antitrust – State Attorneys General Blog

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.

Read the full analysis on the Duane Morris Antitrust Law Blog.

March 2, 2026March 2, 2026 by Duane Morris

New California Bill Aims to Significantly Broaden Antitrust Law

The California Legislature is currently considering a bill that would substantially expand the scope and enforcement mechanisms of California’s antitrust regime. On January 30, 2026, the California Law Revision Commission officially approved a final legislative proposal to broaden the state’s antitrust statute, the Cartwright Act, to include single-firm conduct and to allow state enforcers to go beyond the federal Sherman Act. While the bill, AB 1776, remains under consideration in the state Legislature, it reflects a broader trend toward more aggressive antitrust regulation and enforcement at the state level, both in California and nationally. Read the Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

February 13, 2026February 17, 2026 by Duane Morris

Multistate Cannabis Operators Face First-of-Their-Kind Antitrust Claims from Ohio Attorney General

By Sean P. McConnell, Wayne A. Mack, Christopher H. Casey, Paul P. Josephson, Tracy Gallegos, Michael D. Schwamm, and James Hearon

The Ohio attorney general recently filed an unprecedented state antitrust enforcement action against nine of the nation’s largest multistate cannabis operators. The complaint alleges these defendants formed illegal cartels through reciprocal supply agreements, competitively sensitive information exchanges and discriminatory distribution practices designed to exclude independent Ohio cannabis operators from the market and artificially inflate consumer prices. The complaint seeks injunctive relief, civil forfeitures of $500 per day per defendant for each day the alleged combinations were in effect, and attorneys’ fees. Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris website.