ATTORNEY: PROBE OF KETTERING FIRM NOT A FORMAL COMPLAINT

Reynolds and Reynolds executives will have to take a request by the Federal Trade Commission for information serious, but it does not mean a formal federal complaint has been lodged against the Ketttering-based company, two law experts said.

“I do think it’s something that should get the company’s attention because it comes from one of the two antitrust agencies in Washington,” said attorney Jonathan Cuneo, who served in the Office of the General Counsel of the FTC from 1978 to 1981.

“The FTC does not issue a lot of CIDs,” Cuneo said. “It’s something that has to be approved by the commission. And the commission wouldn’t issue it if the staff didn’t recommend it.” A CID is a civil investigative demand.

The FTC has asked for documents related to possible “agreements” between Reynolds and Reynolds — a major Kettering employer with about 1,300 local workers — and another company, Illinois-based CDK Global Inc.

Both Reynolds and CDK are being sued by a third company, Authenticom Inc., which in a court case has accused the two companies of forming an agreement or relationship against it.

George Alan Hay, a professor of law and economics at Cornell Law School in Ithaca, N.Y., said a CID falls well short of a “complaint” from the trade commission. “A CID is simply information-gathering,” Hay said. “It’s a serious step, but it’s certainly not a complaint.”

There are cases where CIDs are issued, but no complaints or directives from the FTC follow after that. “It depends on whether there’s something there . ... It could become a big deal,” Hay said. “This is a lot less serious than getting a subpoena from the Department of Justice asking about possible price-fixing.”

While Cuneo does not know how the case will unfold, he said the FTC has within its power the ability to issue a complaint or federal administrative case against Reynolds and CDK, akin to a federal lawsuit.

Both Reynolds and CDK offer auto dealerships software and business management products and services. Authenticom, based in La Crosse, Wisc., offers data management services to dealers.