LabMD litigation against FTC lingers
Although the Federal Trade Commission won its effort to quash a lawsuit over its probe of LabMD, the now-defunct medical laboratory is still trying to sue three agency employees.
The pushback on convenience, resort and junk fees
Unexpected, surreptitious fees in retail transactions — additions like “convenience fees” and “resort fees” — have proliferated wildly over the past 30 years. When they aren’t clearly disclosed at the start of a transaction, their omission can deceive consumers and distort the purchase decision....
Current Issue: 858
Oops. FTC reconsiders and takes Phoebe Putney back to court
For awhile there, it looked like the protracted litigation involving the FTC’s challenge to Phoebe Putney Health System Inc.’s acquisition of rival Palmyra Park Hospital, Inc. in Albany, Ga., might...
Cautious, affable new Commissioner talks about her priorities
It took the better part of a year for the dysfunctional Senate to act on her nomination, but Terrell McSweeny seems right at home. Since being sworn into office at the end of April as the fourth...
Brill says FTC will try to avoid new privacy rules
Like many lawyers and regulators (to say nothing of regulators who are lawyers), Commissioner Julie Brill is often big on rules. But on a slew of privacy-regulated issues, she said the focus in the...
Questions raised by split vote in pay-for-delay case
As FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez spoke with reporters about the Commission’s recent case against several pharmaceutical firms for allegedly scheming to delay consumers’ access to lower-cost generic...
Dollar-store takeover battle draws antitrust scrutiny
Big money is on the table in the high-stakes acquisition battle raging around three discount retail merchandisers.
Neil Averitt commentary: Challenges to bad-faith patent claims on the horizon
The FTC is likely to start moving more aggressively against unwarranted, bad-faith assertions of patent rights. The recent AndroGel complaint sets down a marker on that. However, the exact breadth...