Articles Posted in Civil Non-Merger Highlights

On March 5, 2014, the FTC announced that it has stepped up its enforcement efforts of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. According to FTC’s press release, while its debt collection efforts in the past have focused on research and consumer education, the Commission has focused on law enforcement efforts in recent years, especially after…

On February 19,2014, the Federal Commercial Court of Moscow upheld the fine given by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) on the Velikolysk meat plant for its part in a cartel of large meat packers that colluded to raise prices on a government acquisition of meat products. The FAS, in a press release, have also confirmed…

On February 18, 2014, U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle granted a motion by U.S. hotel chains and online travel agencies to dismiss without prejudice an antitrust case alleging consumers paid inflated prices on hotel rooms booked online. Judge Boyle believed there to be two main arguments from the plaintiffs:  first, defendants conspired to restrain competition in…

On February 18, 2014, Germany’s competition authority, the Bundeskartellamt (BKartA) fined three sugar producers,  Pfeifer & Langen GmbH & Co. KG Südzucker AG, and Nordzucker AG a total of €280 million over their role in a sugar cartel that fixed sugar prices, production volumes, quotas, and sales areas. According to BKartA’s investigations, the companies have colluded…

On February 10, 2014, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York dealt a blow to Apple in its efforts to have a court-appointed monitor removed from his position.  The Second Circuit ruled that lawyer Michael Bromwich can continue to oversee the company’s antitrust compliance. While Apple wanted to remove the monitor altogether for…

On February 5, 2014, Google settled its long-running legal battle with the European Commission caused by its overwhelming control (+90%) of Europe’s search engine market. Under the settlement, Google will offer a number of concessions to its competitors, such as a promise to display results from at least three competitors every time it shows its…

On December 13, 2013, the FTC announced that both the Music Teacher’s National Association, Inc. (“MNTA”) and the California Association of Legal Support Professionals (“CALSPro”) agreed to eliminate provisions in their codes of ethics that limited competition among their members, in order to settle potential litigation brought by the FTC. Background According to the FTC,…

On November 16, 2012, the Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against eBay Inc., alleging that it violated antitrust laws when it entered into an agreement not to recruit or hire Intuit Inc.'s employees. The Antitrust Division's lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, in San Jose.…

On November 14, the DOJ's Antitrust Division entered into a settlement agreement that requires Exelon Corporation (“Exelon”) to pay $400,000 for a civil contempt violation of a consent decree. A consent decree is a binding agreement between the Antitrust Division and a defendant that is filed in federal district court and, upon entry, becomes a…