In the Matter of Investigation of Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.. Assurance No. 19-156 Dec. 31, 2019)
New York reached an agreement with Emergent BioSolutions, manufacturers of the opioid overdose reversal nasal spray NARCAN, to allow additional companies to gain access to the nasal spray delivery devices developed by Emergent. In February 2016, Adapt Pharma, Inc. launched a naloxone nasal spray, branded as NARCAN, in the United States. Naloxone has been used…
In re: TC Denver Development, Inc., Colo. AG Assurance of Discontinuance (Apr. 25.2020)
The Colorado AG’s office investigated whether Trammell Crow, acting as the City and County of Denver’s program manager for its Convention Center expansion project, and its former employee, Michael Sullivan, improperly exchanged confidential information about the project and procurement process with Mortenson Company that they did not share with other prospective bidders. (See entry on…
In re: Mortenson Company Assurance of Discontinuance (Colo. Apr. 13, 2020)
Colorado attorney general entered into Assurance of Discontinuance with general contractor M. A. Mortenson Company to resolve claims resulting from the attorney general’s investigation into an alleged bid-rigging scheme related to the City and County of Denver’s plans to upgrade and expand the Colorado Convention Center. The office’s investigation centered on whether Mortenson violated the…
In the Matter of Invesigation of Hornblower Group, Inc., AOD no. 19-103
An attorney general’s investigation of the dining cruise market in New York Harbor indicated that Hornblower Group, Inc. had obtained dominance in New York City’s dining cruise market through its acquisition of Entertainment Cruises. The investigation also confirmed that while other already-existing dining cruise operators wished to expand their operations into New York City, they…
Commonwealth v. Beth Israel Lahey Health, Inc. No. 2018-3703, Sussex Super. Ct., Mass Nov. 29, 2018)
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health System sought to merger to form the Beth Israel Lahey Health system (BILH). After a lengthy investigation, the Massachusetts Attorney General reached a settlement that permitted the merger while imposing a seven-year price cap and $71.6 million in financial commitments to support health care services for low-income and underserved communities in Massachusetts. In an assurance of discontinuance, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, the parties agreed to a series of enforceable conditions that also require BILH to strengthen its commitment to MassHealth; engage in joint business planning with its safety net hospital affiliates, including Lawrence General Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, and Signature Brockton Hospital; and enhance access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment across the system, as well as requiring BILH to retain a third-party monitor to ensure compliance with the terms. The settlement resulted after a referral from the state Health Policy Commission (HPC), which asked the AG’s Office to determine whether it could negotiate terms to address potential cost increases and barriers to access to care raised by the HPC’s own review of the transaction.
State of Maryland v. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (Cir. Ct. Baltimore Cty Feb. 29, 2016)
State alleged that defendant, responding to requests from eye care professionals to limit competition from discounters, implemented a resale price maintenance policy, which fixed minimum retail prices for all retail sellers of Johnson & Johnson contact lenses. After objections from Costco, a large discount retailer, defendant revised its policy. Under Maryland law, although not federal law, an agreement establishing a minimum retail price is an unreasonable restraint of trade and per se illegal. The parties entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance under which Johnson & Johnson permanently discontinued the RPM agreements alleged and agreed to pay $50,000 in civil penalties.
Investigation Concerning an Agreement Between Competing Pharmaceutical companies to Not challenge Each Other’s sole first to file Exculsivity, Assurance No. 14-034 (Feb. 19, 2014)
State challenged an agreement between two generic pharmaceutical makers under which they agreed not to challenge the exclusivity of any of the other party’s pharmaceuticals (pursuant to the Hatch-Waxman Act). The parties agreed to drop that provision and not enter into a similar provision with other generic manufacturers
Investigation by Attorney General of the State of New York, of the Proposed Combination of Seamless North America, LLC and GruHub Inc.
Seamless and GrubHub are two services that allow consumers to search for local restaurants, browse menus, and order food for delivery or takeout via their respective websites or mobile applications. The two proposed to merge. The Attorney General was concerned that exclusivity provisions in their contracts would impede entry of other competitors in the online food ordering platform market in Manhattan. In an Assurance of Discontinuance, the companies agreed to waive their exclusivity provisions, not enter into any new exclusivity arrangements with restaurants for 18 months, nor provide any incentives for exclusivity. The companies also agreed not to enter into any exclusive arrangement with the online review site Yelp for a period fo 18 months.
In the Matter of Independent Connecticut Petroleum Ass’n Inc.
State alleged that heating oil dealers, throught their trade association, conspired to boycott the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program, which helps pay for heating oil for low-income consumers. The boycott was intended to raise the reimbursement rate for heating oil provided by participating dealers. According to the state, the trade association urged the dealersnot to participate in the program. The settlement prohibited future agreements seeking to increase the reimbursement rates, required the association to establish an anittrust compliance program and notify the AG of its compliance with the settlement for 10 years.
Minnesota v. Waste Management of Minnesota (Ramsey Cty. Dist. Ct. 2008)
Plaintiff State alleged monpolization in three counties as a result of evergreen contract provisions by Waste Management, which had 80-90 percent of the waste hauling market. Waste Management agreed to change its contract renewal terms.
