Keith Waehrer and Cagatay Koc Join EI
Keith Waehrer and Cagatay Koc recently joined EI’s Washington DC office. Dr. Waehrer has extensive antitrust experience, including testimony at deposition and trial on mergers, monopolization claims, and calculations of reasonable royalties. Dr. Waehrer has worked on numerous antitrust cases in the United States and European Union and was an economist in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Dr. Koc has over fifteen years of consulting experience and has provided expert testimony in cases involving collusion, alleged overcharges, damages, and M&A-related energy valuations. Dr. Koc also has been a visiting scholar at the Federal Trade Commission (Bureau of Economics).
Washington State District Court Denies Certification for Policy Holder Class
A U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington denied certification to a putative class of automobile insurance policyholders whose vehicles were stolen or totaled in accidents. Plaintiffs alleged that the insurance companies failed to itemize the condition adjustments properly. The Court ruled that proof of liability would require demonstration that the adjustments were inappropriate in dollar amount and that that determination would be individualized. EI President Jonathan Walker testified in support of the insurance companies’ opposition to class certification.
FERC Approves NRG Acquisition of Direct Energy
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently approved NRG Energy’s acquisition of Direct Energy from Centrica PLC. As part of its application under Section 203 of the Federal Power Act, NRG submitted a market power study authored by EI Principal John R. Morris. NRG was represented by McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
Auction Group Presents at the 9th Annual Americas Spectrum Management Conference
During the 9th Annual Americas Spectrum Management Conference, EI Economist Christopher T. Sojourner gave a demonstration on bidding basics in a high-stakes, FCC-style auction followed by a panel discussion including EI Principal Allan T. Ingraham, EI Economist Shreyas Ravi, and EI Analysts Gabriel Perez and Katherine Senseman.
Su Sun Publishes Article on China’s Antitrust Fines
Senior Vice President Su Sun’s coauthored article “The Draft Fining Guidelines and the Future of Antitrust Fines in China” is published in the Journal of Antitrust Enforcement. Dr. Sun and coauthor, Professor Chenying Zhang of Tsinghua University Law School, predict that antitrust fines in China will be higher after China’s antitrust fining guidelines are implemented.