Mary Kaiser spoke to CSP Daily News about the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigating Coca-Cola and PepsiCo for possible violations of a law prohibiting suppliers from favoritism among customers in the soft drink industry.
According to Mary, if the FTC determines there is sufficient evidence of a Robinson-Patman Act violation, it can serve an administrative complaint to Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, or both, stating its charges and setting a hearing before an administrative law judge. After a hearing, if the judge thinks there is a violation of the Robinson-Patman Act, it can issue a cease-and-desist order, which can be appealed.
"In reality, these cases very rarely proceed to an administrative hearing, much less to federal court litigation," Mary said. "Respondents typically seek to settle with the agency and enter into a consent order, under which they would agree to stop the pricing practices at issue."
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Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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