Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On September 19, 2007, the European Commission (the “Commission”) adopted a package of proposals in order to reform the EU electricity and gas regulatory frameworks. The main proposals concerned unbundling, third country ownership and enhancing the power and independence of national regulators. The Commission considers that existing legislation allowed companies to maintain network operations and…

On September 17, Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General for the Department’s Antitrust Division, issued a statement scrutinizing the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (“CFI) decision to affirm the substance of the European Commission’s (“EC”) March 2004 decision against Microsoft. Mr. Barnett said that “in light of the United States’ own antitrust…

In a ruling released on September 17, 2007, the Court of First Instance (the “Court”), the second highest court in Europe, reaffirmed the European Commission’s (“EC”) 2004 decision that Microsoft abused its market power by tying its digital media player to the Windows operating system. By bundling these products together, Microsoft undercut existing competition in…

On September 14, a federal grand jury in San Francisco convicted Judy Green, of Temecula, California, a former sales representative for her role in schemes to defraud the federal E-Rate program. Ms. Green was convicted on all charges in a 22-count indictment involving fraud, collusion, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy in connection with E-Rate projects…

On September 13, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida federal grand jury returned an indictment charging two individuals in a conspiracy to rig bids fix prices and allocate market shares for sales of marine hose used to transport oil. The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, charged Francesco Scaglia and Val M.…

On August 14, 2007, the DOJ announced that a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned an indictment charging a commercial refrigeration company and its co-owner with participating in a conspiracy to rig bids on contracts for the installation of commercial refrigeration equipment in Safeway Inc. grocery stores in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The indictment, filed…

On August 9, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission announced a complaint challenging Jarden Corporation’s (Jarden) proposed $1.2 billion acquisition of sporting equipment manufacturer K2 Incorporated (K2). FTC alleges that the deal would be anticompetitive and detrimental to consumers of monofilament fishing line. Monofilament fishing line is the most widely-used and least expensive type of fishing…

On August 7, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission overruled its in-house judge’s previous decision to break up a seven year old hospital merger, allowing it to stay intact even though the deal caused prices to increase. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corporation (ENH) acquired Highland Park Hospital in January 2000, and as a result, combined ENH’s Evanston…

On July, 25 President Bush signed a bill that will reinforce the review process of foreign acquisitions in the United States, and secure an open environment for foreign investment that is critical to the U.S. economy. The final law does not alter the review period of the first and second stages of the process, and…

On August 7, 2007, the DOJ announced that William Alan Potts, the vice president of a Virginia marine products company agreed to plead guilty, serve a sentence and pay a criminal fine for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and allocate customers with respect to marine products purchased by the U.S. Navy, the…