US: DOJ seeks court approval to terminate ‘outdated’ antitrust judgments

The US Justice Department (DOJ) said Wednesday, April 25, it plans to seek court approval to terminate “outdated” antitrust judgments that remain on the books throughout the United States.

The DOJ said there are nearly 1,300 “legacy” judgments remaining on the books of its Antitrust Division, and nearly all likely remain open in US courts. The Justice Department said the “majority of these judgments no longer protect competition because of changes in industry conditions, changes in economics, changes in law, or for other reasons.”

The government regulator is reviewing all of those judgments to determine “whether each judgment continues to serve competition,” but has already identified “many judgments that it likely will seek to terminate unilaterally after a public comment period.”

The DOJ posted an initial list of 26 judgments it plans to seek approval to terminate—all dating back to 1981 or earlier.

“We are taking a first step toward freeing American businesses, taxpayers, and consumers from the burden of judgments that no longer protect competition,” Makan Delrahim, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in a statement. “We will pursue the termination of outdated judgments around the country that presently do little more than clog court dockets, create unnecessary uncertainty for businesses or, in some cases, may actually elicit anticompetitive market conditions.”

Full Content: St Louis Post-Dispatch

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