Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

Rohm & Haas settled charges that its acquisition of Morton International, Inc. would lessen competition in North American for the production and sale of water-based floor care polymers used in the formulation of floor care products such as polishes. The consent order requires the divestiture of Morton's worldwide water-based floor care polymers business to GenCorp, Inc.

Order requires divestiture of 10 supermarkets in Maryland and Pennsylvania to settle antitrust concerns stemming from Ahold's acquisition of Giant Food Inc.

The complaint, issued with the consent order, alleged that as a result of Merck's 1993 acquisition of Medco, the nation's largest benefits manager, Merck's drugs received favorable treatment through Medco's drug-list formulary made available to medical professionals who prescribe and dispense prescriptions to health plan beneficiaries. The consent order requires Medco, among other things, to maintain an "open formulary" to include drugs approved by an independent Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, staffed by physicians and pharmacologists who have no financial interest in Merck.

The consent order requires Shell Oil and its Tejas Energy, LLC, subsidiary, to divest parts of the ANR pipeline system in Oklahoma and Texas to settle charges that its acquisition of gas gathering assets of The Coastal Corporation would lead to anticompetitive increases in gas gathering rates and an overall reduction in gas drilling and production in the two states.

Final consent order settled allegations that the proposed consolidation of Commonwealth's title plant with First American Title Insurance Company, its only competitor in the Washington, DC area, would create a monopoly for title services in the Washington, DC market. The consent order requires Commonwealth, among other things, to reestablish its operations and to maintain them as viable businesses in competition with First American.

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.

Consent order settles allegations that Urological Stone Surgeons, Parkside Kidney Stone Centers, Urological Services. Ltd and two physicians engaged in a price-fixing conspiracy to raise the price for professional urologist services for lithotripsy procedures in the Chicago metropolitan area. The complaint alleges that the parties agreed to use a common billing agent, established a uniform fee for lithotripsy services, prepared and distributed fee schedules, and negotiated contracts with third party payers on behalf of all urologists using the Parkside facility. The consent order prohibits such practices in the future and requires the parties to notify the Commission at least 45 days before forming or participating in an integrated joint venture to provide lithotripsy professional services.