Department of Justice's Initiative to Seek Termination of Legacy Antitrust Judgments, 19837 [2018-09461]

Agencies

• Antitrust Division
• Department of Justice

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 87 (Friday, May 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 19837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09461]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Antitrust Division


Department of Justice's Initiative to Seek Termination of Legacy 
Antitrust Judgments

AGENCY: Antitrust Division, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Notice of initiative.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice describes the Department of Justice's new 
initiative for seeking unilaterally to terminate ``legacy'' antitrust 
judgments. Legacy antitrust judgments are those judgments that do not 
include an express termination date and that a court has not terminated 
by an order. The vast majority of these judgments were entered before 
1979, when the Division adopted the general practice of using sunset 
provisions to terminate a judgment automatically, usually 10 years 
after entry of the judgment. Nearly 1300 legacy judgments remain open 
on the books of the Antitrust Division, and nearly all of them likely 
remain open on the dockets of courts around the country. Many of these 
legacy judgments do not serve their original purpose of protecting 
competition. To eliminate the burden on defendants, courts, and the 
Division of complying with, overseeing, and enforcing outdated 
judgments, the Division has announced an initiative whereby it 
unilaterally will seek to terminate legacy judgments, as appropriate. 
The initiative provides for public notice and comment before the 
Division seeks to terminate a judgment. The Division has established a 
website to keep the public apprised of this initiative and its efforts 
to terminate outdated judgments: www.justice.gov/atr/JudgmentTermination.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dorothy B. Fountain, Office of the 
Chief Legal Advisor, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, at 
(202) 514-3543, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: From the early days of the Sherman Act until 
the late 1970s, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice 
often entered into judgments to settle violations of the antitrust laws 
that included no express termination date. In 1979, the Division 
adopted the general practice of including sunset provisions that 
automatically terminate judgments, usually 10 years from entry. 
However, nearly 1300 judgments entered before the Division put the 
practice into full effect remain on the books of the Division, and 
nearly all of them likely remain open on the dockets of courts around 
the country. The vast majority of these outstanding legacy judgments no 
longer protect competition because of changes in industry conditions, 
changes in economics, changes in law, or for other reasons. The 
Division has announced a new initiative that will seek to identify and 
expedite the termination of such legacy judgments.
    Division review of legacy judgments. Under the new initiative, 
announced April 25, 2018, the Division will review its legacy judgments 
to identify those that no longer protect competition. The Division has 
assigned each legacy judgment to a Division attorney. Using court 
papers, information available in Division files, and public 
information, attorneys will review each judgment to determine whether 
changes in industry conditions, changes in economics, changes in the 
law, or other factors have rendered the judgment outdated and 
appropriate for termination. Examples of legacy judgments for which 
termination may be appropriate include judgments whose terms have been 
completely satisfied, judgments governing defendants who are deceased 
or no longer in existence, and judgments governing products that no 
longer are produced.
    New termination process for legacy judgments. Once the Division 
identifies judgments appropriate for termination, it will list those 
judgments on a website established for purposes of informing the public 
of the progress of the initiative: www.justice.gov/atr/JudgmentTermination. The Division will invite the public to submit 
comments within 30 days of listing on the website regarding the 
Division's assessment that termination is appropriate. This website 
will identify the name of the case, the court that entered the 
judgment, the date the court entered the judgment, and the date by 
which comments are due to the Division; the website also will link to 
the text of the judgment. The Division will consult with the relevant 
court to determine the most appropriate means of termination.
    The Division has established an email address through which the 
public may submit comments: [email protected]. 
Members of the public are encouraged to supply any additional 
information they may have regarding the efficacy of judgments the 
Division proposes to terminate. Absent public comments or other factors 
that lead the Division to revise its determination that termination of 
a judgment is appropriate, it will proceed as directed by the court. In 
many cases, this will entail filing a motion to terminate. When 
feasible and when allowed by local rules, the Division will seek to 
terminate judgments in ``batches.'' That is, rather than file a motion 
for each judgment it seeks to terminate, the Division would make a 
single filing seeking to terminate a group of judgments in the same 
court. In this way, the Division hopes to expedite termination and ease 
the burden on the courts of reviewing multiple motions.
    Existing process for modification of judgments unaffected. The new 
initiative does not replace the Antitrust Division's existing process 
for consenting to a defendant's request to modify or terminate an 
existing antitrust judgment. Defendants still may seek the Division's 
consent to terminate or modify any judgment as described in the 
Antitrust Division Manual (see Section III.H.5, https://www.justice.gov/atr/file/761141/download).
    Mailing list for updates. Members of the public interested in 
receiving notice of updates to the public website, including posting of 
judgments that the Division believes should be terminated, may 
subscribe to email updates at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOJ/subscriber/new.

    Dated: April 30, 2018.
Dorothy B. Fountain,
Chief Legal Advisor.
[FR Doc. 2018-09461 Filed 5-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-11-P