Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: FTC Director Feinstein lists 10 “competition happenings” for 2014, (Dec 31, 2014)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

FTC Bureau of Competition Director Deborah L. Feinstein has compiled a list of “Ten Competition Happenings for 2014,” which she notes are worth a second look.

FTC complaints. Four FTC complaints made Feinstein’s list, including: (1) In the Matter of Ferrellgas Partners, L.P., in which the Commission alleged that two leading propane exchange tank suppliers illegally coordinated to reduce the amount of propane in their tanks sold to Walmart; (2) In the Matter of Visant Corp., in which the Commission challenged the proposed merger between two high school and college class ring manufacturers as anticompetitive; (3) FTC v. Abbvie Inc., in which several major pharmaceutical companies were accused of filing baseless patent infringement lawsuits against potential generic competitors, marking the Commission’s first post-Actavis reverse payment case; and (4) In the Matter of Verisk Analytics, Inc., wherein the FTC alleged that a proposed merger would harm competition in the market for rooftop aerial measurement services used by insurers to assess claims.

Blog posts. Two Competition Matters blog posts made the list, including “Different facts, different outcome” and “Running time.” The first post discussed the changed market conditions 17 years after the Commission blocked Staples, Inc.’s proposed acquisition of Office Depot, allowing the FTC to close its recent investigation into the Office Depot/Office Max merger. The second post provided guidance to readers on the option to pull and refile HSR notification forms.

Amicus briefs. The Commission also filed two amicus briefs that were worth noting. The first was filed in the federal district court in Newark, in Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Celgene Corp., in which the FTC discussed the unique regulatory framework applicable to the pharmaceutical industry. The second brief, filed in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC, answered a question before the U.S. Supreme Court, whether the court of appeals correctly upheld the FTC’s determination that the state-action doctrine did not exempt petitioner’s conduct from federal antitrust scrutiny.

Speeches. Two speeches rounded out the list, including Feinstein’s remarks, “The Forward-Looking Nature of Merger Analysis” and “Antitrust Enforcement in Health Care: Proscription, not Prescription.” The first speech, presented in February, discussed the Clayton Act and how merger law is still well suited to assessing the changing competitive dynamics in today’s constantly evolving markets. Feinstein’s second speech, presented in June, outlined the Commission’s approach to modern health care competition issues.

News: Antitrust FederalTradeCommissionNews