US District Court Enforces Antitrust Amnesty Agreement

Victory for Stolt-Nielsen Sets Precedent

Washington, DC, November 30, 2007 ... In a significant victory upholding the rights of corporations and individuals that enter into amnesty programs, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania today threw out a federal antitrust indictment against Stolt-Nielsen SA, a global transportation company based in Norway. The company was represented by a team from White & Case LLP, led by J. Mark Gidley and Christopher M. Curran.

The Stolt-Nielsen case was the first to involve the enforcement of a written promise not to prosecute under the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division's amnesty program.

"The Court has made a very strong statement that when the Government grants amnesty, it must honor its promise," said Curran. "Due process and fundamental fairness are at the heart of a prosecutor's promise."
 
In January 2003, Stolt-Nielsen entered into a written amnesty agreement with the DOJ's Antitrust Division, which the division later revoked. It was the first time in the 14-year history of the program that the division had revoked its amnesty.

Stolt-Nielsen was indicted, and White & Case filed motion to dismiss the indictment based on the Amnesty Agreement. Beginning May 30, 2007, a novel four-week evidentiary hearing was held in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania before Judge Bruce W. Kauffman. More than 20 witnesses testified, including a number of foreign nationals as witnesses.

One foreign national, Richard Wingfield, testified live from New Zealand in one of the first US trials to feature live video testimony of a defendant from overseas.

"When companies make the gut-wrenching decision to seek amnesty, they must be guaranteed of certainty of enforcement of that promise," said Gidley. "Companies irrevocably incriminate themselves and give up valuable property rights in entering into amnesty programs."

In his memo dismissing the case, Judge Kauffman said: "Since the Division had no reasonable basis upon which to revoke the Agreement, and because fundamental fairness demands it, the indictment will be dismissed."

Curran said: "The case is an important reminder that the Government is not above the law."

For More Information

• Click here for the complete Order (PDF)
• Click here for the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (PDF)
• Click here for the complete Memorandum and Order (PDF)

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