[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 228 (Monday, November 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 66663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30831]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Antitrust Division
U.S. v. Morgan Drive Away, Inc., et al., Civ. Action No. 74-1781
(TAF) (D. D.C. 1976); United States Notice of Defendant's Motion To
Terminate Final Judgment
Notice is hereby given that Morgan Drive Away, Inc. (``Morgan''),
the only remaining defendant in the captioned matter, has moved to
terminate the Final Judgment entered by the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia on June 30, 1976. In a stipulation
also filed with the Court, the Department of Justice (``Department'')
has tentatively consented to termination of the Judgment, but has
reserved the right to withdraw its consent pending receipt of public
comments.
On December 5, 1974, the United States filed its complaint in this
case. The complaint charged the defendants with conspiracy in restraint
of trade, conspiracy to monopolize and monopolization of the for-hire
transportation of mobile homes in the United States in violation of
Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. Among the violations alleged in
the complaint were that the defendants deprived applicants to state and
federal regulatory agencies for mobile home transportation authority of
meaningful access to and fair hearings before those agencies. This was
done by various means including (1) protesting virtually all
applications regardless of the merits, (2) including others to protest
such applications, (3) jointly financing the protests and providing
personnel to aid in the protests, (4) using tactics to deter, delay and
increase the costs of the applications, and (5) providing, procuring,
and relying on testimony in agency application proceedings that they
knew to be false and misleading. The suit also charged that the
companies conspired to coerce competitors to charge the same rates as
they charged and to fix rates without authorization of federal or state
law.
The Final Judgment, filed January 21, 1976 and entered by the Court
on June 30, 1976 after a Tunney Act review, prohibited the defendants
from using litigation before administrative agencies to exclude
competition in the interstate transportation of mobile homes. The
Judgment also enjoined the defendants from joint activities in
connection with regulatory applications, from fixing interstate,
intrastate, or military rates without proper legal authorization, from
mutual stabilization of driver compensation, and from agreements to
refrain from hiring one another's personnel.
In the period between 1976 and 1999 substantial changes have been
made in the regulation of motor carriers, including transporters of
mobile homes, effectively eliminating the opportunity for firms to
manipulate the regulatory process to exclude competitors, to limit
their growth, or to fix rates.
The Department and Morgan have filed memoranda with the Court
setting forth the reasons they believe termination of the Final
Judgment would serve the public interest. Copies of Morgan's motion to
terminate, the stipulation containing the Department's consent, the
supporting memoranda, and all additional papers field with the Court in
connection with this motion will be available for inspection at the
Antitrust Documents Group of the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of
Justice, Room 215, North, Liberty Place Building, 325 Seventh Street,
NW., Washington, DC 20004, and at the Office of the Clerk of the United
States District Court for the District of Columbia. Copies of these
materials may be obtained from the Antitrust Division upon request and
payment of the duplicating fee set out in Department of Justice
regulations.
Interested persons may submit comments regarding the proposed
termination to the Department. Such comments must be received by the
Antitrust Division within sixty (60) days and will be filed with the
Court by the Department. Comments should be addressed to Roger W.
Fones, Chief, Transportation, Energy and Agriculture Section, Antitrust
Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 325 Seventh St. NW., Suite 500,
Washington, DC 20530, telephone: 202-307-6456.
Rebecca P. Dick,
Director of Civil Non-Merger Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 99-30831 Filed 11-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-11-M
