9 October 2025 • 8 minute read

Inside Competition: October 2025

The latest in antitrust and competition law

Inside Competition is designed to help companies identify key legal developments in antitrust and competition law in the United States.

In addition to reporting on antitrust litigation and enforcement actions over the previous month, this bulletin will address policy developments, regulatory trends, and agency priorities shaping competition law today.

Our goal is to provide insights that help businesses identify risk, respond to investigations, and compete in a rapidly evolving legal landscape.

Civil litigation

Birkin bag tying claims against Hermès dismissed. In Tina Cavalleri et al. v. Hermès International et al., case number 3:24-cv-01707, a California federal judge dismissed with prejudice a proposed class action alleging Hermès tied the purchase of its Birkin handbags to other items, such as shoes and jewelry. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to define a coherent “elitist luxury handbag” market, demonstrate Hermès’s market power, or identify a plausible tied-product market encompassing the various goods that consumers were allegedly forced to purchase.

Illinois judge dismisses financial aid price-fixing suit against 40 private universities. In Hansen et al. v. Northwestern University et al., case number 1:24-cv-09667, an Illinois federal judge dismissed antitrust allegations that 40 private universities conspired to inflate net tuition by considering noncustodial parent financial data through the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile. The court ruled that it lacked personal jurisdiction over 15 non-Illinois schools and found the plaintiffs’ assertions of a broad agreement among the 40 defendants to be conclusory. Although the complaint alleged that all universities required noncustodial parent data, it did not adequately explain how each institution used the data similarly or why similarly situated schools were omitted.

Washington court rejects price-fixing claims tied to CoStar’s hotel benchmarking reports. In Jeanette Portillo et al. v. CoStar Group Inc. et al., case number 2:24-cv-00229, a Washington federal judge dismissed a putative class action accusing CoStar’s Smith Travel Research (STR) benchmarking reports and several major hotel chains of facilitating hotel room price-fixing. The court held that the aggregated, anonymized historical data at issue did not reveal actual room-specific prices or other competitively sensitive information. In dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims, the judge labeled the plaintiffs’ “price information” allegations as “linguistic stretches” founded upon “unwarranted deductions of fact” and “unreasonable inferences.”

Criminal enforcement

Manhattan DA to use state antitrust laws against wage fixing. On September 3, Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg announced that his office will be the first in New York to use state criminal antitrust laws to prosecute companies that collude to suppress workers’ wages. Bragg stated that wage fixing undermines fair competition and harms workers, particularly in the healthcare and food service sectors. Bragg called on unions, lawyers, and professional organizations to contact his office with information about such practices. This initiative is part of a broader effort by the Manhattan DA’s office to address wage theft. Since establishing the Worker Protection Unit in February 2023, the unit has recovered USD1.3 million in unpaid wages. Bragg emphasized that no other local county is currently using criminal antitrust laws in this manner, positioning Manhattan as a leader in combating wage-fixing and worker exploitation.

Miami seafood executive pleads guilty to price-fixing conspiracy. In United States v. Dopico, case number 1:25-cv-20393-CMA, Dennis Dopico, vice president of a Miami-based seafood wholesaler, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring with competitors to fix prices paid to Florida fishermen for stone crab claws and spiny lobster. According to the plea agreement, from 2023 to 2025, Dopico and others coordinated via text and phone to set and adjust purchase prices, allegedly suppressing competition and depressing fishermen’s earnings. The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged the conspiracy involved approximately USD8 million in commerce. Dopico admitted to one felony count under the Sherman Act and faces up to ten years in prison and a USD1 million fine, with sentencing set for January 5, 2026. DOJ officials emphasized that price fixing harms fishermen, restaurants, and consumers, and pledged to protect fair competition and the integrity of natural resource markets. The case is being prosecuted by DOJ’s Antitrust Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service leading the investigation.

DOJ official signals major changes to antitrust leniency program. On September 17, Omeed Assefi, acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General (AG) for criminal antitrust enforcement at the DOJ, announced that significant changes to DOJ’s antitrust leniency program are expected before the end of his tenure. Assefi stated that leniency applicants seeking immunity for self-reporting antitrust violations will be required to provide substantial assistance, including testifying before grand juries and fully cooperating with investigations. He emphasized that leniency will not be granted to those unwilling to meaningfully advance DOJ cases, and that the agency aims to balance strong case generation with clear, predictable standards. While leniency applications have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, some practitioners have raised concerns about the burdens and risks, especially exposure to civil litigation. Assefi encouraged applicants to work closely with DOJ Antitrust Division staff and highlighted a new whistleblower program with the United States Postal Service to incentivize reporting of postal service-related antitrust violations.

DOJ expands criminal antitrust enforcement with whistleblower rewards and leniency program reforms. In July, DOJ’s Antitrust Division launched a new whistleblower-rewards program and announced proposed changes to its leniency policy. In September, Daniel W. Glad, Director of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, announced that the whistleblower program had already begun receiving valuable submissions from industry insiders and legal counsel. The program offers financial incentives to individuals who report cartel activity and other antitrust violations. Omeed Assefi also noted that the program, informally dubbed “Cash for Cartels,” is part of a broader effort to expand the division’s pipeline of criminal cases. He emphasized the need to address concerns about a two-tier justice system and highlighted a commitment to treating white-collar antitrust offenses with the same level of enforcement as violent crimes.

Civil enforcement

Recent FTC actions on noncompete agreements. Throughout September, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took various actions against noncompete agreements. On September 4, the FTC sued and entered a proposed consent order with Gateway Services and its subsidiary for allegedly imposing illegal noncompete agreements on its employees, preventing them from working in the pet cremation service industry anywhere in the United States. The proposed consent order prohibits Gateway Services from entering into or enforcing noncompete agreements and from alerting employees that the agreements are inoperable. On the same day, the FTC issued a request for information about employer noncompete agreements, providing the public 60 days to comment. The following week, FTC Chair Andrew N. Ferguson sent letters to large healthcare employers and staffing firms urging them to review their employment agreements, including noncompete agreements, stating that many healthcare companies use “unreasonable noncompete agreements in employment contracts for vital roles like nurses, physicians, and other medical professionals.” Lastly, on September 17, the FTC announced a workshop titled “Moving Forward: Protecting American Workers from Anticompetitive Noncompete Agreements,” which was held on October 8, 2025.

Judge enters remedy in Google search antitrust matter. In early October, DC District Court Judge Amit Mehta issued a remedies order in the Google search antitrust matter. Judge Mehta’s ruling requires Google to share search information with rivals to improve competition with the search engine. Google is also prohibited from entering into exclusive deals for search or artificial intelligence (AI) assistant (Google Gemini) products with other companies. Judge Mehta declined to order the stronger remedies proposed by DOJ and did not require Google to sell its Chrome web browser.

FTC sues Live Nation for allegedly deceptive ticket prices. The FTC and seven states sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in the Central District of California for coordinating with brokers to buy and sell millions of dollars’ worth of tickets at allegedly marked-up prices. The FTC and the seven states allege that Live Nation and Ticketmaster deceived both consumers and artists by advertising lower ticket prices, then coordinating with ticket brokers to sell at a substantial markup. The actions are alleged to be in violation of the FTC Act’s prohibition on deceptive practices, as well as the Better Online Ticket Sales Act.

Connecticut’s AG requests information on WNBA’s Connecticut Sun franchise. Connecticut AG William Tong has asked the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for documents and information regarding the sale of the Connecticut Sun franchise. The request followed a public letter from United States Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), urging the WNBA not to engage in the Connecticut Sun’s sale negotiations. Although the current owner, the Mohegan Tribe, has reportedly received a sale offer of USD325 million, reports indicate that the WNBA has refused to approve the sale and has offered USD250 million to purchase the team itself.

Merger review and challenges

Annual HSR report shows a slight increase in the number of reportable deals. The FTC and DOJ’s Antitrust Division released the 47th Annual Report on the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) program, covering the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024. The agencies reported a total of 2,031 notifiable transactions – an increase from 1,805 in the 2023 fiscal year, but still below the peak of 3,520 transactions recorded in 2021. Approximately 25.6 percent of the 2,031 transactions were valued at more than USD1 billion. The agencies initiated in-depth investigations, also known as “Second Requests,” in about 3 percent of all reported transactions, consistent with historical trends. Approximately half of those investigations – representing about 1.6 percent of all transactions – resulted in either abandonment of the deal, the imposition of remedies, or litigation.