Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

The Federal Trade Commission has filed an administrative complaint challenging a proposed joint venture between Peabody Energy Corporation and Arch Coal. The transaction would combine their coal mining operations in the Southern Powder River Basin, located in northeastern Wyoming. The admininstrative complaint alleges that the transaction will eliminate competition between Peabody and Arch Coal, which are the two major competitors in the market for thermal coal in the Southern Powder River Basin, and the two largest coal-mining companies in the United States. This civil case seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction enjoining the defendants from consummating their joint venture. The Commission votes to issue the administrative complaint and to authorize staff to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction were both 4-1. The administrative trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 11, 2020.

The Federal Trade Commission authorized staff of the Bureau of Competition to file suit to enjoin Edgewell Personal Care Company’s proposed $1.37 billion acquisition of its key competitor, Harry’s, Inc. The Commission’s complaint alleged that the proposed combination would eliminate one of the most important competitive forces in the shaving industry. The loss of Harry’s as an independent competitor would have removed a critical disruptive rival that has driven down prices and spurred innovation in an industry that was previously dominated by two main suppliers, one of whom is the acquirer. On Feb. 10, 2020, the FTC issued a statement on the parties’ announcement that they had abandoned the acquisition.

A federal court has granted a request by the Federal Trade Commission to shut down a tech support scam that allegedly bilked consumers out of more than $17 million by pretending to represent Microsoft, Apple and other major tech companies.

In April 2019, the FTC announced that 16 defendants settled charges that they deceptively marketed “cognitive improvement” supplements using sham news websites containing false and unsubstantiated efficacy claims, references to non-existent clinical studies, and fraudulent consumer and celebrity endorsements. The FTC also alleged the defendants used affiliate marketers to make deceptive claims for products including Geniux, Xcel, EVO, and Ion-Z. The settlements ban the defendants from engaging in similar conduct in the future. In February 2020, the Commission announced it was sending refund checks totaling over $551,000 to defrauded consumers.

Office Depot, Inc. and its tech support software provider Support.com, Inc., settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that the two companies tricked customers into buying millions of dollars' worth of computer repair and technical services by deceptively claiming their software had found malware on the customers' computers. 

In February 2020, two Oregon-based media production companies and their owner agreed to settle FTC charges that they deceptively pitched “exclusive” advertising placements to small businesses and misled them about when the ads would be printed and distributed. The order settling the FTC’s complaint bans the defendants from such deceptive conduct and requires them to pay $100,000.