Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

Click Labs, Inc. settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company made false claims in connection with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework. 

Incentive Services, Inc., settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company made false claims in connection with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which enables companies to transfer consumer data legally from European Union countries to the United States. 

TDARX, Inc., settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company made false claims in connection with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

The Federal Trade Commission authorized an action to block Illumina Inc.’s proposed $1.2 billion acquisition of Pacific Biosciences of California, alleging in an administrative complaint that Illumina is seeking to unlawfully maintain its monopoly in the U.S. market for next-generation DNA sequencing systems by extinguishing PacBio as a nascent competitive threat. The Commission vote to issue the administrative complaint and to authorize staff to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction was 5-0. On Jan. 2, 2020, the parties abandoned the transaction.

The Federal Trade Commission authorized an action to block Post Holdings, Inc.’s proposed acquisition of the private label ready-to-eat ("RTE") cereal business of TreeHouse Foods, Inc.  In an administrative complaint issued on December 19, 2019, the Commission alleges that the proposed acquisition would harm retailers and end consumers by eliminating head-to-head competition between the Respondents in the United States market for private label RTE cereal. The Commission vote to issue the administrative complaint and to authorize staff to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction was 5-0. The administrative trial is scheduled to begin on May 27, 2020. The parties announced they had abandoned the transaction on Jan. 13, 2020.

DCR Workforce, Inc. reached a settlement with the FTC over allegations that the company made false or misleading representations about its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

LotaData settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company falsely claimed certification under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework. 

Thru, Inc. reached a settlement with the FTC over allegations that the company made false and misleading representations about its participation in the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield frameworks.

Mortgage Solutions FCS, doing business as Mount Diablo Lending, and Ramon Walker agreed to pay $120,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other laws by revealing personal information about consumers in response to negative reviews posted on the review website Yelp. 

Medable settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that it falsely claimed participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which enables companies to transfer consumer data legally from European Union countries to the United States.

InfoTrax, L.C. settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company failed to put in place reasonable security safeguards, allowing a hacker to access the personal information of more than a million consumers. 

Investment advisor Third Point LLC and three funds that it controls have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the funds violated the premerger notification and waiting period requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, or HSR Act, after they acquired the voting securities of DowDuPont Inc. According to the complaint, on Aug. 31, 2017, the shares of Dow Inc. held by the three Third Point funds – Third Point Partners Qualified L.P., Third Point Ultra, Ltd., and Third Point Offshore Fund Ltd. – converted to shares of the newly formed DowDuPont Inc. following the merger of Dow Inc. and E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. The three funds have agreed to collectively pay $609,810 in civil penalties, and they, together with Third Point LLC, will be barred from committing future violations of the HSR Act in connection with corporate consolidations.

Unrollme Inc. reached a settlement with the FTC over allegations that the company deceived some consumers about how it accesses and uses their personal emails.