Antitrust Economists Join EI
Jason L. Albert and Jéssica Dutra recently joined EI’s Washington DC office. Prior to joining EI, Dr. Albert was a staff economist with the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (“DOJ”). Dr. Albert worked on both civil and criminal antitrust matters at DOJ and has expertise across a wide range of industries, including healthcare, media, and cybersecurity. Dr. Albert earned his Ph.D. degree from Georgetown University.
Dr. Dutra’s expertise is in the area antitrust and competition analyses, including the estimation of unilateral effects, merger simulations, and applied microeconomics. Dr. Dutra has analyzed mergers in the oil and gas industry in Brazil, Columbia and Uruguay and has conducted analyses of the U.S. hospital industry. Prior to joining EI, Dr. Dutra worked as a senior pricing analyst at Ultragaz AS. Dr. Dutra earned her Ph.D. degree from the University of Kansas.
Court Awards Wye Oak Over $89 Million in Damages for Breach of Contract
EI Vice President John M. Gale provided expert testimony for Wye Oak Technologies, a military contractor operating in Iraq in 2004. Judge Royce Lamberth of the US District Court for the District of Columbia awarded Wye Oak over $89 million in damages in addition to interest and costs from the Republic of Iraq for breach of contract. The Court relied upon Dr. Gale’s lost profits analysis and found Dr. Gale’s determination of the discount rate and reliance on public and third-party evidence was well supported. Wye Oak was represented by Whiteford Taylor & Preston, LLP, Pavich Law Group, and Quinn, Racusin & Gazzola Chartered.
EI Economists Assist Sonoco in Acquisition of Corenso
EI Senior Vice Presidents Michael G. Baumann and Paul E. Godek assisted the law firm of BakerHostetler with the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) review of Sonoco Products Company’s acquisition of Corenso Holding America. The DOJ’s review focused on the effect of the acquisition on the North American recycled paperboard industry. After an initial inquiry and following written and oral presentations to the DOJ, the merger was cleared in July 2019 without a second request.