The Justice Department charged United Artists Theatre...

The Justice Department charged United Artists Theatre Circuit with conspiring to prevent competition for licenses to show movies in the Dallas metropolitan area, a felony violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The antitrust division of the Justice Department alleged that UA Theatre Circuit participated in a so-called split agreement with other owners of Dallas cinemas, under which each exhibitor negotiated without competition from the others for licenses from distributors to show certain motion pictures. Officials of East Meadow, N.Y.-based UA Theatre Circuit and its parent, TeleCommunications, headquartered in Englewood, Colo., could not be reached for comment late Thursday.