Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On July 16, 2008, the European Commission (“EC”) announced that it would expand its investigation of the Intel Corporation by filing new antitrust charges. The charges allege that Intel provides inducements, such as discounts, rebates, and marketing payments, to computer manufactures discouraging them to use chips made by Intel’s smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices (“AMD”).…

On July 14, 2008, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced the launch of a new online resource, the FTC Guide to the Antitrust Laws. This resource, written in layman’s terms summarizes the core laws that ban unfair business practices and prevent mergers that harm consumers, and explains how antitrust cases are brought by U.S., State,…

On July 11, 2008, James P. Robinson, a former Divisional Merchandising Manager for Flooring at Home Depot, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of tax evasion related to a scheme to defraud Home Depot. Mr. Robinson participated in a conspiracy to defraud Home Depot by taking kickbacks…

On July 3, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) entered into a settlement agreement allowing Signature Flight Support Corporation to acquire Hawker Beechcraft’s (“Hawker”) fixed based operations (“FBO”). The settlement agreement requires Signature to divest its flight support service assets. Signature and Hawker are the only FBOs at Indianapolis International Airport (“IND”). The DOJ requires…

On July 1, 2008, the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division decided to allow External Compliance Officer Inc., a New Jersey based anti-money laundering consulting company, to create a database that would allow money transmitters to better understand the backgrounds of prospective agents. A money transmitter is a company that provides electronic money transfer services…

On July 1, 2008, Visa Inc. rescinded a rule that required merchants to treat Visa-branded debit cards differently when used as a PIN-debit card (and processed via non-Visa networks) from the same cards when used as signature debit cards and processed on the Visa network. The rule was rescinded in response to the Department of…

On June 30, 2008, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), in a 4-0 vote, issued a complaint against the proposed acquisition of INEOS Group Limited (“INEOS”) by Carlyle Partners IV (“Carlyle”). INEOS is the third largest sodium silicate producer and seller in the highly concentrated Midwest region of the United States. PQ Corporation (“PQ”), owned by…

On June 30, 2008 Anthony M. Tesvich, a former employee of Home Depot, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of tax evasion, in connection with a scheme to defraud Home Depot. According to the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the conspiracy took place from October 2002 to October…

On June 30, 2008, Joel M. Gostomelsky, the director of the Hines, IL Department of Veteran Affairs (“VA”) Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (“CMOP”) pled guilty to one count of conspiring to allow a subordinate to participate in decisions directly affecting the financial interests of the subordinate’s spouse and one count of accepting illegal gratuities. Between…

On June 26, 2008, five major international airlines including Socit Air France (Air France), Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (Cathay), Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines), Martinair Holland N.V. (Martinair), and SAS Cargo Group A/S (SAS) pled guilty and agreed to pay fines for their role in a major international conspiracy to fix prices…