Corporate & Securities Law

Whole Foods Sues The FTC

By David Fischer

The complaint (via the Legal Time’s BLT) is here (pdf). The BLT reports that:

Whole Foods asks for injunctive relief that would order the FTC to halt a specialized administrative trial involving the merger, set for February 2009, and move all future proceedings into federal court.

…

The complaint also says that the FTC appointed a commissioner to serve as the presiding official for scheduling purposes instead of leaving such matters to the administrative law judge. As a final kicker, Whole Foods contends, if the company eventually tries to appeal the administrative law judge?s ultimate decision, it will have to do so in front of the full commission, including the commissioner overseeing the initial proceedings.

In a press conference this morning, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey called the FTC?s legal actions against the merger a vendetta filed in a ?kangaroo court? and said he doesn?t understand what is motivating the commission.

Full post as published by Antitrust Review on December 09, 2008 (boomark / email).