Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, WORTH NOTING: Other Antitrust and Trade Regulation developments, (May 8, 2026)

By WK Editorial Staff

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

ANTITRUST NEWS: Google LLC has signed agreements with federal and state antitrust officials relating to the establishment and operations of the technical committee (TC) that will assist in monitoring the company’s compliance with the final judgment of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys general from 13 states regarding Google’s general search services and general text advertising. In 2024, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found Google liable for antitrust violations through its use of exclusive distribution agreements to maintain its monopoly with respect to markets for general search services and general text advertising, but he found no violations with respect to search advertising, general search advertising, or Google’s SA360 platform. Last year, Judge Mehta rejected the arguments of federal and state antitrust enforcement that Google should be required to divest Chrome or the Android operating system as remedies for its anticompetitive behavior with respect to general search services and general text advertising. In a status update required by the final judgment, DoJ and the state AGs said that the first three “standing committee” members of the TC have identified two additional members and expect to file a motion to appoint them absent objection. The federal and state antitrust officials are working with the standing committee members to develop template search syndication and Search Text Ads syndication licenses, pursuant to the final judgment. The parties are also working to develop processes for certifying “qualified competitors”—entities that may benefit from the court’s data sharing and syndication remedies. “Given the work remaining, Plaintiffs have agreed with the Court that Qualified Competitors would likely begin to receive access to data and syndication services by late fall 2026 or early winter 2027 at the earliest,” the status report says (U.S. v. Google LLC, No. 1:20-cv-03010-APM (D.D.C. May 4, 2026)).

ANTITRUST NEWS: FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent a warning letter to national mortgage services provider Mortgage Connect urging the company to conduct a comprehensive review of its employment contracts—including any noncompete agreements or other restrictive covenants—to ensure they are appropriately tailored and comply with the law. The letter responds to material made public in an ongoing lawsuit where Mortgage Connect seeks to enforce a noncompete agreement against a former worker and the competitor who hired her. Information in the lawsuit appears to show that Mortgage Connect may have used unjustifiable noncompete agreements in employment contracts, with potential adverse effects on workers and competition, the Chairman’s letter states.

ANTITRUST NEWS: Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said he has joined Senate colleagues to demand the Trump administration crack down on anti-competitive restrictive covenants that raise grocery prices and worsen food insecurity in Oregon and nationwide. “When grocers leave a community, anti-competitive restrictive covenants further cement the harm caused by the initial loss of the store, leaving consumers without ready access to food or more exposed to high food prices with fewer choices to seek better deals,” Wyden and the other senators wrote to Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson. “Additionally, when a grocery store closes, communities often lose a neighborhood pharmacy, and anti-competitive restrictive covenants can prolong pharmacy deserts.”

ANTITRUST NEWS: The European Commission has published its report on competition policy for 2025. The report presents the main legislative initiatives and policy developments of 2025, as well as a selection of enforcement actions, to citizens, businesses and the competition policy community.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: After a public comment period for which the FTC provided an analysis to aid public comment, the agency finalized a consent order resolving antitrust concerns related to a deal between Valvoline Inc. and private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Fund V., L.P. (Greenbriar). The final consent order requires the divestiture of 45 quick-lube oil change shops to address antitrust concerns surrounding Valvoline’s acquisition of approximately 200 quick-lube oil change outlets from Greenbriar. The FTC’s complaint alleged that acquisition would eliminate competition across 25 local markets where Valvoline and Oil Changers, a subsidiary of Greenbriar, directly compete in offering quick-lube oil changes. Under the terms of the FTC’s final order, Main Street Auto LLC will acquire the divested outlets from Greenbriar and operate them under the name Oil Changers. The order will protect Americans from higher prices for quick-lube oil changes and lower quality quick-lube oil change services in California, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Washington and Wisconsin.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: Canada’s The Competition Bureau announced that it has filed an application with the Competition Tribunal challenging Keyera Corp.’s (Keyera) proposed acquisition of Plains All American Pipeline L.P.’s (Plains) Canadian natural gas liquids business. The Bureau is challenging the proposed transaction because it would reduce competition at Canada’s most important natural gas liquids hub at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, harming Canadian energy producers and increasing costs across the supply chain.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: The FTC will host a workshop titled “Eleventh-Hour Antitrust Remedy Proposals and Litigating the Fix” on May 20th at 9am. It will discuss the rise in litigate-the-fix cases and how federal enforcers and the courts should respond. Litigate-the-fix cases arise when merging parties propose remedies late in the antitrust review process or even during litigation, forcing the courts, rather than the antitrust agencies, to determine whether the proposed remedy is sufficient. The workshop will be held at FTC headquarters and can be viewed via a livestream.

ADVERTISING NEWS: Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced that Arkansas had reached a settlement with Walmart, Inc. following a lawsuit brought by the FTC and 11 other states for deceptive trade practices. In February, the FTC announced that Walmart had agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims that it deceived its delivery drivers about the base pay, incentive pay, and tips they could earn. The FTC had alleged that these practices violated the FTC Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Arkansas was not part of the original lawsuit, but we have reached a subsequent settlement with identical terms to the FTC action. Walmart will pay Arkansas $847,847.30 in civil penalties.

FRANCHISING & DISTRIBUTION—D. Ariz.: The federal district court in Arizona granted a motion filed by golf-cart manufacturer Textron Specialized Vehicles Incorporated to transfer a case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Augusta Division. Textron had filed the motion, arguing that a forum selection clause in its agreements with plaintiff Pohle NV Center Incorporated, a golf-cart retailer, specifying that disputes must be heard “either in Georgia State Superior Court for the County of Richmond, or in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Augusta Division,” should be enforced. Arguing against transfer, Pohle sought instead for the court to apply Arizona’s comprehensive motor vehicle manufacturer-dealer and franchisor-franchisee regulatory scheme to its relationship with Textron, contending that golf carts are passenger cars within the statutes’ regulatory reach. All three claims arise out of dealer agreements between the parties, and each agreement contains the Georgia forum selection clause. To contest the enforcement of the forum selection clause, Pohle argued that Arizona has a “local interest” in hearing this case because

“all key events giving rise to the dispute occurred in Arizona,” the alleged statutory violations occurred in Arizona. The court determined that those interests, which speak only to convenience and private interests, are insufficient to overcome an otherwise enforceable forum selection clause. Atlantic Marine supplies the standard here because there is a valid forum selection clause, and in that case the Supreme Court squarely rejected Pohle’s position, particularly because it rested on the flawed assumption that a federal judge cannot competently apply the laws of states outside the state in which he sits. It makes no difference if the question of state law is one of first impression, as the Georgia district court may certify a question of Arizona law to the Supreme Court of Arizona, the court noted. This is not an unusual case, the court said, and it would transfer this case to the forum that Pohle contracted for (Pohle NV Center Inc. v. Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., No. 2:26-cv-01098-MTL (D. Ariz. Apr. 29, 2026)).

INDUSTRY NEWS: Two team members at the Computer & Communications Industry Association have been promoted. CCIA Vice President for Federal Affairs Brian McMillan will take on a new role as Vice President for Public Policy and will head the association’s U.S. policy development. McMillan came to CCIA more than two years ago after working on tech and AI issues for almost a decade. Burke Kappler has been promoted to Director of the CCIA Litigation Center, and will lead the association’s expanding litigation portfolio. Kappler joined CCIA last year after 19 years at the FTC, most recently in leadership roles in the Office of General Counsel.

Attorneys: Tina M. Ezzell (Tiffany & Bosco PA) for Pohle NV Center Inc. Connor A. Sabatino (Foley & Lardner LLP) for Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. Danielle G. Hauck, U.S. Department of Justice, for the U.S. Amanda J. Wentz, Arkansas Attorney General's Office, for the State of Arkansas. Benjamin Joseph Horwich (Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP) for Google LLC. Brandon Kressin (Kressin Powers LLC) for Y Combinator.

Companies: Walmart, Inc.; Pohle NV Center Inc.; Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc.; Google LLC; Y Combinator; Mortgage Connect; Valvoline Inc.; Greenbriar Equity Fund V., L.P.; Keyera Corp.; Plains All American Pipeline L.P.

News: AcquisitionsMergers Antitrust Advertising FranchisingDistribution ArizonaNews FederalTradeCommissionNews DistrictofColumbiaNews