Competition Mission
Civil Penalty Actions

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Title	Number	Action Date	Type of Matter	Product/Service
Figgie International Inc.	941 0027	2/14/97	Premerger Notification	Consumer and Industrial Products
Mahle GmbH	961 0085	6/23/97	Premerger Notification	Diesel Engine Pistons
Red Apple Companies, Inc.	D9266	2/23/97	Order Violation	Grocery Stores
Schnuck Markets, Inc.	C3585	7/28/97	Order Violation	Grocery Stores

Figgie International Inc.; Harry E. Figgie, Jr.

Figgie International and its former chairman and chief executive officer, Harry E. Figgie, Jr., agreed to pay a $150,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that they failed to notify federal antitrust enforcement agencies before Mr. Figgie acquired restricted voting stock in Figgie International. The complaint alleged that Mr. Figgie failed to comply with the reporting provisions and waiting period requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. The complaint further alleged that Mr. Figgie was required to file notification before he increased his holdings to over 15% of the outstanding voting securities of Figgie International.

 

Mahle GmbH; Metal Leve, S.A.

Mahle, a German corporation, agreed to pay a record $5.6 million civil penalty to settle allegations that it failed to notify the two federal antitrust agencies of its acquisition of a controlling interest in Metal Leve, a Brazilian competitor engaged in the manufacture of diesel engine parts, including pistons. According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the Commission, Mahle acquired 50.1% of the voting securities of Metal Leve for approximately $40 million, without first filing notification with the Commission and the Department of Justice and observing the required waiting period, in violation of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. A separate consent order with Mahle settled allegations that the acquisition could create a monopoly in the market for articulated pistons. (See Mahle GmbH, page 45.)

 

Red Apple Companies, Inc.; Sloan's Supermarkets, Inc.; Supermarket Acquisition Corporation; John Catsimatidis

Red Apple, its chairman John Catsimatidis, and two affiliated supermarket operators, Sloan's and Supermarket Acquisition, agreed to pay a $600,000 civil penalty for failure to divest five Manhattan supermarkets, as required by order of the Commission, by March 1996. The complaint and consent judgment were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The civil penalty was paid to the Department of the Treasury.

 

Schnuck Markets, Inc.

Schnuck Markets agreed to pay a $3 million civil penalty to settle allegations that the supermarket chain allowed numerous stores, designated for divestiture under a 1995 Commission consent order, to deteriorate before being sold. Under terms of the proposed settlement, Schnuck will be required to divest two closed supermarkets in the St. Louis area within six months to a Commission-approved acquirer. The complaint and proposed stipulations were filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri