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On January 13, 2012, the FTC issued proposed amendments to Parts 2 and 4 of its Rules of Practice (“Rules”). Written comments must be received by March 23, 2012. The FTC first raised the need to reform Part 2 citing a substantial risk of delay and mistakes in the FTC’s discovery process based on the…

On December 30, 2011, China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”), the government agency tasked with merger review, formally promulgated new rules providing MOFCOM with clear procedural rules (and powers) to investigate and deal with reportable transactions that were not notified. These Provisional Measures on the Investigation and Treatment of Failure to Report Concentration of Undertakings (“Provisional…

On November 21, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) settled allegations of violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 45 (“FTC Act”) against Pool Corporation (“PoolCorp”). PoolCorp and the FTC reached a proposed consent agreement resolving charges that PoolCorp used exclusionary acts and practices to maintain its monopoly power in…

In light of the Department of Justice’s attempt to block telecom giant, AT&T from acquiring T-Mobile, the Hudson Institute recently released a report discussing antitrust policy as it applies to the growth of innovation. See Irwin Stelzer, Antitrust Policy in an Age of Rapid Innovation, BRIEFING PAPER (Hudson Inst., Washington, D.C.) Oct. 2011. Key Takeaways:…

On September 23, 2011, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a case brought by a group of corporations that filed an antitrust suit against the major players in the potash industry, ruling that plaintiffs failed to allege specific facts sufficient to plead a plausible “direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable” connection between the alleged foreign…

On June 6, 2011, the US District Court for the District of Columbia denied defendant H&R Block’s motion to transfer venue. The district court ruled that H&R Block failed to meet their burden to show that a transfer of this case to the Western District of Missouri is warranted in the interests of justice.Background: On…

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 encourages health care providers to form integrated organizations to jointly offer services in order to reduce costs and improve the quality of health care in the United States. Section 3022 of the Act provides for the formation of Accountable Care Organizations (“ACOs”) to serve fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries through Medicare’s…