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On May 2, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against the Consolidated Multiple Listing Services (“CMLS”) of Columbia, SC. The lawsuit, filed at the U.S. District Court in Columbia, SC, alleges that the CMLS’s rules regarding who can be a member and how those brokers must conduct their business stifles…

On July 18, the FTC announced that it reached a settlement that would allow Linde AG’s acquisition of the BOC Group to proceed. As is typical in merger reviews, the FTC staff focused on specific product overlaps to determine what assets needed to be divested to resolve the antitrust concerns. The Commission approved the merger…

On June 26, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) appeal of the Eleventh Circuit’s decision that Schering-Plough Corp. (“Schering”) legally paid two generic drug competitors to stay out of the market as part of a settlement to patent litigation. In the past, the FTC has taken a consistently…

On June 8, it was reported that the Chinese State Council had approved draft legislation of the so-called Antimonopoly Law. This legislation aims to provide a free and fair competitive environment to all enterprises. The new law, which is expected to be passed in March 2007, contains articles regulating monopoly agreements, abuse of dominant market…

On April 14, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division (“Antitrust Division”) announced a $1.8 million civil settlement against merger partners Qualcomm and Flarion Technologies alleging “gun-jumping” violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“HSR Act”). The action underscores the Antitrust Division’s resolve to vigorously scrutinize the conduct of merging parties prior to consummation of…

On December 20, 2005, the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division entered into a settlement agreement with UnitedHealth to resolve the DOJ’s antitrust concerns related to UnitedHealth’s acquisition of PacifiCare.  The settlement agreement covered three geographic markets:  Tucson, Arizona; Boulder, Colorado; and California. Tucson, Arizona The DOJ was concerned that UnitedHealth and PacifiCare were among…