Ash Grove Cement Company v. Federal Trade Commission

577 F.2d 1368 1978-1 Trade Cases 62,087 ASH GROVE CEMENT COMPANY, Petitioner, v. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, Respondent. No. 75-3143. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. May 23, 1978. Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied July 13, 1978. David J. McKean (argued), Washington, D. C., for petitioner. Jerold D. Cummins (argued), Washington, D. C., for respondent. On Petition to Review an Order of the Federal Trade Commission. Before CARTER and HUG, Circuit Judges, and HAUK, * District Judge. JAMES M. CARTER, Circuit Judge: 1 This is a petition by Ash Grove Cement Company to review an order of divestiture and a cease and desist order issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission). The Commission issued the orders after adjudicating that Ash Grove had violated § 7 of the Clayton Act by its acquisition of two ready-mix concrete companies. Ash Grove raises three contentions: (1) all of the material issues in the adjudicative proceedings were prejudged against Ash Grove in unlawful non-adjudicative agency proceedings; (2) the evidence does not support the Commission's finding that Ash Grove's acquisitions caused a lessening of competition; and (3) it was error for…