Antitrust

Antitrust Oversight Extended

New York, NY (January 30, 2008) - New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a federal judge has granted New York State’s request to continue overseeing Microsoft’s conduct to ensure fair competition. The Court ordered the oversight extension until November 12, 2009 despite the opposition of Microsoft Corp. and the United States Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, both of whom opposed further oversight.    » read more »

January 29, 2008 -- OLYMPIA --- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today issued an opinion in Costco Wholesale Corporation’s antitrust lawsuit challenging nine specific restraints on the sale and distribution of beer and wine in Washington.

Reversing a district court decision, the Ninth Circuit found seven of the nine challenged regulations were valid.    » read more »

Subpoena Seeks Information on Potentially Monopolistic Practices

NEW YORK, NY (January 10, 2008) ‑ New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today served a wide-ranging subpoena seeking documents and information on Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), the world’s largest maker of computer microprocessors. Cuomo is investigating whether Intel violated state and federal antitrust laws by coercing customers to exclude its main rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), from the worldwide market for x86 computer processing units (CPU).    » read more »

Legislation Would Prevent the Federal Communications Commission from Unilaterally Relaxing Media Concentration Rules and Requires a Focus on Preserving Local Community Programming and Diversity in Ownership

November 9, 2007 -- Washington, DC - In response to ongoing efforts at the FCC to push through rules that would enable large media conglomerates to concentrate their ownership of newspapers, radio and television stations in media markets, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton joined legislation introduced by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Trent Lott (R-MS), “The Media Ownership Act of 2    » read more »

November 9, 2007 -- OLYMPIA – Washington Governor Chris Gregoire today expressed her concern over concentration of media ownership through consolidation of the media. The remarks were made during testimony delivered today at a hearing held by the Federal Communications Commission in Seattle.    » read more »

October 26, 2007 -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today confirmed that his office has issued subpoenas to the three largest debt rating agencies as part of an antitrust investigation into the commercial debt rating industry.

Blumenthal sent the subpoenas October 10 to Standard & Poors, Moody's Investor Services and Fitch Ratings Service. Standard & Poors and Moody's control about 80 percent of the debt rating market -- assessments of corporate, bank, mortgage, government and other borrowers' ability to pay back a given loan.    » read more »

October 15, 2007 -- WASHINGTON — Iconix Brand Group has agreed to pay $550,000 to settle charges that the company failed to produce certain documents before buying Rocawear, an acquisition requiring pre-merger review, the Department of Justice announced today.

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division today filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against Iconix for violating the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976. At the same time, the Department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, will settle the charges.    » read more »

Open Doors For New Competitors

September 26, 2007 -- SEATTLE – Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna today announced a settlement that addresses concerns surrounding the merger of the nation’s two largest school bus contractors. Eleven states reached an agreement with Laidlaw International, Inc., and FirstGroup plc to help ensure that school districts can still receive competitive bids for student transportation.

Jonathan Mark, an assistant attorney general with the Attorney General’s Antitrust Division, represented Washington in the settlement negotiations.    » read more »

September 26, 2007 -- TRENTON – New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced today that New Jersey has entered into a settlement agreement that resolves its anti-trust investigation of the proposed merger of the nation’s two largest school bus contractors -- FirstGroup and Laidlaw International Inc.    » read more »

September 26, 2007 -- Jefferson City, Mo. — A proposed settlement with the nation’s two largest school bus contractors will help preserve or encourage competition for student transportation contracts in Missouri, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon says. Missouri is one of 11 states with anti-trust concerns about the proposed acquisition of Laidlaw International Inc., the nation’s largest provider of contracted student busing services, by FirstGroup (also known as First Student Inc.), the second largest provider of such services.    » read more »

September 26, 2007
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced a multi-state antitrust settlement involving the merger of the two largest school bus transportation providers in the United States - FirstGroup and Laidlaw International, Inc.    » read more »

September 26, 2007 -- LOS ANGELES – Halting the “anticompetitive effects” of a merger between the nation’s two largest school bus operators, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced a settlement with First Group, plc (also known as First Student) and Laidlaw Educational Services. Under the terms of the settlement, the merged company will divest its rights in a bus depot to Riverside Unified School District and agree that Los Angeles Unified School District may terminate certain contracts for school bus services.    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- MADISON – Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen sent a letter today to United States Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Thomas O. Barnett asking that the United States Department of Justice block the proposed merger between XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio. Barnett heads the United States Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, which has the authority to challenge acquisitions and mergers.    » read more »

17 September 2007 -- Microsoft Corporation suffered a major legal setback Monday when a European Union court rejected the software giant's appeal of a 2004 anti trust ruling. The court also upheld a record fine of more than $600 million which Microsoft has now been ordered to pay. Microsoft has not yet decided whether to appeal the new ruling.

Microsoft had asked the court to overturn a 2004 European Commission ruling that found the U.S. software giant abused its dominant market position by automatically including its media player in every Windows operating system.    » read more »

September 11, 2007 -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today, along with five other states and the District of Columbia, asked that a federal court judge extend the Final Judgment in the Microsoft case for another five years because the company has maintained its illegal monopoly.    » read more »