Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

The Surgical Specialists of Yakima, Cascade Surgical Partners, Inc., P.S. and Yakima Surgical Associates, P.S. settled charges that they jointly entered into agreements for their members to fix prices and terms for the provision of medical services when dealing with health care insurers.

A Georgia physician-hospital organization and its other associated physician groups settled charges that they entered into agreements to fix physician and hospital prices and refused to deal with insurance companies, except on collectively agreed-upon terms.

The Commission authorized staff to seek a preliminary injunction to block the proposed acquisition of Claussen Pickle Company by Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Equity Fund V L.P., the owner of Vlasic Pickle Company on grounds that the transaction would combine the dominant firm in the market for refrigerated pickles (Claussen) with its most significant competitor in refrigerated pickles (Vlasic). Six days after the complaint was filed in federal district court, the parties abandoned the transaction.

The final order, modified after the public comment period, does not require the divestiture of a Lucky (American Stores Company) store in Lompoc, California to Ralph's. Albertson's Inc. agreed to divest 104 supermarkets and American Stores Company agreed to divest 40 supermarkets to settle charges that Albertson's acquisition of American Stores raises antitrust concerns in 57 markets in California, Nevada and New Mexico. The divestiture agreement is the largest retail divestiture of supermarkets ever required by the Commission to date.

Hearst and its subsidiary paid a $4 million civil penalty to settle charges that they failed to include required documents in the notification and report form file in 1998 for the proposed acquisition of Medi-Span International, Inc. The complaint alleged that the omitted documents hindered the antitrust agencies in their review and analysis of the proposed acquisition. The complaint, stipulation and final judgment were filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by Commission attorneys acting as special attorneys to the United States Attorney General. During fiscal year 2001, the Commission filed a related complaint for a permanent injunction alleging that Hearst and First DataBank created a monopoly through the acquisition of Medi-Span, First DataBank's only other competitor selling software and data detailing information for pharmaceutical prices, descriptions, dosages, and interactions. The Final Order and Stipulation requiring divestiture and disgorgement of profits was entered December 18, 2001.

A consent order settled allegations in an administrative complaint that charged that Hoechst agreed to pay Andrx Corporation millions of dollars not to market and distribute a generic version of Hoechst’s branded Cardizem CD, a once-a-day diltiazem drug product used in the treatment of hypertension and angina. The consent order prohibits the companies from entering into agreements designed to restrict the entry of generic competitors in an attempt to monopolize relevant markets .

The Commission authorized staff to seek a preliminary injunction to block the proposed acquisition of National Tobacco Company, L.P. on grounds that the $165 million acquisition would lessen competition in the market for loose leaf chewing tobacco and that Swedish Match’s market share would increase to 60 percent. On December 14, 2000, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a 42-page opinion granting the Commission’s motion for the injunction. On December 22, 2000, the parties abandoned the transaction.