Department of Justice Antitrust Division

compliance programs, Department of Justice Antitrust Division

(Law Office of Robert Connolly)/

There has been a great deal of publicity surrounding the Antitrust Division’s recent announcement that a corporation involved in a criminal antitrust violation may get credit for an antitrust compliance program if certain conditions are met.  The credit may include a DPA (Deferred Prosecution Agreement: the government reaches a plea agreement with the defendant; files…

compliance programs, Department of Justice Antitrust Division

(Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory, U.S.)/

Those familiar with this blog have seen a number of posts questioning the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s long-standing position that a company shouldn’t be rewarded for having a corporate compliance program that fails it. Last week, the Antitrust Division announced that it will now consider corporate compliance at the charging stage of criminal antitrust…

Department of Justice Antitrust Division, FTC Enforcement, International Competition Law, Mergers and Acquisitions

(Wolters Kluwer)/

Last Friday, the 67th American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting wrapped up in Washington, D.C., with the annual enforcers roundtable. Much of the discussion by the heads of leading competition authorities at the closing program was focused on competition issues raised by the world’s tech giants. The heads of the Department of…

Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Mergers and Acquisitions

(Wolters Kluwer)/

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. last week concluded that the government failed to prove that the combination of AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc. would violate Sec. 7 of the Clayton Act. A decision of the federal district court in Washington, D.C. denying the Antitrust Division’s request to enjoin the deal has been affirmed….

Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Price Fixing

(Law Office of Robert Connolly)/

United States v. Kemp & Associates and Daniel Mannix, Case No., 2:16-cr-403 (DS). JudgeSamPerSeMemorandum On August 17, 2016 the defendants in this case were indicted on one count of violating §1 of the Sherman Act by agreeing to allocate customers of heir location services sold in the United States.  Utah District Court Judge David Sam initially…

Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Price Fixing

(Law Office of Robert Connolly)/

In an earlier post I discussed the Fiscal Year 2018 Antitrust Division statistics for criminal cases filed and noted that they were down dramatically (here).  This is not a one year drop off, but a trend since the high water mark of 2015 (here).  It is not just case filings that are down, but also…

Department of Justice Antitrust Division

(Law Office of Robert Connolly)/

On August 20, 2018 the Antitrust Division announced in a press release (here) the return of an indictment (here) against a real estate company, a realtor and an accountant that does not include a charge of violating the Sherman Act. The press release states: [T]he Detloffs devised a scheme requiring repair contractors to pay the…

Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Price Fixing

(Law Office of Robert Connolly)/

The DOJ issued a standard press release yesterday announcing yet another individual guilty plea in its long running real estate foreclosure auction collusion investigation: Seventh Mississippi Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Rig Bids at Public Foreclosure Auctions.   According to the press release to date there have been “convictions of well over 100 other…

Department of Justice Antitrust Division, State Enforcement

(Wolters Kluwer)/

In a five-to-four decision yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and several states failed to prove that so-called “anti-steering” provisions imposed by American Express Company on merchants that accept AmEx cards harmed competition in violation of federal antitrust law. The Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Clarence…

Department of Justice Antitrust Division

(Law Office of Robert Connolly)/

The headline sounds funny, but the story is no laughing matter.  A plea agreement in the electrolytic capacitor investigation between the United States and Nippon Chemi-Con (“NCC”) is in jeopardy because of an unfortunate conflict of interest lapse by an attorney at the Department of Justice.  There was a hearing before Judge Donato yesterday on…