464 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 1995 / Notices

1Copies of the Complaint and the Decision and

Order are available from the Commission’s Public

Reference Branch, H–130, 6th Street & Pennsylvania

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580.

to the Commission a report of their

compliance with the cease and desist

provisions of the proposed Order.

The purpose of this analysis is to

facilitate public comment on the

proposed Order, and it is not intended

to constitute an official interpretation of

the agreement and proposed Order or to

modify in any way their terms.

Benjamin I. Berman,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–96 Filed 1–3–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

[Dkt C–3544]

Columbia/HCA Healthcare

Corporation; Prohibited Trade

Practices, and Affirmative Corrective

Actions

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Consent order.

SUMMARY: In settlement of alleged

violations of federal law prohibiting

unfair acts and practices and unfair

methods of competition, this consent

order permits, among other things, the

hospital company to complete its

acquisition of Medical Care America,

but requires it to divest the Alaska

Surgery Center within twelve months to

a Commission-approved entity. If the

transaction is not completed in the

designated time frame, the respondents

are required to permit the Commission

to appoint a trustee. In addition, the

consent order requires the respondent,

for ten years, to obtain Commission

approval before acquiring an interest

worth more than $1 million in any

outpatient surgical services facility in

Anchorage, Alaska, and before selling

such an interest to any entity that

operates an outpatient surgical services

facility in Anchorage, Alaska.

DATES: Complaint and Order issued

December 6, 1994.1

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark Horoschak, FTC/S–3115,

Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326–2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On Friday,

September 23, 1994, there was

published in the Federal Register, 59 FR

48883, a proposed consent agreement

with analysis In the Matter of Columbia/

HCA Healthcare Corporation, for the

purpose of soliciting public comment.

Interested parties were given sixty (60)

days in which to submit comments,

suggestions or objections regarding the

proposed form of the order.

No comments having been received,

the Commission has ordered the

issuance of the complaint in the form

contemplated by the agreement, made

its jurisdictional findings and entered

an order to divest, as set forth in the

proposed consent agreement, in

disposition of this proceeding.

(Sec. 6, 38 Stat. 721; 15 U.S.C. 46. Interpret

or apply sec. 5, 38 Stat. 719, as amended; sec.

7, 38 Stat. 731, as amended; 15 U.S.C. 45, 18)

Benjamin I. Berman,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–92 Filed 1–3–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

[File No. 932 3357]

Abovo, Inc., et al.; Proposed Consent

Agreement With Analysis to Aid Public

Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

SUMMARY: In settlement of alleged

violations of federal law prohibiting

unfair acts and practices and unfair

methods of competition, this consent

agreement, accepted subject to final

Commission approval, would prohibit,

among other things, a Massachusetts

company and its president from making

false or unsubstantiated performance

claims about any communication aid

they offer in the future, and from

making representations concerning the

efficacy of their communication devices

in enabling individuals with disabilities

to communicate through facilitated

communication, unless the respondents

have competent and reliable scientific

evidence to substantiate the

representation.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before March 6, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

directed to: FTC/Office of the Secretary,

Room 159, 6th St. and Pa. Ave., NW.,

Washington, DC 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeffrey Klurfeld or Kerry O’Brien, San

Francisco Regional Office, Federal

Trade Commission, 901 Market St.,

Suite 570, San Francisco, CA 94103,

(415) 744–7920.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade

Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C.

46 and Section 2.34 of the Commission’s

Rules of Practice (16 CFR 2.34), notice

is hereby given that the following

consent agreement containing a consent

order to cease and desist, having been

filed with and accepted, subject to final

approval, by the Commission, has been

placed on the public record for a period

of sixty (60) days. Public comment is

invited. Such comments or views will

be considered by the Commission and

will be available for inspection and

copying at its principal office in

accordance with Section 4.9 (b)(6)(ii) of

the Commission’s Rules of Practices (16

CFR 4.9(b)(6)(ii)).

In the Matter of: Abovo, Inc., a corporation,

and Susan L. Lakso, individually and as an

officer of said corporation.

Agreement Containing Consent Order to

Cease and Desist

The Federal Trade Commission

having initiated an investigation of

certain acts and practices of Abovo, Inc.,

a corporation, and Susan L. Lakso,

individually and as an officer of said

corporation (‘‘proposed respondents’’),

and it not appearing that proposed

respondents are willing to enter into an

agreement containing an order to cease

and desist from the use of the acts and

practices being investigated.

It is hereby agreed by and between

Abovo, Inc., by its duly authorized

officer, and Susan L. Lakso, individually

and as an officer of said corporation,

and their attorney, and counsel for the

Federal Trade Commission that:

1. Proposed respondent Abovo, Inc. is

a corporation organized, existing and

doing business under and by virtue of

the laws of the State of Massachusetts,

with its office and principal place of

business located at Cabotville Industrial

Park, 165 Front Street, 4th Floor, B

Building, in the City of Chicopee, State

of Massachusetts.

Proposed respondent Susan Lakso is

an officer of said corporation. She

formulates, directs and controls the

policies, acts and practices of said

corporation and her address is the same

as that of said corporation.

2. Proposed respondents admit all the

jurisdictional facts set forth in the draft

of complaint.

3. Proposed respondents waive:

a. Any further procedural steps;

b. The requirement that the

Commission’s decision contain a

statement of findings of fact and

conclusions of law; and

c. All rights to seek judicial review or

otherwise to challenge or contest the

validity of the order entered pursuant to

this agreement.

4. This agreement shall not become

part of the public record of the

proceeding unless and until it is

accepted by the Commission. If this

agreement is accepted by the

Commission, it, together with the draft

of complaint contemplated thereby, will

be placed on the public record for a

period of sixty (60) days and
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 1995 / Notices 465

information in respect thereto publicly

released. The Commission thereafter

may either withdraw its acceptance of

this agreement and so notify the

proposed respondents, in which event it

will take such action as it may consider

appropriate, or issue and serve its

complaint (in such form as the

circumstances may require) and

decision, in disposition of the

proceeding.

5. This agreement is for settlement

purposes only and does not constitute

an admission by proposed respondents

of facts, other than jurisdictional facts,

or of violations of law as alleged in the

draft of complaint.

6. This agreement contemplates that,

if is accepted by the Commission, and

if such acceptance is not subsequently

withdrawn by the Commission pursuant

to the provisions of Section 2.34 of the

Commission’s Rules, the Commission

may, without further notice to proposed

respondents, (a) issue its complaint

corresponding in form and substance

with the draft of complaint and its

decision containing the following order

to cease and desist in disposition of the

proceeding and (b) make information

public in respect thereto. When so

entered, the order to cease and desist

shall have the same force and effect and

may be altered, modified or set aside in

the same manner and within the same

time provided by statute for other

orders. The order shall become final

upon service. Delivery by the U.S.

Postal Service of the complaint and

decision containing the agreed-to order

to proposed respondents’ address as

stated in this agreement shall constitute

service. Proposed respondents waive

any right they may have to any other

manner of service. The complaint may

be used in construing the terms of the

order, and no agreement, understanding,

representation, or interpretation not

contained in the order or the agreement

may be used to vary or contradict the

terms of the order.

7. Proposed respondents have read

the proposed complaint and order

contemplated hereby. Proposed

respondents understand that once the

order has been issued, they will be

required to file one or more compliance

reports showing that they have fully

complied with the order. Proposed

respondents further understand that

they may be liable for civil penalties in

the amount provided by law for each

violation of the order after it becomes

final.

Order

Definitions

For the purposes of this Order, the

following definitions shall apply:

A. The term ‘‘Communication Aid’’

means any alphabet display chart,

computer, typewriter or other device,

which is created or marketed for use by

persons with communication

impairments, including the ‘‘Abovo

Personal Communicating Device.’’

B. The term ‘‘Facilitated

Communication’’ means any method or

technique or process that entails an

individual providing physical support

to a person with a communication aid.

I

It is ordered that respondents, Abovo,

Inc., a corporation, its successors and

assigns, and its officers, and Susan L.

Lakso, individually and as an officer

and director of said corporation, and

respondents’ agents, representatives and

employees, directly or through any

corporation, subsidiary, division or

other device, in connection with the

manufacturing, labelling, advertising,

promotion, offering for sale, sale, or

distribution of any communication aid,

in or affecting commerce, as

‘‘commerce’’ is defined in the Federal

Trade Commission Act, do forthwith

cease and desist from misrepresenting,

in any manner, directly or by

implication, that such product enable

autistic and/or mentally retarded

individuals to communicate through

facilitated communication.

II

It is further ordered that respondents,

Abovo, Inc., a corporation, its

successors and assigns, and its officers,

and Susan L. Lakso, individually and as

an officer and director of said

corporation, and respondents’ agents,

representatives and employees, directly

or through any corporation, subsidiary,

division or other device, in connection

with the manufacturing, labelling,

advertising, promotion, offering for sale,

sale, or distribution of any

communication aid, in or affecting

commerce, as ‘‘commerce’’ is defined in

the Federal Trade Commission Act, do

forthwith cease and desist from

representing, in any manner, directly or

by implication, that such product

enables individuals with disabilities to

communicate through facilitated

communication, unless such

representation is true and, at the time of

making such representation,

respondents possess and rely upon

competent and reliable scientific

evidence that substantiates the

representation. For purposes of this

Order, ‘‘competent and reliable

scientific evidence’’ shall mean tests,

analyses, research, studies or other

evidence based on the expertise of

professionals in the relevant area, that

has been conducted and evaluated in an

objective manner by persons qualified to

do so, using procedures generally

accepted in the profession to yield

accurate and reliable results.

III

It is further ordered that respondents,

Above, Inc., a corporation, its successors

and assigns, and its officers, and Susan

L. Lakso, individually and as an officer

and director of said corporation, and

respondents’ agents, representatives and

employees, directly or through any

corporation, subsidiary, division or

other device, in connection with the

manufacturing, labelling, advertising,

promotion, offering for sale, sale, or

distribution of any communication aid,

in or affecting commerce, as

‘‘commerce’’ is defined in the Federal

Trade Commission Act, do forthwith

cease and desist from representing, in

any manner, directly or by implication,

the performance or attributes of any

such product, unless, at the time of

making such representation,

respondents possess and rely upon

competent and reliable scientific

evidence, that substantiates such

representation.

IV

It is further ordered that for five (5)

years after the last date of dissemination

of any representation covered by this

Order, respondents, or their successors

and assigns, shall maintain and upon

request make available to the Federal

Trade Commission for inspection and

copying:

A. All materials that were relied upon

in disseminating such representation;

and

B. All tests, reports, studies, surveys,

demonstrations or other evidence in

their possession or control that

contradict, qualify, or call into question

such representation, or the basis relied

upon for such representation, including

complaints from consumers.

V

It is further ordered that respondents

shall notify the Commission at least

thirty (30) days prior to the effective

date of any proposed change in the

corporate respondent that may affect

compliance obligations under this Order

such as dissolution, assignment, or sale

resulting in the emergence of a

successor corporation(s), the creation or

dissolution of subsidiaries, or any other

change in the corporation(s).
466 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 4, 1995 / Notices

1Copies of the Complaint and the Decision and

Order are available from the Commission’s Public

Reference Branch, H–130, 6th Street & Pennsylvania

Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

VI

It is further ordered that the

individual respondent shall, for a period

of five (5) years after the date of service

of this Order upon her, promptly notify

the Commission, in writing, of her

discontinuance of her present business

or employment and of her affiliation

with a new business or employment.

For each such new affiliation, the notice

shall include the name and address of

the new business or employment, a

statement of the nature of the new

business or employment, and a

description of respondent’s duties and

responsibilities in connection with the

new business or employment.

VII

It is further ordered that the corporate

respondent shall, within sixty (60) days

from the date of service of this Order

upon it, distribute a copy of this Order

to each of its officers, agents,

representatives, licensees, independent

contractors, and employees involved in

the preparation and placement of

advertisements or promotional

materials, or is in communication with

customers or prospective customers, or

who has any responsibilities with

respect to the subject matter of this

Order; and for a period of three (3)

years, from the date of issuance of this

Order, distribute a copy of this Order to

all of respondent’s future such officers,

agents, representatives, licensees,

independent contractors, and

employees.

VIII

It is further ordered that respondents

shall, within sixty (60) days from the

date of service of this Order upon them,

and at such other times as the

Commission may require, file with the

Commission a report, in writing, setting

forth in detail the manner and form in

which they have complied with this

Order.

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To

Aid Public Comment

The Federal Trade Commission has

accepted an agreement, subject to final

approval, to a proposed consent order

from respondents Abovo, Inc., a

Massachusetts corporation, and Susan

L. Lakso, individually and as an officer

of the corporation.

The proposed consent order has been

placed on the public record for sixty

(60) days for reception of comments by

interested persons. Comments received

during this period will become part of

the public record. After sixty (60) days,

the Commission will again review the

agreement and the comments received

and will decide whether it should

withdraw from the agreement and take

other appropriate action or make final

the agreement’s proposed order.

This matter concerns the advertising

of the ‘‘Abovo Personal Communicating

Device’’ (‘‘Above PCD’’), a

communication aid for individuals with

disabilities. The Commission’s

complaint charges that respondents’

advertising contained false and

unsubstantiated representations

concerning the efficacy of this

communication aid in enabling

individuals with communication

disabilities to communicate through

facilitated communication. Facilitated

communication is a technique that,

among other things, entails an

individual providing physical support

to a person with a communication

impairment, while that person types or

points to a communication aid, such as

the Abovo PCD.

Specifically, the complaint alleges

that respondents falsely represented that

the Abovo PCD enables autistic and

mentally retarded individuals to

communicate through facilitated

communication. The complaint also

alleges that the respondents lacked

substantiation for its claim that the

Abovo PCD enables individuals who are

disabled as a result of apraxia, motor

speech disorders, RETT Syndrome,

stroke, tracheotomy, laryngeal cancer,

traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s

disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple

sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and/or

cerebral palsy to communicate through

facilitated communication.

The proposed consent order contains

provisions designed to remedy the

violations charged and to prevent the

respondents from engaging in similar

acts and practices in the future.

Part I of the proposed order prohibits

respondents from misrepresenting that

any communication aid enables autistic

or mentally retarded individuals to

communicate through facilitated

communication.

As fencing-in relief, Part II of the

proposed order provides that, if

respondents represent that a

communication aid enables individuals

with disabilities to communicate

through facilitated communication, the

representation must be true and

respondents must possess competent

and reliable scientific evidence that

substantiates the representation. In

addition, Part III of the proposed order

prohibits respondents from representing

the performance or attributes of a

communication aid unless they possess

and rely upon competent and reliable

evidence, which when appropriate must

be competent and reliable scientific

evidence, to substantiate the

representation.

The proposed order also requires

respondents to maintain materials relied

upon to substantiate claims covered by

the order; to provide a copy of the

consent agreement to their employees

involved in the preparation and

placement of respondents’

advertisements, or in communication

with respondents’ customers or

prospective customers; to notify the

Commission of any change in the

corporate structure that might affect

compliance with the order; to notify the

Commission of certain changes in the

business or employment of the named

individual respondent; and to file one or

more reports detailing compliance with

the order.

The purpose of this analysis is to

facilitate public comment on the

proposed order. It is not intended to

constitute an official interpretation of

the agreement and proposed order or to

modify in any way their terms.

Benjamin I. Berman,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–91 Filed 1–3–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

[Dkt C–3545]

Chemopharm Laboratory Inc., d/b/a CP

Industries; Prohibited Trade Practices,

and Affirmative Corrective Actions

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Consent order.

SUMMARY: In settlement of alleged

violations of federal law prohibiting

unfair acts and practices and unfair

methods of competition, this consent

order prohibits, among other things, a

Utah corporation that markets the ice

melting product, Superior Sno-N-Ice,

from making any environmental benefit

claim about any product unless it

possesses and relies on competent and

reliable scientific evidence to

substantiate the claims. In addition, the

respondent is prohibited from

misrepresenting the existence or

contents of any test or study.

DATES: Complaint and Order issued

December 6, 1994.1

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: C.

Steven Baker or Mary Tortorice, Chicago

Regional Office, Federal Trade

Commission, 55 East Monroe St., Suite

1437, Chicago, IL 60603. (312) 353–

8156.