Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On February 19, 2014, the FTC settled with several companies and individuals, banning them from selling business, “mystery shopper” and “work-at-home scams,” in addition to surrendering their assets to the FTC. These scams seek to trick customers to sign-up for “work-at-home” and “mystery shopper” schemes with an upfront fee, and then charging the members a…

On February 19, 2014, the Utah ready-made soft pretzel maker, Sparky’s Pretzel, filed an antitrust complaint against Utah Pretzel and Valley Fair Mall, asserting that the two defendants are colluding to keep it out of the northern Utah ready-made pretzel market. According to Sparky’s Pretzel, its long-running tenancy in Valley Fair Mall, beginning in 2004,…

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 19, 2014, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (“JFTC”) issued a warning to Shigakogen Sakudou Kyoukai, the association of ski lift operators in the Shiga highlands area, over potential violations of regulations prohibiting substantial restraint of competition. According to the JFTC, the association issued restricted special lift tickets to members of a particular ski…

On February 18, 2014, Russia’s competition authority, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (“FAS”), issued warnings to two business leaders in the oil industry after their comments about a possible increase in the price of petrol. Gennady Shmal, the president of the Oil and Gas Industrialists Union, and Konstantin Simonov, the CEO of the National Energy Security…

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 19, 2014, Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission (“TFTC”) conditionally cleared Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Nokia. The TFTC believed that no obvious impact on the structure of the market will result due to the deal, except for potential incentives to increase patent licensing royalty fees. As a result, the TFTC laid down two conditions before…

On February 19, 2014, the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”), the country’s top economic planning body, launched  an initial probe into the auto parts industry. Responding to a reporter’s question, Mr. Kunlin Xu, the director genera of the NRDC’s Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly Bureau said that there has yet been a formal investigation,…

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 18, 2014, the American Antitrust Institute (“AAI”), together with the Food & Water Watch reiterated calls for the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to block the planned merger of the milling activities of ConAgra-Cargill, CHS and Horizon Milling into a new joint-venture called Ardent Mills.  According to the complainants, the merger would effectively concentrate…