Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On March 25, 2009, Mariusz Debowski, a resident of Connecticut who was involved in the operations of three businesses in Brooklyn, NY, pled guilty to for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). Mr. Debowski provided his co-conspirators with false documentation stating that he performed certain construction services and received…

On March 19, 2009, Carolyn Blake, sister of U.S. Army officer John Cockerham, pled guilty for her participation in a money-laundering scheme and accepting more than $3 million in bribes on behalf of her brother. Ms. Blake was to keep 10 percent of the money she collected for her brother. On June 24, 2008, John…

On March 12, 2009, the most significant amendments in 20 years to Canada’s Bill-C10 Competition Act and Investment Canada Act received Royal assent. All parts of the Bill C-10 amendment will take immediate effect except the new hybrid/dual track conspiracy provisions which will be delayed for a year. Some of the provisions that will have…

On March 10, 2009, Hitachi Displays, Ltd (“Hitachi”), a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd (a Japanese electronics manufacturer), pled guilty and agreed to pay a fine of $31 million for its role in a conspiracy to fix the prices of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display panels (“TFT-LCD”) sold to Dell Inc. (“Dell”). TFT-LCD panels are used…

On March 6, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) ordered Whole Foods Market, Inc. (“Whole Foods”) to divest 32 Wild Oats Markets, Inc. (“Wild Oats”) stores and related assets, which will restore competition in 17 markets. Whole Foods is the largest premium natural and organic supermarket chain in the United States and Wild Oats is…

On March 4, 2009, the National Association of Music Merchants (“NAMM”) agreed to a Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) consent order settling charges of NAMM’s conduct that enhanced members’ ability to increase prices of musical instruments. NAMM is a trade association of U.S. manufacturers, distributors, and dealers of musical instruments. As a trade association, its purpose…

On March 2, 2009, President Obama appointed Jon Leibowitz as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). Mr. Leibowitz became a Commissioner at the FTC in September 2004. He was formerly the Democratic chief counsel and staff director for the U.S. Senate Antitrust Subcommittee from 1997 to 2000, focusing on competition policy and telecommunications matters.…

On February 26, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) intervened in Lubrizol Corporation’s (“Lubrizol”) 2007 acquisition of oxidate assets from its rival The Lockhart Company (“Lockhart”). On February 7, 2007, Lubrizol signed an asset purchase agreement with Lockhart to purchase Lockhart’s oxidate assets. Oxidate assets are chemical additives that are used to make rust preventives.…

On February 26, 2009, Christopher Tranchina, an employee of a company temporarily responsible for electrical utilities at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) designated Superfund site, Federal Creosote in Manville, NJ, pled guilty to defrauding the EPA at that site. According to the indictment, Mr. Tranchina and co-conspirators defrauded the EPA by inflating Federal Creosote…

On February 20, 2009, JBS and National Beef announced the abandonment of the JBS/National Beef transaction. The Antitrust Division filed an antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Chicago to block the proposed acquisition, alleging that the deal would result in lower prices paid to cattle suppliers and higher beef prices for consumers. At…