Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

Following a public comment period, the FTC has approved two final orders settling allegations that Creaxion Corporation, Inside Publications, LLC, and their respective principals misrepresented that paid endorsements were independent consumer opinions and that commercial advertising was independent journalistic content.

10 Companies and 10 individuals settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that their deceptive and unfair tactics violated the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act. The action is part of the FTC's continuing crackdown on all players involved in phantom debt schemes, including those who sell fake debt portfolios and those who harass consumers to collect the phony debt. 

The Federal Trade Commission is sending payments totaling more than $1 million to 1,966 consumers who were harmed by a debt collection scheme that conned consumers into paying debts they did not owe. The defendants used several names including GAFS Group, Global Mediation Group, and Mediation Services.

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges that Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s proposed acquisition of Express Mart would violate federal antitrust law.

Soundboard Association sued the Federal Trade Commission alleging that the agency violated the APA by not issuing the regulation following notice-and-comment rulemaking, and that it was infringing on telemarketing companies' First Amendment rights.

The FTC charged that Boral Ltd. and LaFarge SA violated antitrust laws by establishing a joint venture, Monier Lifetile LLC, that combined their concrete roofing tile (CRT) manufacturing divisions. Boral and LaFarge are the two largest producers of CRT in the United States. To settle FTC charges that the joint venture would likely substantially reduce competition in the market for CRT, Monier Lifetile LLC agreed to sell production facilities in Arizona, California and Florida to CRH PLC.

The FTC is mailing 227,995 checks totaling more than $6 million to consumers who purchased health products from three individuals and the 19 companies they controlled—collectively known as Tarr, Inc. Affected consumers will receive their refund checks, which average $26.57, soon.

The FTC is taking action against the Florida-based marketers of a line of weight-loss supplements who allegedly made baseless claims for their products, and then threatened to enforce “gag clause” provisions against consumers to stop them from posting negative reviews and testimonials online.

Office supply distributors Staples Inc. and Essendant Inc. have agreed to a settlement as part of the companies’ proposed $482.7 million merger in order to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that the deal may have harmed competition in the market for office supply products sold to small- and mid-sized businesses.

The FTC required Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Actavis Inc. to sell the rights and assets to 18 drugs to Sandoz International GmbH and Par Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and relinquish the manufacturing and marketing rights to three others, to settle charges that Watson’s proposed $5.9 billion acquisition of Actavis would otherwise be anticompetitive. The settlement protects competition in the markets for 21 current and future generic drugs, used to treat a wide range of conditions ranging from hypertension and diabetes to anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

There is a related federal proceeding and two related administrative proceedings:

• Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a corporation, and Robin Hood Holdings Limited, a limited liability company
• Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Andrx Corporation