A New Mexico appellate court in Romero v. Philip Morris, et al. reversed a summary judgment ruling in favor of tobacco companies, reinstating a price fixing claim. Relying on the plaintiffs’ expert, the court held that the allegations were sufficient to support a conspiracy claim. The plaintiffs alleged that that tobacco companies altered the pricing policies in […]
Category Archives: Cartel Activity
New Mexico Appellate Court Reinstates Price Fixing Claim Against Some Tobacco Companies
November 23, 2008 – 7:53 pm
Jury Finds No Conspiracy on Universal Service Fees
November 23, 2008 – 7:32 pm
The jury in a Federal District Court case against AT&T found that the telco giant did not conspire with Spring and MCI in the manner in which it passed on the universal service fee to customers. The jury did find in favor of the plaintiffs on a breach of contract claim. Sprint had previously settled […]
ECJ Finds Competitive Restraint in Irish Beef Processing
November 23, 2008 – 7:20 pm
On November 20, 2008, the European Court of Justice issued a preliminary ruling in the Irish beef case, concluding that a scheme by some beef processors to leave the processing industry, restricted competition and violated EU rules. The European Commission commented that the ruling confirmed that agreements between competitors to restrict capacity or production were hardcore restrictions of competition that generally harm consumers.
Court Refuses to Dismiss Price Fixing as Government Compelled
November 18, 2008 – 11:35 am
An Eastern District of New York district judge recently rejected a motion to dismiss a multi-district Section 1 case alleging price fixing among Chinese producers of vitiman C. The defendants argued, with support from an amicus brief filed by the Chinese government, that the cartel was compelled by government policy and thus government action beyond […]
Delaware Challenges Title Insurance Rate Setting
October 22, 2008 – 9:57 am
The state of Delaware has challenged rate setting practices by title insurance companies comprising 98% of the Delaware market. The District of Delaware case alleges that the companies agree on rates and implement them without effective regulatory review.
EC Fines Banana Producers
October 15, 2008 – 10:58 am
The European Commission has fined banana suppliers €60.3m for coordinated the setting of their quotation prices between 2000 and 2002.
European Commission Upholds Graphite Electrode Cartel Fines
October 9, 2008 – 1:48 pm
Several members of a grahpite electrode cartel challenged the propriety of a December 2003 decision to impose massive fines, but not the liability decision, for a price fixing scheme that began in the late-80s/early 90s. The Commission upheld all of the fines. The fines upheld ranged from 23 million to 43 million euros.
EC Fines Paraffin Wax Producers
October 2, 2008 – 11:07 am
Nine paraffin wax producers found to have engaged in a price fixing cartel were fined more than 675 million euros, the fourth largest cartel fine in the Commission’s history. The defendants were Exxon, ENI, Hansen & Rosenthal, MOL, Repsol, RWE, Sosol, Tudapetrol, and Total.
EC Imposes Fines on Calcuim Carbide & Magnesium Powder Suppliers
June 27, 2008 – 12:14 pm
Update July 2009: The EC has imposed a total of €61.120.000 in fines on nine suppliers of calcium carbide and magnesium based reagents including Germany-based Almamet, Ecka Granulate, Holding Slovenske elektrarne, SKW Stahl-Metallurgie, Austria-based Donau Chemie, Slovakia-based Novácke chemické závody, under Article 81. Netherlands-based Akzo Nobel was not fined despite its participation because it revealed the existence of […]