United States v. New England Fish Exchange, et al.; Proposed Termination of Final Decree

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Antitrust Division

United States v. New England Fish Exchange, et al.; Proposed

Termination of Final Decree

Notice is hereby given that defendant New England Fish Exchange

(``NEFE'') has filed with the United States District Court for the

District of Massachusetts a motion to terminate the Final Decree

entered in United States v. New England Fish Exchange, et al., No. 810

Equity, and the Department of Justice (``government''), in a

stipulation also [[Page 6734]] filed with the Court, has consented to

termination of the Final Decree, but has reserved the right to withdraw

its consent based on public comments and for other reasons.

The Original Petition in this case was filed on June 21, 1917, and

charged the NEFE, and 49 other businesses and individuals, with

combining and conspiring to monopolize and restrain interstate trade

and commerce in the fresh fish industry in New England, in violation of

Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and Section 7 of the Clayton Act.

Specifically, the Petition alleged that of the 40 member dealers of the

NEFE, 28 were owned by defendant dealer Boston Fish Pier Co. and 8 were

owned by defendant dealer Boston Fish Pier Co. and 8 were owned by

defendant dealer Bay State Fishing Co. Because of their monopoly power,

Boston Fish Pier Co. and Bay State Fishing Co. were able to impose

rules and regulations upon the NEFE that made it impossible for boat

captains to get fair prices for their fish when it was auctioned off at

the NEFE. It was also virtually impossible for non-NEFE members to

purchase fish in Boston.

The Final Decree: (i) prohibited the NEFE's practice of restricting

its membership to only those dealers having offices on the Boston Fish

Pier; (ii) ordered Boston Fish Pier Co. to divest and dissolve; (iii)

ordered Bay State Fishing Co. to divest; (iv) prohibited the defendants

from ``splitting trips'', that is, entering into action pools when lots

of fish were being bid on. They were also enjoined from ``agreeing

among themselves to raise or depress the price of fish; (v) limited the

NEFE's annual return on capital to 8%; and (iv) prohibited the NEFE

from accumulating capital in excess of $36,000, plus a safety fund of

an additional $15,000.

The government has filed with the Court a memorandum setting forth

the reasons why the government believes that termination of the Final

Decree would serve the public interest. Copies of the Petition, Final

Decree, the Government's Memorandum, motion papers and all further

papers filed with the Court in connection with this motion will be

available for inspection at Room 3233, Antitrust Division, Department

of Justice, 10th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

20530 (telephone 202-633-2481), and at the Office of the Clerk of the

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, United

States Courthouse, John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse

Building, Boston, Massachusetts 02109. Copies of any of these materials

may be obtained from the Antitrust Division upon request and payment of

the copying fee set by Department of Justice regulations.

Interested persons may submit comments regarding the proposed

termination of the Final Decree to the government. Such comments must

be received within the sixty-day period established by Court order, and

will be filed with the Court by the government. Comments should be

addressed to Ralph T. Giordano, Chief, New York Office, Antitrust

Division, Department of Justice, New York, New York 10278 (telephone

212-264-0390).

Constance K. Robinson,

Director of Operations.

[FR Doc. 95-2644 Filed 2-2-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410-01-M