Announced Actions for July 19, 2002

Commission approval of modified Part II agreement and decision and order:

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a modified Part II agreement and decision and order with Med Gen, Inc., of Boca Raton, Florida and its principal, Paul Kavitz. Med Gen sold a throat spray that purportedly reduces or eliminates snoring and the symptoms of sleep apnea. The amendments to the agreement and decision and order, which are posted on the FTC's Web site as a link to this press release, contain two new provisions: a disgorgement payment of $30,000 and a broader substantiation provision. The Commission modified the settlement agreement because the Commission staff received information, after the close of the comment period, indicating that Med Gen, rather than an independent entity, composed the questionnaire and compiled the results for the study it touted as proof of Snorenz's efficacy in its infomercials and other advertising. In addition, the amendments reflect minor changes to a required disclosure concerning sleep apnea. These changes were based on a comment from the Sleep Apnea Association. The Commission vote to approved the modified Part II agreement and decision and order was 5-0. (FTC File No. 002-3211; staff contact is Lemuel W. Dowdy, Bureau of Consumer Protection; 202-326-2981; see press release dated March 29, 2001.)

Commission approval of amended complaint:

The Commission has approved a second amended complaint in its case against Capital Choice Consumer Credit, Inc., et al. Through this action, the FTC has added one new corporate defendant (Zentel Enterprises) and two new individual defendants (Johnnie Smith and Wilfredo Lugo), and also has added allegations of deceptive and unfair conduct against the defendants relating to their "up-selling" campaign. This case originally was announced as part of the April 2002 "Operation Dialing for Deception" law enforcement sweep. The vote to approve the amended complaint was 5-0. (FTC File No. X020038, Civ. No. 02-21050-CIV-Ungaro-Benages; staff contact is Brinley H. Williams, FTC East Central Region, 216-263-3414; see press releases dated April 15 and 23, 2002.)

Denial of application to reopen and modify a Commission order:

Following a public comment period, the Commission has denied an application from Liberty Media Corporation (Liberty) requesting that the FTC reopen and set aside the final order in the matter of Time Warner, Inc., et al. (Time Warner) (Docket No. C-3709), as it applies to Liberty, and to dismiss Liberty as a respondent. According to the March 19, 2002 application, Liberty was split off from Tele-Communications, Inc.'s (TCI) successor AT&T Corporation (AT&T) on August 10, 2001, and became a separate, independent company. In its application, Liberty argued that this termination of the linkage that existed through TCI, Liberty's then-parent company, and Time Warner, represented a change of fact that eliminated the need for the order as it applies to Liberty. Accordingly, the application contended, the provisions of the order relating to Liberty are no longer in the public interest and should be modified as detailed above. The Commission vote to deny the application was 5-0. (Docket No. C-3709; staff contact is Roberta Baruch, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2861; see press releases dated September 12, 1996 and March 22, 2002.)

Commission approval of final consent orders:

Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved final consent orders in the matters concerning Physician Integrated Services of Denver, Inc. and Aurora Associated Primary Care Physicians, L.L.C. The vote to approve each final order was 5-0. (FTC File Nos. 011-0173 and 011-0174; staff contact is Jeffrey W. Brennan, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-3688; see press release dated May 12, 2002.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.