Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On September 5, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it is retracting the proposed settlement agreement with Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc (“Phoebe”), for the extended antitrust litigation regarding its acquisition of its rival Palmyra Park Hospital (“Palmyra”) in Albany, Georgia. The FTC decided to retract its initial proposed settlement, which included no…

On September 5, 2014, following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has approved a final order settling charges that Actavis plc (“Actavis”)’s acquisition of Forest Laboratories (“Forest”), Inc. would likely be anticompetitive. Under the proposed order, the two companies agreed to divest four drugs in order to preserve competition in those markets. On July…

In a September 4, 2014 speech, Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) Chairman Tom Wheeler expressed concerns about the lack of broadband competition in the United States. Chairman Wheeler explained that access to a 25 Mbps connection is becoming essential (or “table stakes”) to consumers with a majority of Americans having access to 100 Mbps or higher…

On September 3, 2014, the FCC announced it reached a settlement with Verizon for $7.4 million. The settlement ending an investigating into Verizon’s alleged misuse of customer information. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau was investigating Verizon’s alleged failure to notify approximately two million new customers of their privacy rights.  Specifically, Verizon allegedly failed to provide to…

On August 28, 2014, Pharmaceutical company Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc. (“Prestige”), the maker of Dramamine, agreed to divest assets and marketing rights for the over-the-counter (“OTC”) motion sickness drug Bonine to settle Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) charges that Prestige’s proposed acquisition of Insight Pharmaceuticals Corporation (“Insight”) would likely be anticompetitive.  Prestige proposed to acquire Insight…

Berkshire Hathaway Agrees to Pay $896,000 Maximum Civil Penalty for HSR Violation On August 20, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (“Berkshire”) agreed to pay a civil penalty of $896,000, the maximum civil penalty that could have been imposed, for its alleged violation of the premerger notification and filing requirements…

On July 14, 2014, New York State Attorney Eric Schneiderman announced that Casella Wastes (“Castella”), a waste management company based in Vermont but also serving New York, agreed to change its existing contracting practices in the face of antitrust scrutiny. Casella was found to have unlawfully restricted competition through its acquisition of smaller competitors and…

On July 14, SignatureMD, a concierge medicine provider, sued its competitor, MDVIP, in federal court over allegations that the latter’s business practices violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, as well as California’s antitrust and unfair competition statutes in the Cartwright Act. According to the lawsuit, MDVIP, the largest provider of concierge medicine in the United States…

On July 11, 2014, Germany’s association of booksellers announced that European Union (“EU”) officials contacted them regarding its dispute with Amazon.com. The booksellers have already asked German antitrust authorities to investigate Amazon, alleging that the online retailer is delaying the shipment of one of its member, Bonnier AG’s books over a dispute on the price…

On May 6, 2014, a gasoline price-fixing lawsuit brought by District of Columbia Attorney General Irving Nathan was thrown out of court by Judge Craig Iscoe, ruling the District of Columbia has no grounds to bring such an action. The District of Columbia’s lawsuit challenged the exclusive dealing contracts (the so-called “jobbers”) that gas stations…