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[Proposed] Final Judgment

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Final Judgments + Proposed Final Judgments
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and
STATE OF FLORIDA,

                  Plaintiffs,

                  v.

WASTE MANAGEMENT, INC., and
ALLIED WASTE INDUSTRIES, INC.,

                  Defendants.

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Civil No: 1:03CV02076

JUDGE: James Robertson

DECK TYPE: Antitrust

FILED: October 14, 2003




FINAL JUDGMENT

WHEREAS, Plaintiffs, the United States of America ("United States") and the State of Florida ("Florida"), filed their Complaint on October 14, 2003, and Plaintiffs and Defendants, Waste Management, Inc. ("Waste Management") and Allied Waste Industries, Inc. ("Allied"), by their respective attorneys, have consented to the entry of this Final Judgment without trial or adjudication of any issue of fact or law, and without this Final Judgment constituting any evidence against or admission by any party regarding any issue of fact or law;

AND WHEREAS, Defendants agree to be bound by the provisions of this Final Judgment pending its approval by the Court;

AND WHEREAS, the essence of this Final Judgment is the prompt and certain divestiture of certain assets by Defendant Waste Management to ensure that competition is not substantially lessened;

AND WHEREAS, Plaintiffs require Defendant Waste Management to make certain divestitures in order to remedy the loss of competition alleged in the Complaint;

AND WHEREAS, Defendants have represented to Plaintiffs that the divestitures required below can and will be made and that Defendants will later raise no claims of hardship or difficulty as grounds for asking the Court to modify any of the divestitures or other injunctive provisions contained below;

AND WHEREAS, Defendant Waste Management shall be enjoined from acquiring the assets to be divested, except as provided in this Final Judgment;

NOW, THEREFORE, before any testimony is taken, and without trial or adjudication of any issue of fact or law, and upon consent of the parties, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED:

I. Jurisdiction

This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of and each of the parties to this action. The Complaint states a claim upon which relief may be granted against Defendants under Section 7 of the Clayton Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 18.

II. Definitions

As used in this Final Judgment:

A. "Acquirer" means the entity or entities to whom Waste Management divests the Relevant Hauling Assets.

B. "Allied" means Defendant Allied Waste Industries, Inc., a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, its successors and assigns, and its subsidiaries, divisions, groups, affiliates, partnerships, joint ventures, and their directors, officers, managers, agents, and employees.

C. "MSW" means municipal solid waste, a term of art used to describe solid putrescible waste generated by households and commercial establishments such as retail stores, offices, restaurants, warehouses, and non-manufacturing activities in industrial facilities. MSW does not include special handling waste (e.g., waste from manufacturing processes, regulated medical waste, sewage, and sludge), hazardous waste, or waste generated by construction or demolition sites.

D. "Relevant Hauling Assets" means Allied's small container commercial hauling routes 501, 901, 902, 903, 904, 906, 907, 909, 912, 914, and 915 that operate out of Allied's Broward County, Florida division located at 2380 College Avenue, Davie, Florida 33317 including:

  1. all tangible assets, including capital equipment, trucks and other vehicles, containers, interests, supplies, and if requested by the purchaser, real property and improvements to real property (i.e., buildings and garages);
  2. all intangible assets, including hauling-related customer lists, leasehold interests, permits, and contracts and accounts related to each small container commercial hauling route, and any contract or account serviced in whole or in part on any of the routes listed above; and
  3. Relevant Hauling Assets does not include accounts and contracts serviced in unincorporated Broward County, accounts serviced through a franchise agreement, and accounts and contracts serviced in the City of Margate.

E. "Small container commercial hauling" means the business of collecting MSW from commercial and industrial accounts, usually in "dumpsters" (i.e., a small container with one to ten cubic yards of storage capacity), and transporting or "hauling" such waste to a disposal site by use of a front- or rear-end loader truck. Typical small container commercial hauling customers include office and apartment buildings and retail establishments (e.g., stores and restaurants). Small container commercial hauling, as used herein, does not include collection of roll-off containers.

F. "Waste Management" means Defendant Waste Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Houston, Texas, its successors and assigns, and its subsidiaries, divisions, groups, affiliates, partnerships, joint ventures, and their directors, officers, managers, agents, and employees.

III. Applicability

A. This Final Judgment applies to Waste Management and Allied, as defined above, and all other persons in active concert or participation with any of them who receive actual notice of this Final Judgment by personal service or otherwise.

B. Defendants shall require, as a condition of the sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of their assets, or of lesser business units that include the Relevant Hauling Assets, that the Acquirer agree to be bound by the provisions of this Final Judgment.

IV. Divestiture

A. Defendant Waste Management is ordered and directed, within ninety calendar days after the filing of the Complaint in this matter, or five days after notice of the entry of this Final Judgment by the Court, whichever is later, to divest the Relevant Hauling Assets in a manner consistent with this Final Judgment to an Acquirer acceptable to the United States in its sole discretion, after consultation with Florida. The United States, in its sole discretion, after consultation with Florida, may agree to an extension of this time period of up to sixty calendar days, and shall notify the Court in such circumstances. Defendants agree to use their best efforts to divest the Relevant Hauling Assets as expeditiously as possible.

B. In accomplishing the divestiture ordered by this Final Judgment, Defendant Waste Management promptly shall make known, by usual and customary means, the availability of the Relevant Hauling Assets. Defendants shall inform any person making inquiry regarding a possible purchase of the Relevant Hauling Assets that they are being divested pursuant to this Final Judgment and provide that person with a copy of this Final Judgment. Defendants shall offer to furnish to all prospective Acquirers, subject to customary confidentiality assurances, all information and documents relating to the Relevant Hauling Assets, whichever is then available for sale, customarily provided in a due diligence process except such information or documents subject to the attorney-client or work-product privileges.

C. Defendants shall provide the United States and Florida, and each prospective Acquirer of the Relevant Hauling Assets, information relating to the personnel involved in the operation and management of the Relevant Hauling Assets to enable the Acquirer to make offers of employment. Defendants will not interfere with any negotiations by the Acquirer to employ any of Defendants' employees whose primary responsibility is the operation or management of the Relevant Hauling Assets.

D. Defendants shall permit each prospective Acquirer of the Relevant Hauling Assets to have reasonable access to personnel and to make inspections of the physical facilities; access to any and all environmental, zoning, and other permit documents and information; and access to any and all financial, operational, or other documents and information customarily provided as part of a due diligence process.

E. Defendant Waste Management shall warrant to the Acquirer of the Relevant Hauling Assets that each asset will be operational on the date of sale.

F. Defendants shall not take any action that will impede in any way the permitting, operation, or divestiture of the Relevant Hauling Assets.

G. Defendant Waste Management shall warrant to the Acquirer of the Relevant Hauling Assets that there are no material defects in the environmental, zoning or other permits pertaining to the operation of each asset, and that following the sale of the Relevant Hauling Assets, Defendants will not undertake, directly or indirectly, any challenges to the environmental, zoning, or other permits relating to the operation of the Relevant Hauling Assets.

H. Unless the United States, in its sole discretion, after consultation with Florida, otherwise consents in writing, the divestiture pursuant to Section IV, or by trustee appointed pursuant to Section V, of this Final Judgment shall include the entire Relevant Hauling Assets, and shall be accomplished in such a way as to satisfy the United States, in its sole discretion, after consultation with Florida, that the divested assets will be used by the Acquirer, as part of a viable, ongoing small container commercial hauling business. Divestiture of the Relevant Hauling Assets may be made to an Acquirer, provided that it is demonstrated to the sole satisfaction of the United States, after consultation with Florida, that the Relevant Hauling Assets will remain viable and the divestiture of such assets will remedy the competitive harm alleged in the Complaint. The divestiture, whether pursuant to Section IV or Section V of this Final Judgment:

  1. Shall be made to an Acquirer that, in the United States' sole judgment, after consultation with Florida, has the intent and capability, including managerial, operational, and financial capability, to compete effectively in the small container commercial hauling business; and
  2. Shall be accomplished so as to satisfy the United States, in its sole discretion, after consultation with Florida, that none of the terms of any agreement between an Acquirer and Defendant Waste Management gives Defendant Waste Management the ability unreasonably to raise the Acquirer's costs, to lower the Acquirer's efficiency, or otherwise to interfere in the ability of the Acquirer to compete effectively.
V. Appointment of Trustee

A. If Defendant Waste Management has not divested the Relevant Hauling Assets within the time period specified in Section IV.A., Defendant Waste Management shall notify the United States of that fact in writing. Upon application of the United States, in its sole discretion, the Court shall appoint a trustee selected by the United States and approved by the Court to effect the divestiture of the Relevant Hauling Assets.

B. After the appointment of a trustee becomes effective, only the trustee shall have the right to sell the Relevant Hauling Assets.

C. The trustee shall have the power and authority to accomplish the divestiture to an Acquirer acceptable to the United States, in its sole discretion, after consultation with Florida, at such price and on such terms as are then obtainable upon reasonable effort by the trustee, subject to the provisions of Sections IV, V, and VI of this Final Judgment, and shall have such other powers as this Court deems appropriate. Subject to Section V.E. of this Final Judgment, the trustee may hire at the cost and expense of Defendant Waste Management any investment bankers, attorneys, or other agents, who shall be solely accountable to the trustee, reasonably necessary in the trustee's judgment to assist in the divestiture.

D. Defendant Waste Management shall not object to a sale by the trustee on any ground other than the trustee's malfeasance. Any such objections by Defendant Waste Management must be conveyed in writing to the United States, Florida, and the trustee within ten calendar days after the trustee has provided the notice required under Section VI.

E. The trustee shall serve at the cost and expense of Defendant Waste Management, on such terms and conditions as the United States approves, and shall account for all monies derived from the sale of the Relevant Hauling Assets sold by the trustee and all costs and expenses so incurred. After approval by the Court of the trustee's accounting, including fees for its services and those of any professionals and agents retained by the trustee, all remaining money shall be paid to Defendant Waste Management and the trust shall then be terminated. The compensation of the trustee and any professionals and agents retained by the trustee shall be reasonable in light of the value of the Relevant Hauling Assets, and based on a fee arrangement providing the trustee with an incentive based on the price and terms of the divestiture and the speed with which it is accomplished, but timeliness is paramount.

F. Defendants shall use their best efforts to assist the trustee in accomplishing the required divestiture. The trustee and any consultants, accountants, attorneys, and other persons retained by the trustee shall have full and complete access to the personnel, books, records, and facilities of the business to be divested, and Defendants shall develop financial and other information relevant to such business as the trustee may reasonably request, subject to customary confidentiality protection for trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information. Defendants shall take no action to interfere with or to impede the trustee's accomplishment of the divestiture.

G. After its appointment, the trustee shall file monthly reports with the United States, Florida, and the Court setting forth the trustee's efforts to accomplish the divestiture ordered under this Final Judgment. To the extent that such reports contain information that the trustee deems confidential, such reports shall not be filed in the public docket of the Court. Such reports shall include the name, address, and telephone number of each person who, during the preceding month, made an offer to acquire, expressed an interest in acquiring, entered into negotiations to acquire, or was contacted or made an inquiry about acquiring, any interest in the Relevant Hauling Assets, and shall describe in detail each contact with any such person. The trustee shall maintain full records of all efforts made to divest the Relevant Hauling Assets.

H. If the trustee has not accomplished such divestiture within six (6) months after its appointment, the trustee shall promptly file with the Court a report setting forth: (1) the trustee's efforts to accomplish the required divestiture, (2) the reasons, in the trustee's judgment, why the required divestiture has not been accomplished, and (3) the trustee's recommendations. To the extent that such reports contain information that the trustee deems confidential, such reports shall not be filed in the public docket of the Court. The trustee shall, at the same time, furnish such report to the United States and Florida. The United States, in its sole discretion, after consultation with Florida, shall have the right to make additional recommendations consistent with the purpose of the trust. The Court thereafter shall enter such orders as it shall deem appropriate to carry out the purpose of the Final Judgment, which may, if necessary, include extending the trust and the term of the trustee's appointment by a period requested by the United States.

VI. Notice of Proposed Divestiture

A. Within two business days following execution of a definitive divestiture agreement, Defendant Waste Management or the trustee, whichever is then responsible for effecting the divestiture required herein, shall notify the United States and Florida of any proposed divestiture required by Section IV or V of this Final Judgment. If the trustee is responsible, it shall similarly notify Defendant Waste Management. The notice shall set forth the details of the proposed divestiture and list the name, address, and telephone number of each person not previously identified who offered or expressed an interest in or desire to acquire any ownership interest in the Relevant Hauling Assets together with full details of the same.

B. Within fifteen calendar days of receipt by United States and Florida of such notice, the United States, in its sole discretion, after consultation with Florida, may request from Defendants, the proposed Acquirer or Acquirers, any other third party, or the trustee, if applicable, additional information concerning the proposed divestiture, the proposed Acquirer, and any other potential Acquirer. Defendants and the trustee shall furnish the United States and Florida any additional information requested within fifteen calendar days of the receipt of the request, unless the parties shall otherwise agree.

C. Within thirty calendar days after receipt of the notice or within twenty calendar days after the United States and Florida have been provided the additional information requested from Defendants, the proposed Acquirer, any third party, and the trustee, whichever is later, the United States, after consultation with Florida, shall provide written notice to Defendants and the trustee, if there is one, stating whether or not it objects to the proposed divestiture. If the United States provides written notice that it does not object, the divestiture may be consummated, subject only to Defendant Waste Management's limited right to object to the sale under Section V.D. of this Final Judgment. Absent written notice that the United States does not object to the proposed Acquirer or upon objection by the United States, a divestiture proposed under Section IV or Section V shall not be consummated. Upon objection by Defendant Waste Management under Section V.D., a divestiture proposed under Section V shall not be consummated unless approved by the Court.

VII. Financing

Defendants shall not finance all or any part of any purchase made pursuant to Section IV or V of this Final Judgment.

VIII. Hold Separate

Until the divestiture required by this Final Judgment has been accomplished, Defendants shall take all steps necessary to comply with the Hold Separate Stipulation and Order entered by this Court. Defendants shall take no action that would jeopardize the divestiture ordered by this Court.

IX. Affidavits

A. Within twenty calendar days of the filing of the Complaint in this matter, and every thirty calendar days thereafter until the divestiture has been completed under Section IV or V, Defendants shall deliver to the United States and to Florida an affidavit as to the fact and manner of its compliance with Section IV or V of this Final Judgment. Each such affidavit shall include the name, address, and telephone number of each person who, during the preceding thirty days, made an offer to acquire, expressed an interest in acquiring, entered into negotiations to acquire, or was contacted or made an inquiry about acquiring, any interest in the Relevant Hauling Assets, and shall describe in detail each contact with any such person during that period. Each such affidavit shall also include a description of the efforts Defendants have taken to solicit buyers for the Relevant Hauling Assets, and to provide required information to each prospective Acquirer, including the limitations, if any, on such information. Assuming the information set forth in the affidavit is true and complete, any objection by the United States, in its sole discretion, after consultation with Florida, to information provided by Defendants, including limitations on information, shall be made within fourteen days of receipt of such affidavit.

B. Within twenty calendar days of the filing of the Complaint in this matter, Defendants shall deliver to the United States and Florida an affidavit that describes in reasonable detail all actions Defendants have taken and all steps Defendants have implemented on an ongoing basis to comply with Section VIII of this Final Judgment. Defendants shall deliver to the United States and Florida an affidavit describing any changes to the efforts and actions outlined in Defendants' earlier affidavits filed pursuant to this section within fifteen calendar days after the change is implemented.

C. Defendants shall keep all records of all efforts made to preserve the Relevant Hauling Assets, and to divest the Relevant Hauling Assets, until one year after such divestiture has been completed.

X. Compliance Inspection

A. For purposes of determining or securing compliance with this Final Judgment, or of determining whether the Final Judgment should be modified or vacated, and subject to any legally recognized privilege, from time to time duly authorized representatives of the United States Department of Justice, including consultants and other persons retained by the United States, upon written request of a duly authorized representative of the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, or a duly authorized representative of the Florida Attorney General's Office, and on reasonable notice to Defendants, be permitted:

  1. Access during Defendants' office hours to inspect and copy, or at the United States' or Florida's option, to require Defendants to provide copies of, all books, ledgers, accounts, records and documents in the possession, custody or control of Defendants, relating to any matters contained in this Final Judgment; and
  2. To interview, either informally or on the record, Defendants' officers, employees, or agents, who may have their individual counsel present, regarding such matters. The interviews shall be subject to the reasonable convenience of the interviewee and without restraint or interference by Defendants.

B. Upon the written request of a duly authorized representative of the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, or a duly authorized representative of the Florida Attorney General's Office, Defendants shall submit such written reports, under oath if requested, relating to any of the matters contained in this Final Judgment as may be requested.

C. No information or documents obtained by the means provided in this section and sections IV and VI above shall be divulged by the Plaintiffs to any person other than an authorized representative of the executive branch of the United States, or the Florida Attorney General's Office, except in the course of legal proceedings to which the United States or Florida is a party (including grand jury proceedings), or for the purpose of securing compliance with this Final Judgment, or as otherwise required by law.

D. If at the time information or documents are furnished by Defendants to Plaintiffs, Defendants represent and identify in writing the material in any such information or documents to which a claim of protection may be asserted under Rule 26(c) (7) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and Defendants mark each pertinent page of such material, "Subject to claim of protection under Rule 26(c) (7) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure," then Plaintiffs shall give Defendants ten calendar days notice prior to divulging such material in any legal proceeding (other than a grand jury proceeding).

XI. Notice

A. Defendant Waste Management shall provide written advance notification to representatives of the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice and the Florida Attorney General's Office during the period ending four years after the Final Judgment is entered before acquiring, directly or indirectly, any interest in any assets (other than in the ordinary course of business), capital stock, or voting securities of any small container commercial hauling business that, at any time during the twelve months immediately preceding such acquisition, were used to provide small container commercial hauling services in Broward County, Florida, where that business's small container commercial hauling assets generated in excess of $500,000 in revenues per year or where total revenues were in excess of $1 million per year.

B. Such written notification shall be provided to representatives of the Antitrust Division and the Florida Attorney General's Office at least thirty days prior to acquiring any such interest, which period may be shortened by permission of the Antitrust Division and the Florida Attorney General's Office.

XII. No Reacquisition

Defendant Waste Management may not reacquire, lease, or control any part of the Relevant Hauling Assets during the term of this Final Judgment.

XIII. Retention of Jurisdiction

This Court retains jurisdiction to enable any party to this Final Judgment to apply to this Court at any time for further orders and directions as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out or construe this Final Judgment, to modify any of its provisions, to enforce compliance, and to punish violations of its provisions.

XIV. Expiration of Final Judgment

Unless this Court grants an extension, this Final Judgment shall expire ten years from the date of its entry.

XV. Public Interest Determination

Entry of this Final Judgment is in the public interest.


Date: _______________________________


Court approval subject to procedures of Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act, 15 U.S.C. § 16


_______________________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Updated April 18, 2023