Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On July 31, 2008, Bennet Environmental Inc. (“BEI”), a Canadian soil treatment company, pled guilty and agreed to pay $1 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) at a EPA designated Superfund site, Federal Creosote in Manville, NJ.According to the charges, BEI inflated prices to…

On July 30, 2008, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) entered into a settlement agreement that allows McCormick & Company Inc.’s (“McCormick”) proposed $605 million acquisition of Lawry’s and Adolph’s brands of seasoned salt products from Unilever N.V. (“Unilever”) to proceed. According to the FTC’s complaint, McCormick’s Season-All brand competes with Lawry’s brands in the manufacture…

On July 29, 2008, Paul Wilkinson and Christopher Cartwright, two U.S. Department of Defense (“DOD”) contractors, pled guilty to defraud the United States, commit wire fraud and steal trade secrets from Matthew Bittenbender, another U.S. DOD contractor.In a three-count indictment returned on Dec. 5, 2007, and unsealed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Christopher Cartwright…

On June 28, 2008, Manuli Rubber Industries SpA (“Manuli”), an Italian marine hose manufacturer, and Robert L. Furness, the former president of Manuli’s subsidiary Plantation, pled guilty for their role in a worldwide conspiracy to rig bids, fix prices, and allocate market share in the marine hose industry. Manuli agreed to pay $2 million in…

On July 28, 2008, Timothy Pfeil, a former executive for SAS Cargo Group A/S (“SAS”), pled guilty to serve six months in prison for his role in a worldwide conspiracy to fix air cargo rates for shipments to and from the United States. Mr. Pfeil, the second airline executive charged in this conspiracy, will cooperate…

On July 23, 2008, JMJ Environmental Inc. (“JMJ”), a wastewater treatment company, its owner, John Drimak Jr., and Norman Stoerr, a former contracts administrator, pled guilty to various counts of bid rigging, fraud, and tax evasion. These charges were all in connection with sub-contracts for wastewater treatment services at two Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) designated…

On July 17, 2008, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a complaint challenging the proposed $9 billion acquisition of V&S Vin & Sprit (“V&S”), a wholly owned corporation of the Kingdom of Sweden, by Pernod Ricard (“Pernod”), a wholly owned subsidiary of France-based Pernod. The FTC contends that the transaction is anticompetitive and violates U.S.…

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 from…