Emily Townsend
Subscribe to Emily Townsend's PostsPotato Price-Fixing Case Survives Motion to Dismiss Holds That Pre-Production Agricultural Output Restrictions Are Not Exempt Under Capper-Volstead
By Emily Townsend on Dec 8, 2011
Posted In Agriculture
by Gregory E. Heltzer and Nicole Castle On December 2, 2011, a federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation involving an alleged potato price-fixing conspiracy denied a motion to dismiss the antitrust conspiracy claims despite the potato grower cooperatives asserting that the concerted action was permissible under the Capper-Volstead Act. In Re: Fresh and Process Potatoes Antitrust Litigation,...
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Potash Price-Fixing Case Opinion Vacated and to be Reheard En Banc
By Emily Townsend on Dec 7, 2011
Posted In Cartel Enforcement
by Nicole Castle On December 2, 2011, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted plaintiffs’ petition for rehearing en banc and vacated the opinion issued by a Seventh Circuit panel in Minn-Chem, Inc. v. Agrium Inc., No. 10-1712. The Seventh Circuit panel had issued an order on September 23, 2011, directing the district court to dismiss a class-action price-fixing...
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Jumping The Train: The General Courts Sets a High Bar for Private Damages Claimants to Join Cartel Decision Appeals
By Emily Townsend on Dec 2, 2011
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, EC Developments, German Developments
by Philipp Werner The General Court rejects intervention of damages claimants in appeal before the European courts by taking a narrow and rather formalistic view of legal interest in the appeals. While it is true that damages actions are legally possible as stand-alone actions, the reality in Europe is that third parties’ damages actions stand...
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European Commission Publishes New Brochure on Compliance with EU Competition Rules
By Emily Townsend on Nov 30, 2011
Posted In EC Developments
by Philipp Werner and Martina Maier On November 23, 2011, the European Commission published a new brochure, “Compliance Matters – What Companies Can Do Better to Respect EU Competition Rules.” Its stated purpose is to help companies that do business in the European Union "stay out of trouble" and to ensure their compliance with EU competition...
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Italian Competition Authority Updates Merger Control Turnover Thresholds
By Emily Townsend on Nov 21, 2011
Posted In Italian Developments, Mergers & Acquisitions
by Martino Sforza The Italian Competition Authority has updated its merger control turnover thresholds. Effective as of today, November 21, 2011, Section 16(1) of Law no. 287 of October 10, 1990, requires prior notification of all mergers and acquisitions where either of the following conditions is fulfilled: Aggregate turnover in Italy of all undertakings involved is above...
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MOFCOM Issues Its Eighth Conditional Clearance–Minority Shareholders Beware
By Emily Townsend on Nov 18, 2011
Posted In Chinese Developments, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance
by Carlo Carani and James Jiang Before granting its approval of Alpha V’s acquisition of Savio, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) required the private equity fund to divest its 27.9 per cent stake in Savio’s rival Uster. With this decision, MOFCOM has signalled its willingness to closely scrutinize the influence of minority shareholders when conducting...
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European Developments: French Competition Authority Launches Public Consultation on Settlement and Compliance Programs and Italy’s Prime Minister Announces New Cabinet
By Emily Townsend on Nov 17, 2011
Posted In Cartel Enforcement, EC Developments, French Developments, Italian Developments, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance
Public Consultation on Settlement and Compliance Programs Launched by the French Competition Authority by Louise-Astrid Aberg and Lionel Lesur On October 14, the French Competition Authority (FCA) launched a two-month public consultation for guidelines on settlement and compliance programs. Both these guidelines have been highly anticipated since they were first announced last May. The draft...
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China’s First Merger Control Decision Approving a Joint Venture–GE & Shenhua
By Emily Townsend on Nov 17, 2011
Posted In Chinese Developments, Joint Ventures/Competitor Collaboration, Monopolization/Abuse of Dominance
by Frank Schoneveld, Brian Fu and James Jiang In giving approval to GE China’s joint venture with Shenhua Coal, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has answered positively the recurring question of whether the formation of a joint venture falls within China’s merger control rules. It is now clear that the formation of a joint venture...
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Italy’s New Prime Minister: Priorities and Potential Long Term Objectives
By Emily Townsend on Nov 16, 2011
Posted In EC Developments, Italian Developments
by Veronica Pinotti and Martino Sforza On Sunday November 13, 2011, Mario Monti, a former member of the European Commission, conditionally accepted a mandate to form a new Government. The main task of the new Italian Government will be to adopt a package of economic reforms considered necessary by the European Union to cut Italy’s massive...
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French Court Orders French Competition Authority to Disclose Antitrust Investigation Documents
By Emily Townsend on Nov 14, 2011
Posted In French Developments
by Louise-Astrid Aberg and Lionel Lesur The Commercial Court in Paris has once again ordered the French Competition Authority (the Autorité de la concurrence, the "FCA") to disclose documents in its file regarding an antitrust investigation on private damages. However, the new decision, allows for the disclosure on a different procedural setting and on different grounds than...
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