State of Colorado et al v. Warner Chilcott, 1:05-cv-02182 (D.D.C.2005)
34 states filed suit alleging that Warner Chilcott entered into an illegal agreement with Barr Pharmaceuticals to raise the prices of Ovcon, an oral contraceptive. The lawsuit alleged that after Barr Pharmaceuticals publicly announced that it planned to have a generic version of Ovcon on the market by the end of the year, Warner Chilcott paid Barr Pharmaceuticals $1 million for an agreement designed to prevent Barr’s generic product from coming to market. Under the terms of the alleged agreement, once Barr received FDA approval to market generic Ovcon, Warner Chilcott had 90 days to pay Barr $19 million, after which Barr would refuse to bring the cheaper generic version to the market. The lawsuit alleged that as a result of the agreement, Warner Chilcott paid Barr a total of $20 million to keep it from marketing its generic version of Ovcon. In additon to a payment of $5.5 million, the settlement prohibits Warner Chilcott, for ten years, from entering into any agreement that would have the effect of limiting the research, development, manufacture, or sale of a generic alternative to one of its drugs. Furthermore, Warner Chilcott must provide the states notice of certain agreements it has entered into with generic manufacturers, and must continue to make its records available to the states for inspection to determine whether the company is complying with the terms of the agreement.
California v. Infineon Technologies, No. 3:06-cv-04333 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 7, 2007)
33 Plaintiff States generally alleged a horizontal price-fixing conspiracy in the U.S.
market for dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”), carried out by numerous manufacturer defendants. Samsung an
another company, Winbond, reached settlement for $113 million in 2007.. States and private parties settled with the remaining defendants for $173 million and injunctive relief.
People of the State of California v Conti, BC 348077 (Ca. Super. Ct. 2006)
State alleged that defendants participated in a bid-rigging conspiracy designed to allocate bids for advertising on Internet search-engine Yahoo.
California v. Valero Energy Corp., No. 01-10895 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 18, 2001)
States sought to enjoin the proposed merger between Valero Energy Corporation (Valero) and Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corporation (Ultramar), arguing that the merger would substantially lessen competition in the bulk supply and wholesale marketing of gasoline.
California ex. rel. Lockyer v. The Vons Companies, Inc. (C.D. Cal CV 05-8972 DSF January 03, 2006).
Vons allegedly monopolized the grocery store market for the City of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island, 26 miles from Los Angeles six years ago by accepting and later renewing a lease from Santa Catalina Island Company on a grocery store site when Vons owned and operated the only other grocery store in town. The Consent Decree required the divestiture of the lease to a new tenant and imposed ongoing obligations relating to both the store owned by Vons as well as the store leased by Vons from Santa Catalina Island Company.
California v. Nationwide Wire & Brush, No. 05AS03942 (Ca. Super. Ct. Sept. 2005)
Street sweeping brush manufacturers allegedly set up a territorial allocation scheme and engaged in bid-rigging and solicitation to engage in bid-rigging.
California v. American Rotary Broom, No. GIC 853579 (Cal. Super. Ct. Sept. 2005)
Street sweeping brush manufacturers allegedly set up a territorial allocation scheme and engaged in bid-rigging and solicitation to engage in bid-rigging.
U.S. et al. v. EchoStar Communications, Corp., et al. No. 1:02CV02138 (D.D.C.)
Federal and State action to enjoin merger of two direct broadcast satellite (DBS) companies. The merging parties abandoned their merger agreement
In the Matter of Wells Fargo/First Interstate Bancorp Merger
Joint investigaiton and agreement resolving competitive concners in merger of two large California banks.
In the Matter of Ralph’s & Yucaipa Companies
Merger of two southern California supermarket chains, parties entered into consent decree to divest 27 stores.
