Federal Trade Commission/Department of Justice Hearings on Single-firm Conduct to Begin June 20

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division today announced that the first in a series of planned joint public hearings designed to examine the antitrust implications of single-firm conduct under the antitrust laws will take place on June 20 and June 22, 2006, in Washington, DC. As previously announced, these public hearings, which will continue throughout the year, will examine whether and when specific types of single-firm conduct may violate Section 2 of the Sherman Act by harming competition and consumer welfare, and when they are pro-competitive or benign.

FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras and Assistant Attorney General Thomas O. Barnett will be joined by two of the leading antitrust and industrial organization scholars at the opening session, Professor Herbert Hovenkamp and Professor Dennis Carlton. Two panels focusing on predatory pricing will follow on June 22.

Further information is set forth below:

The June hearings will be held at the FTC Headquarters Building, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC, Room 432. The general public and press are invited to attend and view the proceedings. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with an overflow room provided. Written comments from interested parties may be submitted to the FTC and the Antitrust Division.

Further information about the Section 2 hearings will be posted on the FTC’s Web site, http://www.ftc.gov/os/sectiontwohearings/index.htm and the Antitrust Division’s Web site, http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/hearings/single_firm/sfchearing.htm. Individuals seeking more information on the hearings should contact Patricia Schultheiss, FTC, at section2hearings2@ftc.gov, or Gail Kursh, Deputy Chief, Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, at singlefirmconduct@usdoj.gov.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.