Overview
- A federal court in the Eastern District of Texas on February 12 vacated the 2025 Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification form in full.
- The judge found the FTC failed to show the expanded requirements’ benefits reasonably outweighed their costs and did not perform an adequate cost-benefit analysis.
- The court cited an FTC 2024 statement calling the longstanding system a success and noted FTC counsel could not identify an unlawful merger the new rules would have prevented.
- The vacatur applies nationwide and is not limited to the plaintiff organizations, rejecting the FTC’s request to confine relief.
- The ruling is stayed until February 20, during which the new form remains in effect; absent emergency relief from the Fifth Circuit, filings on or after that date are expected to revert to the prior form, while a granted stay would keep the new form in place during appeal.