Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-11-22
Retail Market
Ban Accepted
ByMi|kCo-op
Court Approves
Proposal to Sell
Embassy Doiry
By PHIL THOMAS
Star Stah Writer

today accepted an antitrust
consent decree which will take
it out of the general retail milk
distribution field in the Wash
ington Metropolitan Area for
five years.
Under the decree, which ends
four years of litigation, the as
sociation'S retail sales in the
area are restricted to the
armed forces. Other distribu-
ton of association milk will be
through independent retail
dealers.
The sale of Embassy Diary
by the association to a local
syndicate headed by Washing
ton businessman Irving D.
Berger was also approved by
District Court Judge Alex
ander Holtzoff.
In signing the order giving
his approval to the sale, which
was announced earlier this
month, Judge Holtzoff also ap-
proved the consent judgment
restraining the association from
carrying on monopolistic prac-
tees in the sale of milk in the
Washington area.
Order to Sell Upheld
The judge ordered the sale
of Embassy Dairy in January,
1859, following an early order
in which he ruled that the as
ISOLATION had conspired to fore
close competition by the pur-
chase of Embassy Dairy III 1854
and that the purchase of the
dairy tended substantially to
lessen competition and create a
monopoly in violation of the
Clayton Antitrust Act.
One phase of the Govern
ment's civil antitrust CASE
against the mammoth milk co,
operative was appealed to the
Supreme Court when the judge
in November. 1858, refused tt
uphold a Government alhga.
ton that the association also
had violated the Sherman Anti
trust Act by attempting t.
monopolize the supplying o.
milk in the Washington area.
In an opinion handed dowr
last May. the high court upheld
the required sale of the dair!
, but reversed Judge Holtzoff'
ruling on alleged violations o
the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The high court ruled tina
| the question of whether or no
there were Sherman Act viola
tions by the association woul,
have to be settled in a furthe
trial of the case.
HoItzoff Ruling
Under the terms of Judg,
{ Holtzoff's 1858 ruling the as
ISOLATION was allowed to retain
, ownership of the Wakefield anc
| Richfield Diaries. which hat
been bought by the association
, in December 1857.
The Judge had said tina
. the purchase of these diaries
which were failing in business
at the time. was not a violation
: of the Clayton Anti Trust Ac
! as was the purchase of Embass.
Dairy.
However. the Richfield
Wakefield property was merge'
with Embassy by the associa
ton. and all capital stock il
these two firms is being sol
as part of the Embassy Dair.
sale.
The consent judgment re
quires that for the next fiv
years the association may nc
D become a party to marketin
agreements with members fo
a period of more than one yea
1t also provides that associs
, ton members may terminal
, such agreements by giving 3
days notice prior to annu'
= agreement anniversary dates.
William B. Hooper, secretary
- treasurer and general manage
- of the association, in comment
ing on the judgment, said:
The association is please
that its long and costly litigs
ton with the Department {
l Justice has finally come to a
end. Operating within til
,; framework of the consent jude
II ment, the association can an
a will continue effectively to mai
u ket its members milk.