Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, WORTH NOTING: Other Antitrust and Trade Regulation developments, (Jun 26, 2026)

By WK Editorial Staff

A periodic roundup of other items of interest to the Antitrust and Trade Regulation community.

ANTITRUST—N.D. Cal.: In the case brought by Yelp alleging antitrust claims against Google for violating Section 2 of the Sherman Act by enabling monopolization or attempted monopolization of markets related to general search services, local search services, and local search advertising, the federal district court in San Jose approved a stipulated order setting further scheduling in the case. A new date of July 29, 2026 was set as the substantial completion deadline for party document production (requests received on or after May 29, 2026 excluded) and the close of fact discovery set for February 26, 2027. A trial date was set for September 11, 2027 (Yelp Inc. v. Google LLC, No. 5:24-cv-06101-SVK (N.D. Cal. Jun. 22, 2026)).

ANTITRUST—N.D. Cal.: Acting as special master, the federal district court in denied Plaintiffs’ Motion to Enforce the Fourth Amended Stipulation and Settlement Agreement (SA) in the College Athlete NIL Litigation. The court appointed the undersigned magistrate judge as special master after granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Final Approval of the SA on June 6, 2025. Before the court was the Plaintiffs’ request for an order declaring that (1) multimedia rights companies (MMRs) are not “Associated Entities or Individuals” as defined in the Injunctive Relief Settlement (IRS), so are not reviewable by the College Sports Commission (CSC) unless the party ultimately receiving and paying for the use of a Class Member’s Name, Image, or Likeness (NIL) is an Associated Entity or Individual; and (2) third-party brand sponsors are not “Associated Entities or Individuals” merely because a school was involved in arranging an NIL agreement between a sponsor and Class Member. The court denied the Plaintiffs’ Motion at this juncture because the IRS terms and the parties’ underlying intent did not support such a finding (In Re College Athlete Nil Litigation, No. 4:20-cv-03919-CW (N.D. Cal. Jun. 25, 2026)).

ANTITRUST NEWS: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a $7 million settlement with LivCor, LLC, one of the property management companies named in ongoing antitrust litigation against software company RealPage. The settlement resolves allegations that LivCor used RealPage’s revenue management system to align rental prices with competing landlords by illegally sharing and gathering confidential pricing information. LivCor also agreed to not use software offered by any company that uses competitively sensitive information to align rent prices and agrees to cooperate in the ongoing prosecution of RealPage and other defendant landlords. This is the second settlement reached by the states in this litigation; in November 2025, Attorney General Ellison announced a $7 million settlement with Greystar, another defendant.

ANTITRUST NEWS: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a Civil Investigative Demand to CVS Health Corporation, owner of both the Caremark pharmacy benefit manager and hundreds of CVS retail pharmacies in Florida. The probe examines whether CVS/Caremark steers patients to its own locations, reimburses its affiliated stores more generously than independent pharmacies for identical prescriptions, imposes burdensome audits that claw back payments, and enforces restrictive contracts that threaten small businesses. Such practices allegedly contribute to pharmacy closures and “pharmacy deserts,” leaving families and seniors with fewer options and higher costs.

ANTITRUST NEWS: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission granted interim authorization for Google LLC and Epic Games, Inc. to give effect to the proposed conduct in their substantive application for authorization to the extent that its implementation in jurisdictions other than Australia impacts apps published on Google Play by Australian developers.

ANTITRUST NEWS: The European Commission has published a staff working document presenting the results of its evaluation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (‘MVBER') and its Supplementary Guidelines. The MVBER exempts certain vertical agreements in motor vehicle aftermarkets from the prohibition laid down in Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The SGL provide guidance on the application of EU competition rules to common aftermarket practices and on the distribution of new motor vehicles. Together, these rules safeguard effective competition in motor vehicle aftermarkets, notably between independent repairers and authorized networks, supporting consumer choice and competitive prices.

ANTITRUST NEWS: The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced the Protect College Sports Act with overwhelming bipartisan support (19–9), sending the legislation to be considered by the full Senate.

ANTITRUST NEWS: The U.K. Court of Appeal has ruled the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) was wrong to set aside a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decision in relation to its investigation into phenytoin. The CAT concluded – as the CMA had – that Pfizer and Flynn abused their dominant positions by charging excessive prices for phenytoin sodium capsules between 2012 and 2016. It also imposed almost identical fines on the firms to those issued by the CMA. The Court has now rejected the CAT’s approach in its entirety. It fully upheld the CMA’s appeal against the CAT setting aside the CMA’s decision, and found that the CAT had “misread, or mischaracterized, the CMA’s decision on critical issues”, and was “wrong” to set it aside. The Court concluded that, “the CAT’s remade decision was vitiated by procedural unfairness” and went on to set aside the re-taken decision. It concluded also that, because the CAT was wrong to set aside the CMA’s decision, it had no basis to remake the decision. Now, the Court will consider further submissions from the parties before deciding whether to reinstate the CMA’s decision, including fines.

ANTITRUST NEWS: The Canada Competition Bureau has obtained court orders to advance its investigation into Empire Company Limited’s use of property controls in Canada. The Bureau’s investigation is examining the company’s use of property controls across Canada to assess whether their practices harm competition in the retail grocery industry. Lack of competition in the grocery industry can result in higher prices, lower quality and less availability.

ANTITRUST NEWS: The White House Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy announced the launch of an update to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Agencies are authorized to begin eliminating one-third of requirements from their future contracts that are not required by statute or executive orders and have little to do with contract outcomes. This deregulation, combined with more streamlined buying procedures, will make it easier for agencies to leverage commercially-available solutions, including the innovations of small businesses, to provide better, more cost-effective services to taxpayers. The FAR Companion Guide provides strategic “how to” tips and other insights from experienced practitioners across the government on using the new streamlined FAR to meet taxpayer needs.

ANTITRUST NEWS: The Competition Authorities of the European Competition Network issued a joint statement acknowledging that call-in mechanisms can be an appropriate, useful and effective tool to protect competition in their respective territories and within the European Economic Area. An increasing number of Member States of the EEA have decided to include into their national law a ‘call-in mechanism’ as a complementary tool to their respective notification thresholds. The call-in mechanism allows competition authorities, under certain conditions, to assert jurisdiction over concentrations whose competitive impact may be harmful to actual or potential competition but otherwise would not be scrutinized. The joint statement recommended that the exercise of call-in mechanism should be limited to concentrations that would not be assessed under any other national notification thresholds in force but which, prima facie, could still lead to material anticompetitive effects in the relevant territory. Furthermore, the statement recommends that jurisdictions who wish to introduce a ‘call-in’ mechanism should strongly consider assessing the need to complement it with soft law instruments reinforcing legal certainty and predictability and reducing potential uncertainties.

ANTITRUST NEWS: The House passed the bipartisan Main Street Competes Act (H.R. 8882). The legislation, introduced by Representatives Derek Schmidt (R-KS) and Hillary Scholten (D-MI), strengthens the Small Business Administration's role in promoting competitive markets and evaluating whether antitrust enforcement is preserving opportunities for entrepreneurs and independent businesses.

ANTITRUST NEWS: On June 18, 2026, the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) filed an amicus brief in Uddin, et al. v. Elsevier, B.V. asking the Second Circuit to reverse a district court’s dismissal of a complaint for failing to allege an agreement in restraint of trade under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The complaint alleged an unlawful price-fixing and market-allocation conspiracy on the part of for-profit publishers of peer-reviewed scholarly journals. AAI’s brief argues that the district court misread Relevent Sports, where the Second Circuit held that a FIFA rule, characterized as a “sporting principle,” represented direct evidence of a Section 1 agreement where soccer leagues and teams had agreed to be bound by FIFA rules. The scholar-scientists’ allegations exactly track those held sufficient to allege an agreement in Relevent Sports. AAI also argues that, even if the other allegations are deemed to be circumstantial evidence, they are as probative as directive evidence of a Section 1 agreement. That is especially so given the illusive distinction between direct and strong circumstantial evidence. And when the scholar-scientists’ allegations are considered in their entirety, they show the publisher-defendants’ commitment to and enforcement of the principles. AAI also notes that the Supreme Court and courts of appeals have repeatedly found that ethical principles characterized in normative terms nevertheless are binding agreements under Section 1.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS—Del. Ch.: In a case that arose from the failed merger of grocery retailers Albertsons and Kroger, Albertsons Companies, Inc.’s motion to compel The Kroger Co. to produce documents under a stipulated privilege waiver (the “Motion”) was denied by the Delaware state Chancery Court except to the limited extent of providing guidance on the scope of the stipulated waiver as it applies to internal law firm communications. In the suit, Albertsons claims that Kroger willfully breached its obligation to use “best efforts” (and, ultimately, to take “any and all actions”) to eliminate antitrust impediments to the merger by proposing deficient divestiture packages. Albertsons’ Motion ignores this precedent.20 It instead relies on Bandera Master Fund LP v. Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP to argue that all “internal workings” of Kroger’s outside counsel are discoverable. Albertsons’ Motion ignores established precedent and instead argued that all “internal workings” of Kroger’s outside counsel are discoverable, according to the court (Albertsons Companies, Inc. v. The Kroger Co., No. 2024-1276-LWW (Del. Ch. Jun. 25, 2026)).

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: The European Commission has approved the acquisition of joint control of CloserStill Group Limited of the UK, by Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. and Providence Equity Partners L.L.C., both of the US. The transaction relates primarily to the organization of exhibitions and conferences in the EU. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the companies are not active in the same or vertically related markets. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: The European Commission has approved the acquisition of joint control of WH i3B BidCo, LLC (‘i3 Broadband') by T-Mobile USA, Inc., both of the US, and Kuwait Investment Authority (‘KIA') of Kuwait. The transaction relates primarily to broadband telecommunication services. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the limited impact on the European Economic Area. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.

AGENCY NEWS: President Donald Trump on June 25 nominated Konstantinos Ligris to serve as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. The Office of Justice Programs is the grantmaking component of the Justice Department. It houses the Department’s criminal and juvenile justice-related science, statistics, and programmatic agencies. Maureen A. Henneberg is the Deputy Assistant Attorney General and is currently leading the Office of Justice Programs in an acting capacity.

Attorneys: Sathya S. Gosselin (Hausfeld LLP) for Yelp Inc. John Edward Schmidtlein (Williams & Connolly LLP) for Google LLC. David G. Feher (Winston Taylor LLP) for Grant House. Beth A. Wilkinson (Wilkinson Stekloff LLP) for National Collegiate Athletic Association. Blake Rohrbacher (Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A.) for Albertsons Companies, Inc. Bradley R. Aronstam (Ross Aronstam & Moritz LLP) for The Kroger Co.

Companies: Yelp Inc.; Google LLC; National Collegiate Athletic Association; Albertsons Companies, Inc.; The Kroger Co.; CloserStill Group Limited; Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P.; Providence Equity Partners L.L.C.; WH i3B BidCo, LLC; T-Mobile USA, Inc.; Kuwait Investment Authority; LivCor, LLC, RealPage; Elsevier, B.V.; CVS Health Corporation; Google, LLC; Epic Games, Inc.; Pfizer Incorporated; Pfizer Limited; Flynn Pharma Limited

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