Federal Trade Commission Administrative Law Judges

Boycotts, Conspiracy to Restrain Trade, Federal Trade Commission Administrative Law Judges, FTC Enforcement

(Wolters Kluwer)/

The U.S. Supreme Court this term will hear arguments in a case questioning whether respondents in a Federal Trade Commission proceeding can challenge the constitutionality of the FTC’s procedures and structure in federal district court while an administrative action is pending or whether they must wait for appellate court review of a Commission cease-and-desist order….

Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Federal Trade Commission Administrative Law Judges

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As 2015 comes to a close, it’s time to take a look back at some of the major federal antitrust enforcement highlights of the year. While headline-grabbing merger challenges dominated antitrust news, the year was marked by other important antitrust developments that are worth noting. Department of Justice Enforcement Merger enforcement. In the last 12 months, only…

Antitrust Exemptions & Immunity, Federal Trade Commission Administrative Law Judges

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The FTC has notched two Supreme Court wins in recent years to narrow the state action exemption.  But elements of those two cases might best be seen as evidence that the FTC is losing the broader fight: increasing antitrust compliance by convincing non-experts of the wisdom of antitrust’s principles. Here’s a quick refresher on the…

Federal Trade Commission Administrative Law Judges

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The Federal Trade Commission will soon be back to having a full complement of five commissioners. Today, the U.S. Senate, by a vote of 95 to 1, confirmed Terrell McSweeny to fill a vacancy at the agency created by the departure of Jon D. Leibowitz more than a year ago. The term runs through September…

Congress, Exclusive Dealing, Federal Trade Commission Administrative Law Judges

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Six months ago in Can the FTC Be a Fair Umpire? I wrote about the concerns arising from the Federal Trade Commission’s dual role as prosecutor and final decision maker in its administrative litigation. I noted that for 19 years in every case brought by the Commission it had found an antitrust violation. I observed…

Federal Trade Commission Administrative Law Judges, IP Antitrust

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In anticipation of a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing next week, entitled “The FTC at 100: Where Do We Go from Here,” David Balto offers this post, discussing the important role Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act can play in the battle with patent trolls. One hundred years ago Congress created the Federal Trade…

Federal Trade Commission Administrative Law Judges, Mergers and Acquisitions, Standard Setting, U.S. Department of Justice

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Two of the most significant conferences on the antitrust calendar were held last week. Georgetown Law Center featured its Seventh Annual Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium on September 25, and Fordham Law School’s 40th annual international antitrust law and policy conference  took place on September 26 and 27. FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and William Baer, Assistant…

Federal Trade Commission Administrative Law Judges, FTC Enforcement

(Law Offices of David A. Balto)/ /Leave a comment

Nearly 100 year ago, Congress established the Federal Trade Commission to protect consumers against unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive practices.  Part of the reason for its creation was to create an independent, fair and expert body to resolve complex antitrust claims, because the federal courts seemed incapable of enforcing the antitrust laws.  So Congress enabled the…