United States v. Ab Electrolux , 139 F. Supp. 3d 390 ( 2015 )


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  •                  IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
    FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff,
    Case No. 1:15-cv-01039-EGS
    v.
    AB ELECTROLUX,
    ELECTROLUX NORTH AMERICA, INC.,
    and
    GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY,
    Defendants.
    MEMORANDUM OPINION
    Non-party Intervenors (“Intervenors”) object to the four
    in-house counsel designated by Defendant General Electric (“GE”)
    to access Confidential Information pursuant to the Protective
    Order. Intervenors argue the in-house counsels’ declarations do
    not sufficiently demonstrate their lack of involvement with GE’s
    “competitive decision making.” GE now moves the Court to
    overrule the Intervenors’ objections. Docket No. 142. Upon
    consideration of the motion, the response and reply thereto,
    GE’s motion is GRANTED.
    I.   BACKGROUND
    In July 2015, GE identified Sharis A. Pozen, Aimee Imundo,
    Bradford A. Berenson and Ronald G. Schroeder as the in-house
    1
    counsel designated to review Intervenors’ Confidential
    Information pursuant to the terms set forth in the Protective
    Order. Between July and the present date, Intervenors sought
    varied modifications to the Protective Order. See e.g. Docket
    Nos. 57 and 80. The Court directed GE to file amended
    declarations in support of Mses. Pozen and Imundo and issued two
    Amended Protective Orders. See Minute Order, September 7, 2015;
    Docket Nos. 110 and 140. The modifications made to the
    Protective Order were designed to ensure that sufficient
    safeguards were in place to deter the misuse of Intervenors’
    Confidential Information. Still, Intervenors object to the in-
    house counsel designated by GE.
    II.   ANALYSIS
    In merger cases, Courts may prohibit access to confidential
    information from those who can be described as “competitive
    decision makers.” Intervet, Inc. v. Merial Ltd., 
    241 F.R.D. 55
    ,
    57 (D.D.C. 2007). Competitive decision making includes counsel’s
    “activities, associations, and relationship with a client that
    are such as to involve counsel’s advice and participation in any
    or all of the client’s decisions (pricing, product design, etc.)
    made in light of similar or corresponding information about a
    competitor.” U.S. Steel Corp. v. United States, 
    730 F.2d 1465
    ,
    1468 n.3 (Fed. Cir. 1984). The primary concern underlying the
    “competitive decision making test” is that confidential
    2
    information will be used or disclosed inadvertently because of
    the lawyer’s role in the client’s business decisions. See Brown
    Bag Software v. Symantec Corp., 
    960 F.2d 1465
    , 1470 (9th Cir.
    1992).
    Intervenors’ objections to each of the four counsel
    identified by GE will be discussed in turn.
    A. Sharis A. Pozen and Aimee Imundo
    Ms. Pozen serves as Vice President of Global Competition
    and Antitrust at GE. Pozen Decl., Docket No. 108, Ex. A.   Ms.
    Imundo serves as Executive Counsel, Competition Law and
    Compliance at GE. Imundo Decl., Docket No. 108, Ex. C. Mses.
    Pozen and Imundo explain that they are part of GE’s legal team
    that “functions independently” from GE’s appliance team, which
    has its own legal counsel. Mses. Pozen and Imundo affirmatively
    declare that, in their current roles, they are “not involved in
    any competitive decision making that relates to the GE Appliance
    division or its business.” Each further declares:
    I do not participate in any decisions or advise the GE
    Appliance division regarding formulating or implementing
    strategies to compete with GE Appliances’ competitors or
    any decision about formulating or implementing pricing
    strategies, much less “day-to-day pricing.” I am not
    involved in any competitive decisions regarding pricing,
    marketing, distribution, product design, or other
    competitively sensitive issues concerning the GE
    Appliance business that are the subjects of Confidential
    Information in this case.
    3
    Nevertheless, Intervenors argue that “because antitrust is,
    by its nature about competition, there is a particularly high risk
    that antitrust counsel will be involved in competitive decision-
    making.” Inter. Response, Docket No. 144 at 4. Intervenors further
    argue that because Mses. Pozen and Imundo are high ranking, they
    should   be   forced    to   “make   a   real   showing     that,    contrary   to
    reasonable    expectations,     they     were    not   in    fact    involved   in
    [competitive     decision-making]            discussions.”      
    Id. Finally, Intervenors
        argue    that    because        Defendants     are    reportedly
    considering divestitures in order to save the proposed merger,
    access to competitor information by Mses. Pozen and Imundo will
    “give GE an advantage over all other companies.” 
    Id. at 5.
    Intervenors’ arguments fail. First, Intervenors seek more
    detailed declarations from Mses. Pozen and Imundo to ensure they
    are not involved in competitive decision making. This is
    unnecessary. Ms. Pozen and Ms. Imundo have made their
    declarations under oath. Each have explicitly declared that they
    are not, and will not for the next two years, be involved in the
    type of competitive decision making prohibited by case law and
    the Second Amended Protective Order. Pozen Decl.; Imundo Decl.
    Absent evidence contradicting the sworn declarations made by
    Mses. Pozen and Imundo, there is no basis to conclude that they
    are involved in competitive decision making. F.T.C. v. Whole
    Foods Market, Inc., et al., Case No. 07-1021, 
    2009 WL 2059741
    ,
    4
    *3 (D.D.C. July 6, 2007) (holding that based on the in-house
    counsel’s declaration, the Court was unable to conclude that the
    counsel was involved in competitive decision making, despite
    intervenors’ arguments to the contrary); compare with F.T.C. v.
    Sysco Corporation, Case No. 15-256, 
    2015 WL 1120013
    , *2 (D.D.C.
    March 12, 2015) (holding that in-house counsel was “too close”
    to Defendant’s competitive decision making where the in-house
    counsel “candidly acknowledged that issues such as pricing,
    purchasing, and marketing may be discussed at the Executive
    Team’s weekly meetings.”).
    Moreover, the First Amended Protective Order sought to
    further protect the Intervenors’ Confidential Information by
    including the following penalty provision:
    Any violation of this order may be deemed contempt and
    punished by a fine of up to $250,000. Any imposed fine
    will be paid individually by the person who violates
    this Order. A violator may not seek to be reimbursed or
    indemnified for the payment the violator has made. If
    the violator is an attorney, the court may recommend to
    the appropriate professional disciplinary authority that
    the attorney be sanctioned, suspended or disbarred.
    Docket No. 110 ¶ 18. Similarly, the Second Amended
    Protective Order addressed the Intervenors’ concern about
    potential misuse of information by in-house counsel as it
    pertains to Defendants’ divestiture negotiations by
    explicitly stating “[i]n-house counsel shall have access to
    5
    such Confidential Information for the purpose of defending
    this litigation only.” Docket No. 140 at ¶ 10(g).
    In light of Mses. Pozen and Imundo’s affirmative
    declarations, the lack of contradictory evidence presented
    by Intervenors, and additional protections built into the
    Second Amended Protective Order, Intervenors’ objections to
    Mses. Pozen and Imundo are overruled.
    B. Bradford A. Berenson and Ronald G. Schroeder
    Mr. Berenson serves as Vice President and Senior Counsel,
    Litigation and Legal Policy at GE. Berenson Decl., Docket No.
    108, Ex. B. Mr. Schroeder serves as Global Executive Litigation
    Counsel-Corporate at GE. Schroeder Decl., Docket No. 108, Ex. D.
    Both declare that they are responsible for management and
    oversight of this litigation and that they are granted access to
    confidential information in “virtually all litigation and
    investigation matters” they handle for GE. Berenson Decl. at ¶¶
    7-8; Schroeder Decl. at ¶¶ 6-7.
    Intervenors argue that Mr. Berenson should explain in more
    detail what his responsibilities are pertaining to “compliance”
    and “legal policy for GE worldwide.” Inter. Response at 9.
    Similarly, Intervenors argue Mr. Schroeder should explain the
    meaning of “management of compliance risk” and “implementation
    of company-wide legal policy.” The concerns raised by
    Intervenors about Messrs. Berenson and Schroeder deserve even
    6
    less discussion than those raised about Mses. Pozen and Imundo.
    When considered in their entirety, Messrs. Berenson and
    Schroeder’s declarations leave no doubt that their duties are
    far from the competitive decision making prohibited by the
    Second Amended Protective Order and controlling case law. Mr.
    Berenson is responsible for litigation, government and internal
    investigations, compliance and legal policy for GE Worldwide.
    Berenson Decl. ¶ 5. Mr. Schroeder manages U.S. and international
    litigation, internal investigations and compliance risk.
    Schroeder Decl. ¶ 4. Nothing in Messrs. Berenson and Schroeder’s
    declarations indicates they are involved with GE’s competitive
    decision making and Intervenors have offered no evidence to the
    contrary.
    III. CONCLUSION
    For the reasons discussed above, GE’s motion is GRANTED. An
    appropriate order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
    SO ORDERED.
    Signed:     Emmet G. Sullivan
    United State District Judge
    October 9, 2015
    7
    

Document Info

Docket Number: Civil Action No. 2015-1039

Citation Numbers: 139 F. Supp. 3d 390, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137870, 2015 WL 5921255

Judges: Judge Emmet G. Sullivan

Filed Date: 10/9/2015

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 11/7/2024