New York v. Deutsche Telekom

Last updated

New York v. Deutsche Telekom

New York v. Deutsche Telekom was a lawsuit filed by nine states and Washington D.C. to block the merger of T-Mobile US and Sprint Corporation. The suit was filed by State Attorneys General from New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The case was led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, with Federal Southern District of New York Judge Victor Marrero presiding. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

The case was filed while the US Department of Justice was in the process of approving the merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US. The states filed the merger due to concerns that the merger violated antitrust laws, being anti-competitive, would lessen the number of jobs available and would create higher pricing for consumers. NY AG stated, in connection with why the lawsuit was filed that:

When it comes to corporate power, bigger isn't always better. The T-Mobile and Sprint merger would not only cause irreparable harm to mobile subscribers nationwide by cutting access to affordable, reliable wireless service for millions of Americans, but would particularly affect lower-income and minority communities here in New York and in urban areas across the country. That's why we are going to court to stop this merger and protect our consumers, because this is exactly the sort of consumer-harming, job-killing megamerger our antitrust laws were designed to prevent. [1] [2]

The trial was initially set to begin on October 7, 2019.

The trial had many opponents initially, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FCC. [3] [4] FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called the lawsuit "misguided" and stated, "And make no mistake about it, government officials trying to block this transaction are working to stop many upstate New Yorkers and other rural Americans from getting access to fast mobile broadband and all of the benefits that come with it." [4]

After the DOJ delayed giving the documents of their settlement with T-Mobile and Sprint, the State AGs requested a delay of the start date of the trial. [5] After consideration and hearing pre-trial arguments, the judge delayed the start of the trial to December 9, 2019. [6] NY AG Letitia James stated once she reviewed the settlement documents between the DOJ and Sprint and T-Mobile that "Our case against T-Mobile is an antitrust violation, obviously we're concerned with anti-competitive behavior. So providing public benefits are good, but it does not address the antitrust violations."

Between the time of the announcement of the trial and the beginning of the trial, eight additional states entered the trial alongside the other State AGs: Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, and Texas. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Before the trial began, the defendants entered settlement talks with all the state AGs involved in the case. [12] Due to this, they successfully settled with the AGs of Mississippi, Colorado, Texas, and Nevada prior to the trial beginning. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] They also attempted to settle with each of the other State AGs, but these talks eventually fell through before the trial began, leaving 14 State AGs in the trial.

Ruling

On February 11, 2020, District Judge Victor Marrero officially announced his decision to side with Sprint and T-Mobile, officially giving federal district court approval to the merger. He stated that "the merger is not likely to substantially lessen competition like the suing state AGs had claimed it would" and also that Sprint "does not have a sustainable long-term competitive strategy [to remain a viable competitor]." [18] [19] [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merrick Garland</span> American lawyer and jurist (born 1952)

Merrick Brian Garland is an American lawyer and jurist who served as the 86th United States attorney general from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as a circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021. In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the U.S. Senate refused to hold a vote to confirm him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanita Gupta</span> American lawyer (born 1974)

Vanita Gupta is an American attorney who served as United States Associate Attorney General from April 22, 2021, to February 2, 2024. From 2014 to 2017, Gupta served as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division under President Barack Obama. She was considered one of the top choices of the Harris campaign for Attorney General.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Paxton</span> American politician and lawyer

Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Texas Senate representing the eighth district and as a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

Daniel M. Petrocelli is a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP and the Chair of the firm’s Trial Practice Committee. Petrocelli is known in part for his work in a 1997 wrongful death civil suit against O. J. Simpson, for representing Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, and for his leading role in defeating the US Department of Justice’s attempt to block the merger of AT&T and Time Warner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attempted acquisition of T-Mobile USA by AT&T</span> Proposed corporate acquisition

On March 20, 2011, AT&T announced that it would purchase T-Mobile USA. On August 31, 2011, the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice formally announced that it would seek to block the takeover, and filed a lawsuit to such effect in federal court. The bid was abandoned by AT&T on December 19, 2011.

American Airlines Group Inc. is an American publicly traded airline holding company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It was formed on December 9, 2013, by the merger of AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, and US Airways Group, the parent company of US Airways. Integration was completed when the Federal Aviation Administration granted a single operating certificate for both carriers on April 8, 2015, and all flights now operate under the American Airlines brand.

High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation is a 2010 United States Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust action and a 2013 civil class action against several Silicon Valley companies for alleged "no cold call" agreements which restrained the recruitment of high-tech employees.

Google has been involved in multiple lawsuits over issues such as privacy, advertising, intellectual property and various Google services such as Google Books and YouTube. The company's legal department expanded from one to nearly 100 lawyers in the first five years of business, and by 2014 had grown to around 400 lawyers. Google's Chief Legal Officer is Senior Vice President of Corporate Development David Drummond.

The following is a list of notable lawsuits involving United States president Donald Trump. The list excludes cases that only name Trump as a legal formality in his capacity as president, such as habeas corpus requests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makan Delrahim</span> Iranian-American attorney and lobbyist (born 1969)

Makan Delrahim is an Iranian-American attorney and lobbyist. From 2017 to 2021, Delrahim served under President Donald Trump as Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Antitrust Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US</span> Events and timeline

Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US merged in 2020 in an all shares deal for $26 billion. The deal was announced on April 29, 2018. After a two-year-long approval process the merger was closed on April 1, 2020, with T-Mobile emerging as the surviving brand. The Sprint brand was discontinued by T-Mobile on August 2, 2020.

This is a timeline of events from 2020 to 2022 related to investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, both before and after July 2016, until November 8, 2016, election day, the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and the first and second halves of 2019.

<i>Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms, Inc.</i> United States ongoing antitrust court case

Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms, Inc. is an ongoing antitrust court case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Facebook parent company Meta Platforms. The lawsuit alleges that Meta has accumulated monopoly power via anti-competitive mergers, with the suit centering on the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Kanter</span> American lawyer (born 1973)

Jonathan Seth Kanter is an American lawyer who served as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) from 2021 to 2024, during the administration of President Joe Biden. Kanter previously worked as an antitrust attorney at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and in private practice.

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is an American plaintiffs' law firm that engages in large-scale class action litigation.

<i>United States v. Google LLC</i> (2020) Antitrust case alleging Google illegally dominates internet search

United States v. Google LLC is an ongoing federal antitrust case brought by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) against Google LLC on October 20, 2020. The suit alleges that Google has violated the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 by illegally monopolizing the search engine and search advertising markets, most notably on Android devices, as well as with Apple and mobile carriers.

Jonathan Thomas Skrmetti is an American attorney and public official. He currently serves as the 28th Attorney General and Reporter for the state of Tennessee.

In October 2022, American grocery chain Kroger agreed to purchase rival Albertsons for $24.6 billion. Both companies, comprising two of the largest supermarket chains in the United States, serve most of the country's mid-tier grocery market. Kroger planned to compete with non-union grocery chain Amazon Fresh, which includes Whole Foods Market, discount department store chains Target and Walmart, and the warehouse club retail chains Costco and Sam's Club. This merger would have created one of the largest grocery store chains in the United States, combining nearly 5,000 stores and employing approximately 700,000 people.

<i>United States v. Google LLC</i> (2023) Antitrust case alleging Google illegally dominates digital advertising

United States v. Google LLC is an ongoing federal antitrust case brought by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) against Google LLC on January 24, 2023. The suit accuses Google of illegally monopolizing the advertising technology (adtech) market in violation of sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. The suit is separate from the first antitrust case launched in 2020 that accuses Google of an illegal monopoly in the search engine market.

<i>United States v. Live Nation Entertainment</i> Ongoing American antitrust lawsuit

United States, et al. v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC is an antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and twenty-nine states and Washington, D.C., against entertainment company Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster, following the Taylor Swift–Ticketmaster controversy in 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 "New York Attorney General and nine other states file lawsuit to block T-Mobile and Sprint's merger" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "New York Attorney General James Moves To Block T-Mobile And Sprint Megamerger| New York State Attorney General". ag.ny.gov. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Justice Department reportedly trying to get state AGs to support T-Mobile and Sprint's merger" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "FCC Chairman again voices support for T-Mobile-Sprint merger, calls lawsuit against it 'misguided'" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  5. ↑ "State attorneys general seeking delay of T-Mobile-Sprint merger trial" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  6. ↑ Eggerton, John (August 2, 2019). "Court Delays Start of T-Mobile-Sprint Suit to December". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Texas joining states' lawsuit to block the T-Mobile-Sprint merger" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Oregon is the latest state to join lawsuit to block the T-Mobile, Sprint merger" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Illinois' Kwame Raoul becomes 17th state AG to join lawsuit against T-Mobile and Sprint merger" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Dish's Ergen said to be taking his time with T-Mobile assets deal as four states join lawsuit to block merger" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Pennsylvania is the 18th state to join the lawsuit against T-Mobile and Sprint's merger" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  12. ↑ "T-Mobile and Sprint rumored to have started early settlement talks with state AGs" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Mississippi announces support for T-Mobile-Sprint merger after reaching new agreement" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Colorado leaves T-Mobile-Sprint merger lawsuit after reaching agreements with Dish and T-Mo" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  15. ↑ "New York AG Letitia James says T-Mobile merger commitments don't address antitrust violations" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Texas reaches settlement with T-Mobile, withdraws from merger lawsuit" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Nevada announces its own settlement with T-Mobile and withdraws from lawsuit against merger" . Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  18. ↑ "T-Mobile Wins Court Approval for $26.5 Billion Sprint Deal". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Judge approves T-Mobile-Sprint merger" . Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  20. ↑ "T-Mobile and Sprint merger approved by federal judge". Engadget. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.