EI News and Notes

Vallourec Acquisition of Grant Prideco Assets

EI economists Philip B. Nelson, Henry B. McFarland, and Robert D. Stoner worked with lawyers at Akin Gump on behalf of French seamless steel tube producer Vallourec to obtain DOJ’s approval of Vallourec’s acquisition of three businesses from Grant Prideco Inc. The three businesses are Atlas Bradford, a firm that threads oil country tubular goods; TCA, which specializes in heat treatment operations; and Tube-Alloy, which produces and repairs tubular accessories for the oil and gas industry.

Interlocking Directorate Claims

In Charming Shoppes Inc. v. Crescendo Partners II, L.P., et al., Principal William P. Hall, assisted by Stephanie M. Mirrow, submitted an expert report on behalf of the defendants with respect to market definition and Clayton Section 8 claims regarding interlocking directorates. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied the plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction in this proxy battle litigation.

DOJ Settlement with Anthrax Mailings “Person of Interest”

EI economist Laura A. Malowane assisted lawyers at the Department of Justice in a suit filed against them by Steven Hatfill, a biomedical researcher and former Army scientist. Mr. Hatfill, who was named as a “person of interest” in the investigation of the 2001 deadly anthrax mailings in the United States, claimed that his privacy rights were violated during the DOJ investigation. He also claimed that, as a result of the government’s actions, he lost his current job as well as future employment opportunities. Dr. Malowane, who has extensive experience in analyzing damages in commercial and personal litigation, submitted an expert report and testified at deposition on behalf of the Department of Justice. In June 2008, an agreement was reached between the two parties.