( August 3, 2026, 21:43 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: A US judge has denied Portable Power's motion to dismiss counterclaims brought by Energizer as part of an antitrust case against Energizer and Walmart. Energizer has alleged that from 2016 to 2023, Portable Power owner Richard Petretti coerced and manipulated an Energizer contractor into giving him confidential information, then gave that information to litigation funder Amicus Capital, which is allegedly involved in bankrolling Portable Power's antitrust lawsuit. But the order, filed in the Northern District of California, said Portable Power's assertion that the Noerr-Pennington doctrine bars the counterclaims fails because the connection between Portable Power's lawsuit and the purportedly illegal sharing of Energizer's confidential business information with Peretti "is too attenuated to fall within the scope of Noerr-Pennington." California's litigation privilege does not bar Energizer's claims, the California Uniform Trade Secret Act does not preempt Energizer's other state law claims, and nor does California's anti-SLAPP statute bar the claims, the filing said.See attached document....
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