Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

A consent order requires Albertson's to divest eight supermarkets in Montana and seven in Wyoming in order to settle FTC charges and maintain competitive grocery pricing in 11 communities following its acquisition of the Buttrey Food and Drug Store Company. Under the consent agreement, 13 of the supermarkets would be sold to Smith's Food and Drug Centers, Inc. and two supermarkets would be sold to Supervalu Holdings, Inc.

Exxon will divest its viscosity index improver business to Chevron Chemical Company LLC to settle allegations that its proposed joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell to develop, manufacture and sell their fuel and lubricants additives would reduce competition and lead to collusion among the remaining firms in the market.

Dentists in three communities in Puerto Rico settled charges that they refused to provide dental services under the government's managed care plan for the indigent unless they received certain prices. Under the terms of the consent order, the dentists are prohibited from jointly boycotting or refusing to deal with any third party payer to obtain higher reimbursement rates for dental services.

A final order prohibits five institutional pharmacies from engaging in any joint price negotiation or price agreements for the provision of prescription drugs in an attempt to maximize reimbursement rates with managed care organizations.

Dow agreed to settle allegations that its acquisition of Sentrachem Limited would have substantially lessened competition for the research and manufacture of chelating agents (chemicals used in cleaners, pulp and paper, water treatment, photography, agriculture, food and pharmaceuticals to neutralize and inactivate metal ions) by combining two of the three U.S. producers of the product. The terms of the consent order require Dow to divest Sentrachem's U.S. chelant business to Akzo Novel N.V.

Final order settles allegations that Jitney-Jungle's acquisition of Delchamps, Inc. would substantially reduce competition among supermarket stores in the areas of Gulfport- Biloxi, Hattiesburg and Vicksburg, Mississippi. The consent order requires the divestiture of 10 supermarkets to Supervalu, Inc.

Two separate consent orders settle antitrust concerns stemming from acquisitions by the Loewen Group of certain funeral homes and cemeteries that substantially reduced competition in Brownsville and Harlingen/San Benito, Texas, and in Castlewood, Virgina.  The orders require Loewen to divest properties in the three local markets to restore competition.

Final consent order preserves competition in the sale of commemorative class rings to graduating high school and college students. The order requires restructuring of the purchase agreement to exclude Gold Lance, Inc. from the proposed plans to acquire Class Rings, Inc. The new acquisition plan is limited to the class ring business of Town & Country Corporation and CJC Holdings, Inc.

Final consent order settles antitrust concerns in three markets affected by the proposed acquisition of Sandoz Ltd.: research and development in gene therapy products that are being targeted for life-threatening conditions such as hemophilia and cancer; corn herbicides; and flea control products. In the gene therapy market, the order requires the licensing of certain intellectual properties to Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and other firms to permit continued competition in research, development and commercialization for a broad range future medical treatments. In addition, in one of the largest divestitures eve1 required under a consent order, Sandoz agreed to divest its U.S. and Canadian corn herbicide business to BASF Aktiengesellschaft within 10 days. The consent order also requires the divestiture of Sandoz's flea control business to Central Garden and Pet Supply of Lafayette, California within 30 days.