully protecting its monopoly on cancer drug Pomalyst. The Court held that there was no sufficient evidence for Plaintiff’s claim that the company unlawfully delayed the entry of cheaper generic versions of Pomalyst into the market which purportedly led to inflated costs for buyers since at least October 2020.

Apple Inc. appealed against the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (‘IPT’) order, requiring the tech giant to weaken iCloud encryption. Apple contended the “technical capability notice” which requires it to create a backdoor for encrypted data, even if the data belongs to users outside the UK which raises crucial questions about the balance between user privacy and government surveillance.

The Italy Antitrust Authority (AGCM) has imposed a €20 Million fine on a cultural co-operative and six tour operators for engaging in anti-competitive practices in ticket sales for the Colosseum Archaeological Park in Rome. This anti-competitive behaviour included creating barriers for direct online purchase of standard tickets, ultimately forcing consumers to seek tickets through third-party tour operators.

The Supreme Court (‘SC’) acquitted a man, convicted nearly three decades ago for allegedly abetting his wife’s suicide, emphasizing that mere allegations of harassment or strained relations are insufficient for a conviction under Section 306 IPC. It highlighted that convictions for abetment of suicide require clear proximate evidence of instigation, not just emotional strain.

The European Commission (‘EC’) approved the acquisition of Collins Aerospace’s flight control business by French aerospace manufacturer Safran for $1.8 Billion, making the deal Safran’s largest acquisition. Safran has committed to divest its North American THSA business to address the competition concerns raised by the EC.