Archives: FTC

Dan Foix, Carl Hittinger and Tyson Herrold Author Article on Efforts to Renew Enforcement of Largely Dormant Act

By Danyll Foix, Carl Hittinger and Tyson Herrold on March 16, 2023 Posted in FTC

Partners Dan Foix and Carl Hittinger and Counsel Tyson Herrold authored a Feb. 27, 2023, article for Westlaw Today titled “The FTC considers reviving Robinson-Patman enforcement.” The authors write that the Federal Trade Commission, which has not attempted to enforce Robinson-Patman in decades,“will look for what it views as a clear violation that it can use to … Continue Reading

2023 HSR Filing Thresholds and New Filing Fee Structure Announced

By Thomas Hogan and Jeffrey E. Liskov on January 30, 2023 Posted in Alert, FTC

On Jan. 25, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the 2023 filing thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the HSR Act). The notice also announced the new HSR filing fee structure as mandated by the recently enacted Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022. The … Continue Reading

Hospital Mergers: The Future of COPA Immunity

By Carl Hittinger, Marc Schildkraut and Tyson Herrold on October 26, 2022 Posted in FTC

In October 2022, the Federal Trade Commission issued a Public Comment opposing a Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) for the merger of State University of New York Upstate Medical University (SUNY Upstate) and Crouse Health System, Inc. The FTC’s Public Comment advises the New York State Department of Health that the merger would harm competition, … Continue Reading

Baby Formula Shortage Subject of FTC Scrutiny

By Carl Hittinger, Julian Perlman, Marc Schildkraut, Alyse Stach, Victoria Weatherford and BakerHostetler on June 2, 2022 Posted in Food Industry, FTC

On May 23, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at the prompting of President Joe Biden, announced that it will launch a civil investigation into the ongoing shortage of baby formula throughout the country. The FTC is hoping to unearth the factors that have contributed to market consolidation in light of the pressing supply chain … Continue Reading

Combating COVID-19 Through Competitor Collaboration

By Tyson Herrold and Brady Cummins on April 7, 2020 Posted in FTC

Join members of the BakerHostetler Antitrust and Competition Team on Monday, April 13, 2020 for a webinar where they will examine criminal and civil antitrust risks and the best practices businesses should follow to protect themselves, including an exploration of the immunities offered by the Defense Production Act, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act and … Continue Reading

COVID-19 Antitrust Agency Announcements and Procedural Changes

By Brady Cummins on April 2, 2020 Posted in Antitrust & Politics, FTC

Over the past several weeks, the U.S. antitrust enforcement agencies – the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) – have made several public announcements regarding changes to antitrust investigations and regulatory processes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to changes to filing and meeting processes, … Continue Reading

Vertical Merger Review Debate Continues With Antitrust Enforcers

By Danyll Foix on February 26, 2019 Posted in FTC, Merger

Since at least 2017, when the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued to block a vertical merger, the business press has been atwitter about the antitrust enforcement agencies’ views of such mergers, as we covered here.… Continue Reading

Carl Hittinger, Tyson Herrold Author Article that Assesses Congressional Attempts to Update FTC Merger Review Process

By Tyson Herrold and Carl Hittinger on June 27, 2018 Posted in FTC

Partner Carl Hittinger and Associate Tyson Herrold authored an article published June 22, 2018, by The Legal Intelligencer. The article, “How Smart is the Proposed Merger Review SMARTER Act?,” discusses a long-awaited bill before Congress that would significantly streamline the standards for the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) merger review process and finally align the different … Continue Reading

The Department of Justice Weighs In on the Application of North Carolina Dental Examiners to the Florida State Bar

By Bill DeVinney on March 23, 2018 Posted in Antitrust Litigation, FTC

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently took the uncommon step of submitting an amicus brief to weigh in on a motion to dismiss. TIKD Services, LLC v. The Florida Bar, No. 1:17-cv-24103 (S.D. Fla. filed Nov. 8, 2017), Dkt. 115. Specifically, the DOJ intervened to clarify whether the analysis set forth in the Supreme Court’s … Continue Reading

No Health Care Merger Too Small for the FTC to Take an Antitrust Look

By Carl Hittinger and Tyson Herrold on February 12, 2018 Posted in FTC, Healthcare

In our November and December 2016 articles, we discussed the Federal Trade Commission’s proclivity to challenge health care mergers, even when the purported anticompetitive effects of the relatively economically limited merger would be confined to a local geographic region. For example, in 2014, the FTC, joined by the Idaho state attorney general, in St. Alphonsus … Continue Reading

The FTC Is Looking You Up and Down(stream): Insights From the Acting Director of the Bureau of Competition on Antitrust Enforcement for Vertical Mergers

By Bill DeVinney on January 25, 2018 Posted in FTC, Merger

Since Assistant Attorney General Delrahim’s inaugural remarks on vertical mergers (covered here), the business press has been atwitter about the antitrust enforcement agencies’ views of those mergers. Bruce Hoffman, the acting director of the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Competition, recently delivered a speech explaining that the FTC will continue to review vertical mergers as … Continue Reading

Recent Investigation Closing Suggests FTC’s Process Reforms Might Be Meaningful

By Danyll Foix on October 4, 2017 Posted in FTC

Back in April, we reviewed several new initiatives within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) focused on eliminating “wasteful, legacy regulations and processes that have outlived their usefulness,” including “process reforms” for civil investigatory demands (CIDs) for reviewing and closing some investigations. Now, six months later, we thought it useful to consider whether these new initiatives … Continue Reading

‘Tryin’ to Loosen My Load’ – FTC’s New CID Process May Reduce Your Antitrust Investigation Burden*

By Danyll Foix on August 7, 2017 Posted in FTC, Government Investigations

In April we reviewed several new initiatives within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) focused on eliminating “wasteful, legacy regulations and processes that have outlived their usefulness,” in the words of FTC Acting Chair Maureen K. Ohlhausen. As part of these initiatives, the FTC recently announced that its Bureau of Consumer Protection will be implementing “process … Continue Reading

What to Expect From FTC during Trump Administration: New Leader Illuminates

By Carey Busen on February 16, 2017 Posted in FTC, Government Investigations

On Jan. 25, President Trump named Maureen Ohlhausen as the Federal Trade Commission’s acting chairwoman. A recent speech by Ohlhausen, who has served as a commissioner for the FTC since 2012, shed some light on the role the FTC may have under her leadership during the new administration. Ohlhausen briefly summarized a “few areas in … Continue Reading

BakerHostetler Antitrust Lawyer Reviews Unusual Incentive Payment/Failing Firm Defense Remedy in Recent Hospital Merger

By BakerHostetler on November 17, 2016 Posted in Articles, FTC, FTC Act, Government Investigations, Healthcare, Merger Review

Antitrust Partner Danyll W. Foix wrote an article, published November 17, 2016 by Law360, reviewing the Federal Trade Commission’s acceptance of an unusual settlement for a challenged hospital merger, explaining that “the settlement ends the FTC’s challenge of a transaction that was too small to be reportable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, and the settlement is … Continue Reading