Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On April 27, the FTC settled charges against two companies for unfair and deceptive rebate practices. The FTC’s complaint against Soyo, Inc., a Nevada corporation, alleges that most of Soyo’s rebates were delivered late – in some cases, consumers had to wait a year or longer for their checks to arrive. The FTC’s complaint against the InPhonic, a Delaware corporation, alleges that, in connection with its advertised rebate offers, among other things, the company failed to provide promised documents needed to obtain rebates, to send out rebate checks in the time promised, and to disclose adequately certain material terms and conditions prior to purchase. The settlements bar the companies from similar violations in the future and require them to pay outstanding rebates to affected consumers.

Continue reading " FTC Settles Two Complaints Charging Rebate-Fulfillment Violations " »

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On April 24, the FTC mailed out an additional 1,500 claim forms for reimbursement to consumers who may have been victims of identity theft due to alleged security lapses at data broker ChoicePoint, Inc.

In December, 2006, the FTC mailed claim forms to 1,400 consumers.
In 2005, ChoicePoint, which compiles and sells personal information, announced that it had sold information about many consumers to people who turned out to be identity thieves. The FTC, after some investigation found this to be the case. In the settlement between the FTC and ChoicePoint the company was required to pay $5 million to be used to reimburse consumers for expenses due to identity theft caused by ChoicePoint’s security breach.

Continue reading " FTC Identifies Additional Group of ChoicePoint Identity Theft Victims Who May Qualify for Redress " »

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On April 18, the DOJ reached a settlement with Chicago-based Amsted Industries Incorporated in order to remedy harm to competition arising from its December 2005 acquisition of FM Industries (“FMI”). Before the acquisition could be approved Amstead had to divest certain assets. FMI formerly was a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Holding Corporation. The DOJ alleged that the acquisition removed Amsted’s only competitor in new end-of-car cushioning units (“EOCCs”) used in the railroad industry, resulted in higher prices, and substantially lessened competition in the market for used EOCCs.

Continue reading " Justice Department Requires Divestitures in Amsted Industries Inc.’s Purchase of FM Industries " »

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On April 17, Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, announced that Deborah A. Garza will serve as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Regulatory Matters. Ms. Garza will oversee transportation, energy, agriculture, telecommunications and other regulatory matters for the Division. Most recently, Ms. Garza chaired the Antitrust Modernization Commission (“AMC”), a bi-partisan panel created by Congress to evaluate the U.S. antitrust laws and make recommendations on U.S. antitrust law and policy. The AMC issued its report to the President and Congress on April 2, 2007. Since 2001, Ms. Garza engaged in a wide range of antitrust counseling and litigation with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, including transactions in the transportation, energy, telecommunications, and high-tech industries. Ms. Garza previously served in the Antitrust Division as chief of staff and counselor from 1988 to 1989, and as a special assistant to the Assistant Attorney General from 1984 to 1985.

Continue reading " Antitrust Division Names New Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Regulatory Matters " »

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On April 17, the DOJ and the FTC issued a joint report, “Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights: Promoting Innovation and Competition,” to inform consumers, businesses, and intellectual property rights holders about the agencies’ competition views with respect to a wide range of activities involving intellectual property.

Continue reading " Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Issue Report on Antitrust and Intellectual Property " »

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On April 16, the FTC requested Actavis Group’s (“Actavis”) and Abrika Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Abrika”) divest all rights and assets needed to make and market generic isradipine capsules to Cobalt Laboratories, Inc. (“Cobalt”) within 10 days of the proposed acquisition. The FTC challenged the terms of the acquisition alleging that the transaction would create a monopoly in the U.S. market for generic isradipine capsules, a drug typically prescribed to patients to lower their blood pressure and also is used to treat hypertension, ischemia, and depression.

Continue reading " FTC Challenges Actavis Group's Proposed Acquisition of Abrika " »

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On April 13, the FTC filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court of Western Pennsylvania, to stop Equitable Resources, Inc.’s (“Equitable”) proposed acquisition of The Peoples Natural Gas Company (“Dominion Peoples”), a subsidiary of Dominion Resources, Inc. The FTC alleged that the acquisition would lead to higher prices for the local distribution of natural gas to nonresidential customers in some areas of western Pennsylvania.

Continue reading " FTC Files Complaint in Federal District Court Seeking to Block Equitable Resources’ Acquisition of The Peoples Natural Gas Company from Dominion Resources " »

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On April 13, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico issued a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) to prevent Western Refining, Inc. from closing on its proposed $1.4 billion acquisition of Giant Industries, Inc., pending the completion of a preliminary injunction hearing.
On April 10, 2007, the FTC approved a complaint challenging the acquisition and authorized FTC staff to seek a preliminary injunction in federal district court to block the proposed transaction.
The federal district court complaint alleged that the acquisition would lead to reduced competition and higher prices for the bulk supply of light petroleum products, including gasoline, to northern New Mexico, an area of the country where the companies are direct and significant competitors.

Continue reading " New Mexico Court Temporarily Blocks Western Refining’s Acquisition of Rival Energy Company Giant Industries, Inc. " »

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On April 4, the DOJ announced that it reached a settlement that will require Mexico-based Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. to divest 39 ready mix concrete, concrete block, and aggregate facilities in Arizona and Florida in the event Cemex succeeds in its hostile takeover of Australia-based Rinker Group. The DOJ said that without the divestitures the proposed acquisition would substantially lessen competition for ready mix concrete in certain metropolitan areas in Arizona and Florida, as well as result in increased prices for ready mix concrete, concrete block, and aggregate sold to customers handling state Department of Transportation and large building projects. The total value of the Cemex/Rinker transaction, including Rinker’s debt, is approximately $12 billion.

Continue reading " Justice Department Requires Divestitures in Cemex’s Acquisition of Rinker Group " »

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