[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