Articles Posted in Civil Non-Merger Highlights

On June 6, the Federal Trade Commission authorized the filing of a joint amicus brief with the U.S. Department of Justice in the case of Latino Quimica-Amtex S.A. v. Atofina, et al., No. 05-5754-CV (2d Cir.). The case involves an international price-fixing conspiracy by manufacturers of two chemicals, sodium monochloroacetate and monochloroacetic acid, which are…

On May 31, the Commission has authorized the staff to file a joint amicus brief with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the case of Weyerhaeuser Co. v. Ross-Simmons Hardwood Lumber Co., No. 05-381 (S. Ct.). The brief, which was filed on May 26, 2006, urges the Court to grant certiorari in this case,…

On May 23, the Department of Justice approved Precision Castparts Corp.'s $540 million cash acquisition of Special Metals Corp. Huntington, West Virginia based Special Metals is the world's biggest maker of nickel-based alloys and superalloys for forged products. Precision, based in Portland, Oregon, is one of Special Metals' customers and manufactures components for the aerospace,…

On May 12, the DOJ told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that it is necessary to extend the term of certain portions of the Microsoft final judgment by at least two years. The DOJ said that an extension is necessary due to Microsoft's difficulty in improving the technical documentation it provides…

On May 9, a judge with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit raised questions about EarthLink, Inc.'s (“EarthLink”) assertion that the FCC erred when it stopped requiring the Bell operating companies (“BOCs”) to make available unbundled network elements for the broadband market because there isn't any competition in the sector. The judge…

On April 28, the Federal Trade Commission (“Commission”) authorized the staffs of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Bureau of Economics and Office of Policy Planning to file comments with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) concerning the FDA's recently issued draft guidance for industry and agency staff on labeling statements about the whole grain…

On April 27, the DOJ announced Hughey Inc., which does business as Carmel Concrete Products (“Carmel”), and its president, Scott D. Hughey agreed to plead guilty and pay criminal fines for fixing the price of ready mixed concrete in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Under the plea agreement, which must be approved by the court, Carmel…

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 March 29th, the Federal Trade Commission announced its intention to conduct a study of the use, and likely short- and long-term competitive effects, of authorized generics in the prescription drug marketplace. An authorized generic is chemically identical to a particular brand-name drug, but the brand-name manufacturer authorizes it to be marketed in a generic…

The staff of the FTC stated on March 18 in an advisory opinion letter that the proposed plan by a physician-hospital organization that would involve collective bargaining with insurers over doctor fees likely would violate federal antitrust laws. The staff concluded that the price and other competitive restraints proposed by the network were not reasonably…