FTC: Watch articles from April 2001

FTC: Watch archives from April 2001

Behind the curtain: closed investigations.
April 16, 2001... On the theory that a list of companies that came away from encounters with the FTC unscathed can be as enlightening as reports of those who became subject to law enforcement actions, herewith an account of some investigations the agency closed...

Notes from the 2001 ABA Spring Meeting.(excerpts of comments)
April 16, 2001... California State Attorney General Thomas Greene: "Illinois Brick died in 2001. Over two thirds of the U.S. has access to indirect purchase antitrust claims." Former FTC Premerger Notification Office Director Malcolm "Sandy" Plunder: "You...

Revising HSR 4(c) requirements subordinate to notification and filing threshold regulations.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Revising part 4(c) of the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger filing requirement that parties submit certain materials relating to the competitive merits of the proposed transaction is on the Premerger Notification Office wish list for this year, FTC...

Kohl & DeWine reintroduce NOPEC following FTC gasoline price Report; Leary & Swindle issue separate statements.
April 16, 2001... "[S]ome strategic choices by some oil companies [were] designed to maximize profits that contributed to the temporary price increases." FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky "People who only read the Commission's press release will get the wrong...

FTC investigating bankruptcy acquisition; TRUSTe offers customer privacy policies for merging/bankrupt companies.
April 16, 2001... The FTC is looking into whether boat and marine engine maker Brunswick Corp. violated antitrust laws by acquiring certain of bankrupt Outboard Marine Corp.'s engine business assets -- including Canada's largest boat manufacturer, Princecraft...

Commission amends 20+ Rules of Practice : Prepare to file electronically, hold off on foreign subpoenas.
April 16, 2001... The Commission has amended Parts II, II and IV of the its Regulations on Organization, Procedure and Rules of Practice, updating more than twenty Rules of Practice and related rules concerning electronic filing requirements, new procedures for...

FTC annual performance report: nonmerger investigations waning.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... According to the latest FTC performance report, the agency investigated only half the number of nonmerger matters it targeted for fiscal year 2000 (25 as opposed to a target of 45-70) because it diverted resources from non-merger to merger...

FTC to host cashmere label conference.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... FTC staff will host a half-day conference on "proper labeling of cashmere products" on May 4. In recent months, staff have heard complaints that cashmere and cashmere-blend items may contain less cashmere than the amount stated on the label....

FTC FCRA victory.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... FTC FCRA victory: Last week, the DC Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the FTC's order that Trans Union must stop selling target marketing lists for purposes not listed in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and denied Trans Union's...

Antitrust funding in 2002.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 16, 2001... Antitrust funding in 2002: President Bush's proposed budget for fiscal year 2002 boosts the Antitrust Division's funding from $120,838,000 to $140,973,000 (up $20,135,000 -- 17%). The boost would pay for 113 new positions, including 38...

Tosco & Phillips 2nd requests.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Tosco & Phillips 2nd requests: The FTC has handed out Second Requests in the matter of Phillips Petroleum Co.'s proposed $7 billion purchase of the largest U.S. independent refiner, Tosco Corp. Both parties said that they are working closely...

AAI Global Competition Academy proposal.(endorsed by European Commission official)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... AAI Global Competition Academy proposal: European Commission Competition Commissioner Mario Monti has told American Antitrust Institute President Bert Foer that he supports the AAI's "International Competition Academy" proposal [FTC: WATCH No....

Shipping antitrust Immunity.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Shipping antitrust Immunity: House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) has introduced legislation to repeal a 1916 shipowners antitrust exemption. The bill is identical to the Free Market Antitrust Immunity Reform...

Microsoft and the James nomination.(Charles James)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Microsoft and the James nomination: Four interested parties, suggesting that the antitrust laws "are in danger of being irreparably weakened," have asked members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to subject assistant general nominee Charles...

Microsoft and the rest of the government(s).(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Microsoft and the rest of the government(s): According to an Apple Macintosh computer-using attorney in Colorado, that state is moving into the 21st Century with a new e-filing system. That's good. The e-filing system Colorado has chosen...

Microsoft innovates again.(acquires WebAppoint.com)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Microsoft innovates again: According to ZDNet News for March 14, "Microsoft quietly bought WebAppoint.com, a privately held Santa Clara, Calif.-based company, for an undisclosed sum in October. The acquisition was announced only in Microsoft's...

Airline mergers.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Airline mergers: Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) has introduced legislation placing "a moratorium on airline mergers above a certain size for a couple years so we can take a breath and evaluate what kind of air transportation system we want in this...

LLCs treated same as mergers.(Federal Trade Commission regulation information)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... LLCs treated same as mergers: Following the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification rule changes that took effect on February 1 [FTC: WATCH No. 558, January 15; 562, March 12], the FTC amended the formal interpretation for forming limited...

FTC eyes acquisition of bankruptcy assets.(Brunswick Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... FTC eyes acquisition of bankruptcy assets: The FTC is looking into whether the large boat and marine engine maker, Brunswick Corp. crossed antitrust laws by bidding for certain Outboard Marine Corp.'s engine business assets as a part of...

Au revoir public antitrust depositions.(Microsoft Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Au revoir public antitrust depositions: The House of Representatives has adopted the "Anti-trust Technical Corrections Act of 2001" (H.R. 809), which would repeal the Act of March 3, 1913 requiring that antitrust depositions be taken in public....

California brownouts.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... California brownouts: At yet another House hearing on the California electricity crisis on March 20, House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) said that California's use of mandatory conservation orders shows: (1) that...

Tobacco ads rise post-settlement.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Tobacco ads rise post-settlement: An FTC annual report shows that cigarette sales fell from 1998 to 1999 -- the first year of spending affected by the tobacco industry's Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with the Attorneys General of 46 states...

Copper class action.(Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Copper class action: The American Antitrust Institute wants to file an amicus brief with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Sumi Tomo Corp., No. 003979 after the District Court dismissed a class action lawsuit alleging collusion to manipulate the...

Has Microsoft committed the perfect caper?
April 16, 2001... As readers of detective novels know, a "perfect caper" is committed when the perpetrator gets to keep all of its ill-gotten gains and goes unpunished. Even if they are brought to trial, due to a variety of unusual circumstances, they still...

DOJ approves truckload cost info exchanges.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... A proposal by truckers to exchange cost information in an attempt to increase the efficiency of their operations has encountered no resistance from the Justice Department. DOJ considers it "unlikely" that such exchanges will raise prices,...

Ohio firm to plead guilty and pay fine for international price-fixing conspiracy role.(Anchor Industrial Products Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... A $600,000 criminal fine is the price of settling Justice Department charges for Anchor Industrial Products Inc., an Ohio firm that has agreed to plead guilty to participating in an international conspiracy to fix the price of a carbon product...

Moody's antics in old civil case result in new obstruction charges, criminal fine.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Moody's Investors Service Inc., one of the largest credit ratings agencies in the United States, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $195,000 criminal fine for obstructing justice by destroying documents subpoenaed in a civil antitrust...

News Corporation/Chris-Craft merger proceeds -- with Salt Lake City divestiture.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... The News Corporation Limited and Chris-Craft Industries Inc. have agreed to sell a television station located in Salt Lake City in order to resolve antitrust concerns about the companies' $5.3 billion proposed merger. The Department said that...

Firm pleads guilty in bid-rig of A.I.D. Egypt construction project; pays heavy fine.(United States Agency for International Development; ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... ABB Middle East & Africa Participations AG, a Milan-based, Swiss subsidiary of ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd., pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $53 million fine for participating in a conspiracy to rig bids on a construction contract...

NYC food VIP will restore $2.2 million, serve lengthy prison sentence for bid-rigging, fraud, and tax crimes.(Melvyn Merberg, Jitney Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... A former New York City food company executive pleaded guilty to participating in multi-million dollar bid rigging, fraud, and tax conspiracies. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the parties will recommend that the executive receive a sentence of 63...

Time to study slotting fee economics?(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... "Some Thoughts on Slotting Allowances and Exclusive Dealing" -- an address by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joseph Farrell before the ABA's Antitrust Section Spring Meeting, March 28. Farrell thinks its time for a preliminary...

Precedent-setting decision on efficiencies.
April 16, 2001... On April 4, 2001, the Federal Court of Appeal set aside the Competition Tribunal's interpretation of the efficiency defence in section 96 of the Competition Act (the "Act") and remitted the Superior Propane/ICG case back to the Tribunal for a...

Competition bill tabled in Parliament.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... On April 4, 2001, the Minister of Industry tabled in Parliament for First Reading Bill C-23, An Act to amend the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act. If passed into law, the proposed amendments in Bill C-23 will: * provide a...

Competition Tribunal refines its approach to market definition.(waste disposal industry, Canada)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... On March 28, 2001 the Competition Tribunal ruled that the acquisition of the Ridge landfill facility by Canadian Waste Services Inc. (CWS) would lead to a substantial lessening and a substantial prevention of competition in the provision of...

Strike 3: FTC charges more drug makers with delaying generic comp.
April 16, 2001... On April 2, four months after both sides submitted a Joint Motion to Withdraw Matter from Adjudication, the FTC finally announced a settlement regarding its allegations that Hoechst Marion Roussel (now Aventis), Carderm Capital (Cardizem CD...

Crown jewels and firewalls : Siemens agrees to divest Vodaphone's auto post assets.
April 16, 2001... Germany's Siemens and the United Kingdom's Vodafone Group will divest Vodafone's Mannesmann Dematic Postal Automation business (MDPA business) to Northrop Grumman Corp. to resolve FTC antitrust concerns around Siemens $9 billion purchase of...

Court halts web hosters' alleged $20,000 credit card overcharges.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... A U.S. District Court halted the billing of a Web site hosting service that advertised services for nominal flat fees but then crammed unauthorized charges of up to $20,000 onto their customers' credit cards for so-called "excess bandwidth"...

Alleged pyramid marketers surrender $5 million.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... To make the FTC and friends go away, Internet-based business opportunity promoters will cough up $5 million for consumer redress to settle FTC allegations that their scheme was actually an illegal pyramid operation. Bigsmart. Com L.L.C. and...

TSR's 5th birthday: 121 cases later.(Telemarketing Sales Rule )(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Five years of enforcing the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) that enacts the 1994 Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act have resulted in 121 law enforcement actions, $152 million in consumer redress, and $500,000 in civil...

Throat sprayers agree to add cautionary note on labels.(Tru-Vantage International, LLC)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... Throat spray makers agreed to substantiate claims for their snoring remedy to settle FTC charges that their claims Snorenz helps snoring and sleep apnea were made from thin but noisy air. Tru-Vantage International, LLC, Med Gen, and its...

El paso divestiture approved.(El Paso Energy Corp., Mid-Luisiana Gas Co.)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... The Commission approved El Paso Energy Corp.'s request to divest the U-T Offshore System to Mid Louisiana Gas Transmission Company, a subsidiary of Midcoast Energy Resources -- as required by a proposed consent order arising from El Paso's...

FTC General Counsel Debra Valentine.(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... FTC General Counsel Debra Valentine soon rejoins O'Melveny & Myers LLP -- where she was previously a partner -- to jointly lead their Antitrust & Trade Regulation Group with former FTC Competition Bureau Chief Richard Parker. Before serving as...

On the last day of the ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting.(Gregg Vicinanza)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... On the last day of the ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting, FTC, Chairman Robert Pitofsky's Attorney Advisor Gregg Vicinanza left the Commission, prior to taking a job as Special Counsel at O'Melveny & Myers on April 16.

FTC Competition Bureau Policy Planning Office Director David Balto.(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... FTC Competition Bureau Policy Planning Office Director David Balto -- twice awarded the FTC award for outstanding scholarship and holding eight years of agency institutional memory --leaves for a partnership at White & Case LLP. Balto told FTC:...

After 2 and 1/2 years, FTC Assistant Director in charged of Health Care Products and Services Division Richard A. Feinstein.(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... After 2 and 1/2 years, FTC Assistant Director in charged of Health Care Products and Services Division Richard A. Feinstein is set to leave on June 30, but has not decided where to next yet as he is focusing on completing his work at the FTC....

The Senate Judiciary Committee.(Brief Article)
April 16, 2001... The Senate Judiciary Committee has denied press reports that nomination hearings for President Bush's nominee for Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Charles James will go ahead by mid-May. It could be anywhere up to six weeks, said a...

Correction.
April 16, 2001... In No. 563, on page 1, we erroneously ascribed a forthcoming FTC HSR Complaint. The defendant is First DataBank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hearst Corp.

Appeals court sustains FTC challenge to baby food merger to duopoly.
April 30, 2001... "Although we recognize that, post-hearing, the FTC may accept the rebuttal arguments proffered by the appellees, including their efficiencies defense, and permit the merger to proceed, we conclude that the FTC succeeded in "rais[ing] questions...

Back to the 1980's?
April 30, 2001... "What have we accomplished so far? I think we're making progress toward changing the tone in Washington. There's less name-calling and finger-pointing. We're sharing credit. We are learning we can make our points without making enemies....

Senators want 1,400 BP Arco HSR boxes FTC Cal. gasoline report ready in 30 days.
April 30, 2001... Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.) want to see the 1,400 boxes of documents the FTC obtained during its review of BP Amoco's acquisition of Arco, because they think they may contain numerous...

FTC to Congress: music industry out of tune; Leary advises advertisers to treat regulations as cost of doing business.
April 30, 2001... The music industry is still marketing violent and sexually explicit adult-rated products to underage consumers according to the latest FTC report to Congress on the subject, a report requested by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain...

OMB OKs FTC generics study.
April 30, 2001... The White House Office of management and Budget has approved the FTC's proposal to subpoena 30 brand name and 70 generic drug makers about any agreements struck over the last six years involving the filing of new generic drug applications. The...

FTC state elec dereg study due in summer.
April 30, 2001... There were few surprises in the 28 comments that the FTC received regarding its study of how different states' electricity retail programs are working in a deregulating environment, according to sources. The agency expects the study and report...

Merger watch.
April 30, 2001... Merger watch: The proposed merger of US Airways and United Airlines is in enough political and antitrust trouble that it's difficult to find anyone in Washington who thinks this deal will ever be consummated. Now, FTC: WATCH has learned, at...

Slotting-fees.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... Slotting-fees: the FTC staff has recommended that the commissioners issue a complaint challenging McCormick & Co.'s slotting fee practices. [FTC: WATCH No. 531, Oct. 25, 1999; No. 543, April 24, 2000; No. 555, Nov. 20, 2000; No. 556, December...

FTC and states.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... FTC and states: FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky recently noted that the FTC and the states have a very cooperative relationship compared to the 1980's when the states had a more tumultuous relationship with the agency. In the past six years, the...

Broadband competition bill moving.
April 30, 2001... Broadband competition bill moving: The House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee voted 19-14 to mark up "the Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 2001" (H.R. 1542) On March 26. Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) and...

International consumer web site.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... International consumer web site: As the first U.S. president of the International Marketing Supervision Network (IMSN), FTC Commissioner Mozelle Thompson, has unveiled an international website -- econsumer.gov -- to gather and share...

Swindle dubious about global antitrust code.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... Swindle dubious about global antitrust code: Speaking in Germany recently, FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle said that he expects international antitrust cooperation to continue to flourish, but does "not believe a single set of global antitrust...

NY Internet rebate ad case.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... NY Internet rebate ad case: The New York Attorney General's office has settled a deceptive advertising charge against CompUSA, alleging that its former subsidiary, Cozone.com did not disclose that advertised rebates of up to $400 were...

FTC likes Senate spam bill.(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... FTC likes Senate spam bill: The Commission endorses legislation such as S.630 to limit unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE), FTC Marketing Practices Associate Director Eileen Harrington testified before the Senate Telecommunications Subcommittee...

Canadian Competition Bureau website.(http://www.competition.ic.gc.ca.)(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... Canadian Competition Bureau website: it's redesigned, it's "streamlined," it's "structured in logical sections," it has a place for journalists, an "International Affairs section" and a "Compliance & Enforcement section." For those of you who...

NOX, NOX, Who's there?(representative Joe Barton, on California emission controls and energy crisis)(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... NOX, NOX, Who's there? House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Tex.), preparing for May 1 hearings on the "Electricity Emergency Relief Act," has been badgering the California Air Resources Board for answers to a bunch...

A modest proposal.(Bob Bart, legislator, wants to change everything to honor Ronald Reagan, overrated ex-president of the United States)
April 30, 2001... A modest proposal: from time to time, Rep. Bob Bart (R-Ga.) has a legislative inspiration that affects the basic operations of the entire federal government. A couple of years ago, it was, "I know! Let's impeach the president!" This year,...

Correction.
April 30, 2001... In No. 546, where we reported a series of closed investigations, we failed to note that the following were "closed" only because the FTC took enforcement action: Value America; Buy.com; Office depot; Crescent Publishing Group and Toyssmart.com....

Federal judge rejects government "unicorn" : American Airlines predatory pricing case dismissed on summary judgment.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... A federal judge in Wichita Kansas has dismissed the Justice Department's case against American Airlines on a motion for summary judgment, dealing a devastating blow to the government's predatory pricing charges. From 1995-1997, a number of...

Smokeless Tobacco Act case settled.
April 30, 2001... Stoker, Inc. has agreed to observe the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to settle FTC charges that it did not place health warning statements in conspicuous and legible type. Congress enacted the Smokeless...

Swindle and Leary dissent : FTC sues 3 alleged financial info pretexters.(Orson Swindle)(Thomas Leary)(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... The FTC has voted 3-2 to file suit in three U. S. District Courts to stop information brokers who allegedly misrepresented who they were and what they were up to (pretexting) to obtain confidential financial info illegally. Commissioner...

Swindle dissents on charitable donations ban : Advance fee credit card settlements.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... Victor Stanley Wilcox, Belinda Sweeney, and Lee Sumner Churchill settled a June 2000 FTC lawsuit alleging that they operated a fraudulent advance fee credit card scam under the name Credit Approval Service. In November, a federal district court...

FTC wishes COPPA a happy 1st birthday 3 cases and another safe harbor.(Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... To celebrate the first anniversary of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the FTC filed three complaints in U.S. District Courts alleging COPPA violations. The defendants -- Monarch Services and Girls Life who operate...

Alpine set back $1.5 million for violating 1995 FTC order.(Alpine Industries)(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... Following a federal jury's finding that Alpine Industries and its principal, William J. Converse, maker and marketer of ozone-generating indoor "air cleaner" devices, violated a 1995 FTC order banning unsubstantiated claims for Alpine's...

Alleged adult web crammers will provide notice of billing.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... Some adult Web site operators who allegedly billed consumers for "free trials" have agreed to provide clear and conspicuous billing notices prior to billing to settle FTC charges that they deceptively lured folks to their adult web sites with...

3 Vending machine franchisors settle.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... American Coin-Op Services and its principals, Daryl J. Chase and Craig J. Schieder, will pay $11,000 and provide presale disclosures to settle FTC charges that they were less than forthcoming to prospective buyers about their candy vending...

The following orders are final:.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... Enerjet Corporation File No. 992-3192 Contact; John Rothchild, 202-326-3307 America Online, Inc./Time Warner, Inc. File No. 001-0105 The final AOL order includes modifications: (a) a statement indicating that the FTC...

Calendar.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... May 1 - FTC Commissioner Thomas B. Leary will speak at The Brookings Institution, "Inside Washington 101: Business and Public Policy" program, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Room 432, Washington; 2:30pm May 2 - FTC...

Last week, President Bush formally nominated George Mason University Prof. Timothy Muris.(George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... Last week, President Bush formally nominated George Mason University Prof. Timothy Muris to be a member of the FTC. If confirmed, Muris is expected to be designated chairman. The Senate Judiciary Committee had not scheduled a hearing for the...

FTC Legal Advisor for International Consumer Protection Lisa Rosenthal.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... FTC Legal Advisor for International Consumer Protection Lisa Rosenthal is transferring to the FTC's Western Regional Office in San Francisco.

After 21 years at the FTC.(Anne Maher)(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... After 21 years at the FTC, including eight years as Assistant Director of the Division of Advertising Practices, Anne Maher will leave the agency effective May 3. Among other accomplishments, she was instrumental in developing FTC enforcement...

A tip of the hat to Coudert Brothers' Edwin Matthews Jr.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... A tip of the hat to Coudert Brothers' Edwin Matthews Jr. According to New York Times columnist Bob Herbert if not for Matthews and others at Coudert, "Don Paradis would be dead." Paradis, now 52, had been wrongly convicted in Idaho of murder....

Two weekends ago, FTC Competition Bureau Staff Attorney Dan Silver suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack.(Brief Article)
April 30, 2001... Two weekends ago, FTC Competition Bureau Staff Attorney Dan Silver suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack. The Commission held a memorial service for Mr. Silver on April 20. Daniel J. Silver (1952-2001) by FTC Mergers II Assistant...