Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On May 24, FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras participated in the sixth annual International Competition Network (“ICN”) Conference in Moscow, Russia, from May 30-June 1, 2007. Senior government antitrust officials, private sector antitrust experts from around the world, and representatives from intergovernmental organizations met to discuss competition issues. The ICN conference focused on the recent…

On May 23, Bureau of Economics Director Michael A. Salinger described the FTC’s initiatives to protect competitive markets in the production, distribution, and sale of gasoline through the agency’s comprehensive merger program on behalf of the FTC before the U.S. Congress’ Joint Economic Committee. Although the FTC does not regulate energy market sectors, the agency…

On May 22, Commissioner William E. Kovacic detailed the FTC’s varied initiatives to protect competitive markets in the production, distribution, and sale of gasoline and other petroleum products before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.The petroleum industry plays a crucial role in our economy.…

On May 22, the DOJ filed a civil antitrust lawsuit that required the Daily Gazette Company and MediaNews to undo their transaction and restore the competition that existed before May 2004, alleging that the Daily Gazette Company violated the antitrust laws when it acquired the Daily Mail newspaper from MediaNews. Daily Gazette Company is a…

On May 21, Mr. James D. Dondero, a Texas hedge fund manager, entered a settlement with the DOJ where he agreed to pay $250,000 for alleged charges of violating premerger reporting requirements. According to the complaint, Mr. Dondero acquired stock of Motient Corp. (“Motient”), based in Reston, Virgina, where he served on the board of…

On May 15, the FTC banned Elliot Krasnow from ever promoting or selling franchises or business opportunities ever again. Along with his company Netvertise, Inc, Krasnow returned $160,000 to consumers after the FTC charged that they used bogus earnings claims to lure franchisees into buying their Web services businesses, and failed to tell customers that…

On May 8, the DOJ reached a settlement with Allied Waste Industries Inc., the second largest non-hazardous solid waste management company in the United States, with annual revenues of $6 billion. Allied agreed to pay $125,000 for its alleged violations of a 2000 consent decree entered in connection with Allied’s acquisition of Browning-Ferris Industries Inc.…

On May 8, the DOJ and the FTC issued a joint report, “Competition in the Real Estate Brokerage Industry,” to inform consumers and others involved in the industry about important competition issues involving residential real estate, including the impact of the Internet, the competitive structure of the real estate brokerage industry, and obstacles to a…

On May 8, the FTC banned a scammer from telemarketing and from selling any type of business program in the future. Richard C. Neiswonger, who boasted that consumers could earn a six-figure income if they purchased and used his $10,000 asset protection service business program, had previously been previously charged with falsely claiming that consumers…

On May 4, after an investigation, the Antitrust Division determined that Smithfield’s proposed acquisition of Premium Standard Farms was not likely to harm competition, consumers or farmers. The Division’s investigation of the merger of these pork packers and processors focused on fresh and processed pork, the purchase of hogs from farmers, and the purchase of…