Colin Kass
Colin Kass is a partner in the Litigation Department and co-chair of the Antitrust Group, and a member of the Firm’s cross-disciplinary, cross-jurisdictional Coronavirus Response Team. An experienced antitrust and commercial litigation lawyer, Colin has litigated cases before federal and state courts throughout the United States and before administrative agencies. His practice involves a wide range of industries and spans the full-range of antitrust and unfair competition-related litigation, including class actions, competitor suits, dealer/distributor termination suits, price discrimination cases, criminal price-fixing investigations, and merger injunctions.
Colin also has extensive experience dealing with the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice in obtaining clearance for competitively-sensitive transactions and handling anticompetitive practices investigations. His practice also includes counseling clients on their sales, distribution, and marketing practices, strategic ventures, and general antitrust compliance.
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The Supreme Court heard oral argument last week in cases that will have extensive implications for online platforms, and, more broadly, for internet speech across the board. Gonzalez v. Google, in particular, may result in a first-of-its-kind clarification of the scope of 47 U.S.C. § 230. … Continue Reading
On January 11, 2023, Elizabeth Wilkins, the FTC’s Director of the Office of Policy Planning, spoke to the Capitol Forum about the FTC’s proposed rule to ban non-compete agreements. This conversation was the most significant discussion of the proposed rule by the FTC since it was announced on January 5. Below are the four most … Continue Reading
Antitrust and tech is in the legal news almost daily, and often multiple times a day. Here are a few recent developments with notable implications that may have flown under the radar: 1) renewed focus on gig economy issues; 2) potential enforcement efforts regarding director overlaps; and 3) challenges to MFN pricing. … Continue Reading
Over the past year, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has increasingly been hot on the heels of suspected anti-competitive labor violations. To date, the DOJ has brought a few actions against employers across industries relating to wage-fixing and no-poach agreements. As these cases take hold, and potentially even head toward trial, this article examines the … Continue Reading
The FTC has announced penalties in two separate enforcement actions totaling almost $2 million for alleged violations of the HSR Act. The matters: U.S. v. Clarence L. Werner c/o Werner Enterprises, Inc.; and U.S. v. Biglari Holdings Inc. include claims of failures to file notification under the HSR Act and failures to observe the required … Continue Reading
After a bit of hiatus on aggressively challenging vertical mergers, regulators both here in the United States and abroad have resumed initiated actions to challenge vertical mergers. Traditionally a difficult lift for the FTC, vertical vergers involve companies above and below each other in the supply chain. Instead of directly competing, an upstream company acquires … Continue Reading
“Mark my words: Change is coming. Laws are coming.” That was the warning David Cicilline (D-RI) – the House Judiciary Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law Subcommittee Chairman – gave on February 25th at the first in a series of hearings following the Subcommittee’s 16-month probe into Big Tech’s gatekeeping power. This one, titled Reviving Competition, … Continue Reading
The Sherman Act was passed in 1890. The Clayton Act in 1914. And they have hardly changed since. Last month, Senator Amy Klobuchar, the new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, proposed an overhaul of the antitrust laws: CLERA, the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act. … Continue Reading
On September 23, 2020, the New York Supreme Court dismissed Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Quality King Distributors alleging that the wholesaler unlawfully increased the price of its Lysol products. In a decision no longer than a page, Judge Eileen A. Rakower found that Quality King’s prices were neither “unconscionable or overall extreme.”… Continue Reading
In the latest piece to come out of the FTC’s new focus on emerging technologies, the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection issued new guidance on the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and algorithms. The guidance follows up on a 2018 hearing where the FTC explored AI, algorithms, and predicative analysis. As the FTC recognizes, these … Continue Reading
As businesses across the globe grapple with the changing realities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. and international antitrust enforcers have warned that business should continue to mind the antitrust laws. Global enforcers are also focusing on the role competition laws play as industries – both essential and hard-hit – grapple with the new environment.… Continue Reading
Plaintiffs often try to define the broadest possible class at the outset of a case on the belief that the scope of the class can be refined on class certification after discovery has been completed. For this strategy to work, however, plaintiffs must get past the pleading stage. Historically, this has not been too difficult … Continue Reading
On April 3, 2018, the Antitrust Division of the U.S Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had reached a settlement in a matter involving a “no-poaching” agreement between employers—the first such enforcement action under the Trump Administration. The DOJ’s pursuit of the matter reflects the Department’s continuing scrutiny of employment and hiring agreements between … Continue Reading
On January 26, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission announced revisions to HSR Act and Clayton Act Section 8 thresholds, which are indexed annually to account for inflation. We have identified the adjustments that are likely to be the most relevant to our clients, and reiterate several important practice tips. The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, commonly … Continue Reading
The D.C. Circuit recently blocked a proposed merger between two of the nation’s three largest health care insurers – Anthem and Cigna, raising doubts about the viability of the efficiencies defense in merger cases despite such a defense having been explicitly recognized in the 2010 FTC and DOJ Horizontal Merger Guidelines. Click here to read … Continue Reading
A judge in the Northern District Court of California ruled that a virtual reality firm’s “right to veto” provision in its partnership agreement prevented the company from bringing suit against Oculus VR, LLC (“Oculus”), a company that created a popular line of 3-D virtual reality headsets. Total Recall Technologies (“TRT”), a general partnership also in … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, a judge from the Northern District of California allowed a putative class action suit to proceed against Facebook. In this case, the plaintiffs alleged Facebook collected and stored biometric data of individuals’ facial features for use in “tagging” friends in digital photographs. In rejecting Facebook’s attempt to dismiss the suit, the court … Continue Reading
Enforcement actions for violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) often are announced with substantial money penalties or other restrictions agreed in advance between the agency and the parties. Not so with the Department of Justice’s complaint filed April 4 against ValueAct Capital and its affiliated investment funds. ValueAct has said that it will vigorously defend … Continue Reading
Tech Takeaways: SCOTUS Weighs in on Pivotal Tech Cases
By Colin Kass, David Munkittrick, Kelly Landers Hawthorne and Henrique Carneiro on Posted in Antitrust, Federal Rules, Media and Technology
Four Key Takeaways from the FTC Director’s Remarks on the Proposed Rule to Ban Non-Compete Agreements
Three Notable Antitrust & Tech Updates That May Have Flown Under Your Radar
By Colin Kass, John R. Ingrassia, David Munkittrick, Amy Gordon and Reut N. Samuels on Posted in Antitrust, Use of Technology for Advocacy
It’s Not a Threat, It’s a Promise: Timeline of the DOJ’s Statements and Actions Against Wage Fixing and No Poach Agreements
By Colin Kass, David Munkittrick and Reut N. Samuels on Posted in Antitrust, Commercial Litigation
Law360 Expert Analysis: How To Navigate The Coming Antitrust Policy Tests
By Colin Kass, John R. Ingrassia and David Munkittrick on Posted in Antitrust
Illuminating Vertical Merger Challenges: FTC Challenges Illumina’s Reacquisition of a Nascent Company it Founded
By Colin Kass, Joseph Hartunian and Shannon D. McGowan on Posted in Antitrust, Media and Technology
The House Judiciary Committee Takes on Big Tech
By Colin Kass, David Munkittrick and Nicollette R. Moser on Posted in Antitrust, Federal Rules, Media and Technology
CLERA or Murkier: Proposed Antitrust Legislation Raises Questions
By Colin Kass, David Munkittrick, Joseph Hartunian and Shannon D. McGowan on Posted in Antitrust, Federal Rules, Media and Technology
NY Court Embraces the Law of Supply and Demand, Shows Hostility to Price Gouging Complaint
By Nicollette R. Moser and Colin Kass on Posted in Antitrust, Price Gouging
A New Frontier or Back to Basics? FTC Issues New Guidance on Artificial Intelligence Technology
By David Munkittrick, Nicollette R. Moser and Colin Kass on Posted in Antitrust, Privacy & Data Security, Use of Technology for Advocacy
Antitrust Enforcers Target Coronavirus-related Violations
By Jade-Alexandra Fearns, Christopher E. Ondeck, Colin Kass and Stephen R. Chuk on Posted in Antitrust, Price Gouging
Attacking Class Certification on a Motion to Dismiss? A Recent Decision Says There is a Way
By David Munkittrick, Owen Masters and Colin Kass on Posted in Antitrust, Class Action
DOJ Announces First Settlement Under Trump Administration Regarding “No-Poach” Agreement
By Colin Kass and Lloyd B. Chinn on Posted in Antitrust
FTC Announces 2018 Thresholds Under HSR Act and Clayton Act
By Colin Kass, Christopher E. Ondeck and John R. Ingrassia on Posted in Antitrust, Federal Rules
Can Purchasing Efficiencies Save Mega-Mergers? The D.C. Circuit Says “No”
By Colin Kass, Rucha Desai and John R. Ingrassia on Posted in Antitrust, Health Care
Right to Veto Clause Prevents Partnership’s Virtual Reality Lawsuit
By Michael F. Derksen, Russell Kostelak and Colin Kass on Posted in Use of Technology for Advocacy
CA Court Plays “Tag” – Judge Refuses to Drop Facebook Photo-Tagging Privacy Case
By Colin Kass, Russell Kostelak and Michael F. Derksen on Posted in Privacy, Use of Technology for Advocacy
When Passive Investors Take a Stand – HSR Act Enforcement Put to the Test
By Christopher E. Ondeck, John R. Ingrassia and Colin Kass on Posted in Antitrust
