Antitrust Law Blog

July 20, 2026July 20, 2026 by Sean P. McConnell

Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reaches Settlement with FTC Requiring Changes to Drug Pricing and Practices

By Sean P. McConnell, Jonathan L. Swichar, Bradley A. Wasser and Nina Kalandadze

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Caremark Rx LLC and Zinc Health Services LLC in the agency’s administrative case against the nation’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers. Under the terms of the settlement, Caremark agreed to make certain structural changes to its pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement practices. The Caremark settlement has distinct implications for participants across the pharmaceutical supply chain, and each should take specific steps to evaluate exposure and mitigate risk.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

July 14, 2026July 14, 2026 by Sean P. McConnell

DOJ’s Proposed Settlement with Property Manager Targets Algorithmic Pricing Coordination in Rental Housing

By Sean P. McConnell, Brian H. Pandya, Christopher H. Casey and Kirk Williams McLeod

On July 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division filed a proposed consent decree with Willow Bridge Property Company LLC in connection with its ongoing enforcement action against RealPage Inc. and several large property management companies. The settlement resolves allegations that Willow Bridge violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by sharing competitively sensitive data with competitors through RealPage’s algorithmic pricing tools and by agreeing to align rental pricing with competing landlords. Under the proposed final judgment, the parties consented to the settlement’s entry without the taking of testimony, without trial or adjudication of any issue of fact or law, and without the final judgment constituting evidence against or an admission by any party as to any issue of fact or law in the action.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

July 7, 2026July 7, 2026 by Christopher H. Casey

Egg Price-Fixing Settlements Signal DOJ’s Intensifying Focus on Commodity Benchmark Manipulation

By Christopher H. Casey, Katherine Speegle and Kirk Williams McLeod

On June 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice and 17 states filed a civil antitrust complaint and simultaneously entered proposed consent judgments with three major egg producers alleging that the defendants conspired to manipulate Urner Barry’s daily egg price quotations by coordinating bids on the Egg Clearinghouse Inc. platform between June 2022 and March 2025. The case marks a significant enforcement action that illustrates how federal enforcers are approaching benchmark manipulation in concentrated commodity markets.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

July 1, 2026July 1, 2026 by Sean P. McConnell

U.S. Supreme Court Invalidates “For-Cause” Removal Protections for FTC Commissioners

By Sean P. McConnell, Christopher H. Casey and Kirk Williams McLeod

On June 29, 2026, in Trump v. Slaughter, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the president may fire Federal Trade Commission commissioners at will, ruling that the statutory “for-cause” removal protections for commissioners are unconstitutional. In doing so, the Court expressly overruled its 1935 decision Humphrey’s Executor v. United States and confirmed that principal officers who exercise executive power must be removable by the president at will.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

June 29, 2026June 29, 2026 by Duane Morris

Healthcare Consolidation and Competition State Legislation Tracker

By Sean P. McConnell, Nina Kalandadze, Annamarie Hufford-Bucklin and Stephanie Sun

State legislatures across the country are reshaping the legal landscape for healthcare market transactions at an unprecedented pace—and with significant variation from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Laws expanding premerger visibility into healthcare deals, requiring greater ownership and affiliation transparency, restricting private equity involvement in clinical enterprises, recalibrating certificate of need frameworks and limiting post-employment noncompete agreements for physicians and other clinicians are proliferating at the state level. While federal scrutiny of healthcare transactions remains significant, state-level legislation increasingly imposes independent obligations that may alter deal planning, governance structures and employment arrangements.

To support planning and compliance, Duane Morris has created an interactive map tracking enacted state measures aimed at tightening oversight of healthcare consolidation, limiting noncompete agreements and curbing private equity influence.

Read the full Alert and view the interactive map on the Duane Morris LLP website.

June 4, 2026June 5, 2026 by Duane Morris

Chambers USA Recognizes Duane Morris Antitrust Division and Attorneys

Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that Chambers USA has recognized Duane Morris’ Antitrust Division and attorneys.

Here’s what clients are saying about our antitrust attorneys:

“The team knows the area of law very well. They are very good communicators and keep me informed.”

A group of 16 state attorneys general recently urged the Federal Trade Commission to issue new rules regulating pricing practices by online food delivery services. The states’ letter, dated May 18, 2026, calls for new rules against pricing practices used by such platforms that, the states allege, are deceptive and harm consumers in their states.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

May 26, 2026May 26, 2026 by Duane Morris

Proposed DOJ Settlement with Data Consultant Includes Sweeping Changes to Data Sharing in Meat Industry

By Driscoll R. Ugarte, Sean P. McConnell and Taylor Hertzler

On May 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division filed a proposed settlement in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota to resolve claims against Agri Stats Inc. for unlawful information sharing among the nation’s largest meat processors. The settlement aims to dismantle what the government alleges was a decadeslong practice of exchanging competitively sensitive pricing, output and cost data among rival broiler chicken, pork and turkey processors. Stakeholders across the agricultural supply chain—from poultry integrators and hog producers to livestock feed companies and meat buyers—should take note of this enforcement action, which may signal heightened DOJ scrutiny of data-sharing arrangements in the animal agriculture sector.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

April 15, 2026April 15, 2026 by Sean P. McConnell

States Win Antitrust Case Against Live Nation: Lessons from a Landmark Antitrust Case

On April 15, 2026, a federal jury found that Live Nation Entertainment and its Ticketmaster subsidiary violated federal and state antitrust laws. The verdict holds critical lessons for any business relying on vertical integration, exclusive contracts, or data-driven strategies.

The jury concluded that Live Nation unlawfully monopolized multiple live entertainment markets by leveraging its dominant position in concert promotion, venue ownership, and ticketing to foreclose competition. Key evidence showed Ticketmaster controls approximately 86% of primary ticketing at major concert venues, while Live Nation’s promotion arm handles roughly 70%. Internal communications—including references to using a “velvet hammer” against competitors and exerting power over concert-goers by “robbing them blind”—proved particularly damaging.

March 27, 2026March 27, 2026 by Sean P. McConnell

Eight State Attorneys General Challenge TV Merger After Federal Approval – What It Means for Your Next Deal

State attorneys general are increasingly challenging federal antitrust settlements and merger approvals—most recently in the $6.2 billion Nexstar/Tegna broadcast television transaction. In addition, congressional Democrats have proposed expanding the Tunney Act to enhance transparency, empower states to continue abandoned federal cases, and constrain merger closings during judicial review. For companies planning strategic transactions, these developments signal that federal clearance alone may no longer end deal risk.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

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