United States DC Circuit

A preliminary injunction under Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act to enjoin consolidation of a merger is in the public's interests where serious and substantial questions remain about preserving competition under Section 7 of the Clayton Act.

Appellate Information

• Argued 02/12/2001
• Decided 04/27/2001
• Published 04/27/2001

Judges

• Before:  HENDERSON, RANDOLPH and GARLAND, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States DC Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Debra A. Valentine, General Counsel, Federal Trade Commission, argued the cause for the appellant.  John F. Daly, Assistant General Counsel, Richard G. Parker, Director, and Richard B. Dagen, David A. Balto and David C. Shonka, Attorneys, Federal Trade Commission, were on brief., J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Attorney General, and Ellen S. Cooper, Assistant Attorney General, State of Maryland;  Bruce M. Botelho, Attorney General, State of Alaska;  Janet Napolitano, Attorney General, State of Arizona;  Mark Pryor, Attorney General, State of Arkansas;  Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, and Peter Siggins, Chief Deputy Attorney General, State of California;  Ken Salazar, Attorney General, State of Colorado;  Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General and Steven Rutstein, Assistant Attorney General, State of Connecticut;  Robert R. Rigsby, Corporation Counsel, Charles L. Reischel, Deputy Corporation Counsel, and Bennett Rushkoff, Senior Counsel, District of Columbia;  Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, State of Florida;  Earl I. Anzai, Attorney General, State of Hawaii;  Alan G. Lance, Attorney General, State of Idaho;  James E. Ryan, Attorney General, State of Illinois;  Karen M. Freeman-Wilson, Attorney General, State of Indiana;  Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, State of Iowa;  Carla J. Stovall, Attorney General, State of Kansas;  Richard P. Ieyoub, Attorney General, State of Louisiana;  Jennifer Granholm, Attorney General, and Thomas L. Casey, Solicitor General, State of Michigan;  Julie Ralston Aoki, Assistant Attorney General, State of Minnesota;  Mike Moore, Attorney General, State of Mississippi;  Frankie Sue Del Papa, Attorney General, State of Nevada;  Philip T. McLaughlin, Attorney General, State of New Hampshire;  Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General, State of New York;  Michael F. Easley, Attorney General, and K.D. Sturgis, Assistant Attorney General, State of North Carolina;  Herbert D. Soll, Attorney General, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;  Betty D. Montgomery, Attorney General, State of Ohio;  W.A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General, State of Oklahoma;  Angel E. Rotger-Sabat, Attorney General, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;  Mark Barnett, Attorney General, State of South Dakota;  John Cornyn, Attorney General, State of Texas;  Jan Graham, Attorney General, State of Utah;  William H. Sorrell, Attorney General, State of Vermont;  Mark L. Earley, Attorney General, Commonwealth of Virginia;  Christine O. Gregoire, Attorney General, State of Washington;  Darrell V. McGraw, Jr., Attorney General, and Douglas L. Davis, Assistant Attorney General, State of West Virginia;  James E. Doyle, Attorney General, and Kevin J. O'Connor, State of Wisconsin;  and Gay Woodhouse, Attorney General, State of Wyoming;  were on brief for The Thirty-Six Amici Curiae in support of the appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Edward P. Henneberry argued the cause for the appellees.  W. Bradford Reynolds, Marc G. Schildkraut, Kenneth W. Starr, and Mark L. Kovner were on brief., James H. Skiles and Jan Amundson were on brief for Grocery Manufacturers of America, Inc. et al., Amici Curiae in support of the appellees., C. Boyden Gray, William J. Kolasky, Jeffrey D. Ayer and Robert H. Bork were on brief for Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, Amicus Curiae, in support of the appellees.