Defending Your Rights in Antitrust Cases

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The United States Department of Justice has documented that antitrust law violations significantly raise the cost of products and services and cause consumers to pour billions of dollars each year into the pockets of antitrust violators. Fines assessed through government enforcement actions are paid to the federal government and kept by the government. Consumers must file their own cases to recover lost funds

The United States’ economy is premised upon the existence of competition between commercial entities. Anticompetitive conduct creates hidden costs to businesses and consumers by artificially driving up prices. To ensure that competition is protected and anticompetitive behavior is punished, state and federal antitrust laws have been enacted in the USA.

Antitrust laws were first put in place in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to deal with the problem of “trusts”. At that time, “unified management” enabled companies to unfairly exercise complete control over the market for particular products – from manufacture to distribution to sale and ultimate purchase by the consumer. Competitors were unfairly driven out of the market, and prices increased in the absence of competition. The unfair use of market dominance caused great economic losses for businesses and end-use consumers and contributed to the near collapse of the United States’ economy.

To eliminate these abuses and to maintain a fair and level playing field for all businesses, “antitrust laws” were enacted in the USA. Antitrust laws are designed to restore profits and prevent or deter unlawful business practices that decrease competition. Antitrust laws in the USA encourage competition among companies and help ensure a competitive economy.

Anticompetitive conduct that results in lost profits comes in many forms. Bonsignore antitrust litigation lawyers restore lost profits to American businesses regardless of the type anticompetitive conduct at issue. Businesses suffer overcharges where a conspiracy to fix prices above competitive levels forces them to pay more than they would have paid but for the anticompetitive conduct. Businesses suffer lost profits through undercharges where a conspiracy among buyers artificially depresses prices below competitive levels. Businesses also lose profits when other businesses conspire to refuse to conduct business with them.

Specific antitrust violations that eliminate fair competition include:

• Price-fixing – agreements by competitors as to what prices to charge or that they will not sell below a certain price
• Customer-allocation agreements – arrangements among competitors to allocate customers, such as by geographic area, to reduce or eliminate competition
• Predatory-pricing
• Monopolization
• Monopoly leveraging
• Tying arrangements
• Vertical restraints
• Exclusive dealing and refusals to deal in business transactions (may occur in a merger or acquisition, a joint venture, or privatization, for example)

Most often, illegal anticompetitive agreements are secretly entered. Enforcement of antitrust law in the USA requires vigilance on the part of businesses that are the victims of unfair conduct. Signs of anticompetitive behavior include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Evidence that two or more competing sellers of similar products have agreed to price their products a certain way;
  • Evidence that two or more competing sellers of similar products have agreed to sell only a limited amount of their product;
  • Evidence that two or more competing sellers of similar products have agreed to sell only in certain areas;
  • Evidence that two or more competing sellers of similar products have agreed to sell only to certain customers

Representations by a seller suggesting that only one firm can sell to a particular customer or type of customer;

• Fewer competitors than are the norm submit bids on a contract;
• Competitors submit identical bids;
• For a certain product in a particular area, the same company repeatedly is the low bidder on contracts;
  • For a certain service in a particular area, the same company repeatedly is the low bidder on contracts;
  • Competitors appear to win bids on a fixed rotation;

Unusual and unexplainable significant differences in price between the winning bid and all other bids;

The same competitor bids substantially higher on certain similar bids than on others, and there is no logical cost-based reason that explains the difference;

• Significant price changes that involve more than one seller of different brands of very similar products.

While these signs are not conclusive evidence of antitrust violations, they are strong indicators of anticompetitive conduct and require action on your part. Bonsignore Trial Lawyers will carry out a confidential investigation to determine whether antitrust litigation should be commenced.

Call Robert Bonsignore at (781) 350-0000 or on his cell phone at (781) 856-7650 or fill out the form on the right.

Bonsignore Trial Lawyers antitrust litigation lawyers will confidentially evaluate whether your business has suffered lost profits as a result of illegal anticompetitive conduct and also whether you have a viable antitrust law claim in the USA. We will also advise you of all your related rights. We always investigate, evaluate and provide initial advice without charge. In most cases, Bonsignore Trial Lawyers will also prosecute your claims and enforce your rights on a contingency basis.

Call Robert Bonsignore at (781) 350-0000 or on his cell phone at (781) 856-7650 or fill out the form on the right.

Horizontal antitrust violations most often involve activities and agreements between competing manufacturers. Vertical antitrust violations most often involve activities and agreements between manufacturers and purchasers. The following outlines the basic business practices that violate antitrust laws in the USA:

Horizontal Agreements Among Competitors

Competing manufacturers can agree on standards for their products, how much they are going to manufacture and even how they are going to advertise. These agreements, however, cannot force competitors out of the market or wrongfully impact prices or competition. Improper agreements include:

• Agreements on price
• Agreements to restrict output
• Boycotts
• Market divisions
• Restricted advertising
• Codes of ethics
• Restraints of other business practices

If you believe that you are a victim of unfair practices of anti-competitive behavior, or if you want more information about an antitrust case, please contact us for a free evaluation of your case.

Click here for a confidential questionnaire or call Robert Bonsignore at (781) 350-0000 or on his cell phone at (781) 856-7650.

Vertical Agreements Between Buyers And Sellers

Many non-price related agreements between parties in a buyer/seller relationship have valid business justifications. Nevertheless, red flags are always raised where agreements are price-related

Improper agreements include:

• Resale price maintenance agreements
• Non-price agreements between manufacturer and dealer
• Tie-in sales

If you believe that you are a victim of unfair practices of anti-competitive behavior, or if you want more information about an antitrust case, please contact us for a free evaluation of your case.

Click here for a confidential questionnaire or call Robert Bonsignore at (781) 350-0000 or on his cell phone at (781) 856-7650.

The most common antitrust violations include bid rigging, price-fixing, unlawful, monopolization, and resale price maintenance.

Bid Rigging:
Bid rigging is when competitors enter into an agreement that ensures one party will win the bid for a contract. There are two types of illegal bid rigging: (1) competitors agree to bid at a certain price so that the other competitor will win, or (2) a contract is tailored so that a certain company will win a future bid.

Price-Fixing:
Price-fixing is a very common antitrust law violation in the USA. It occurs when competitors agree on the price they will charge for a product or service. The fact that competitors offer the same product or service at the same price does not mean that illegal price fixing is occurring. For example, one gasoline station may raise its prices in response to a price jump at the station across the street. Unless the two parties agreed upon that jump, no illegal conduct has occurred. Thus, it is the agreement to charge a certain price that is illegal.

Monopolization:
A “monopoly” exists when a large company has control over most, if not all, of a product or service in a particular industry or geographical area. “Monopolization” is the power exercised by that company. Monopoly is potentially dangerous because without competition, a company has complete control over the market price. Not all monopolies are unlawful. Some are economically efficient and do not harm consumers. For example, a company that builds a unique product that dominates a market because it is better, and not because the company took any illegal steps to become a monopoly, is legal. However, when companies take steps to obtain or maintain a monopoly, it may be illegal.

Resale Price Maintenance:
Resale price maintenance is describes an arrangement in which a manufacturer requires a store to sell its product at a specific price. The manufacturer may bar the store from selling the product if it does so at a lower price. Although such arrangements used to be illegal automatically, recent United States Supreme Court decisions establish a case-by-case review of each arrangement.

Competition law promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anticompetitive conduct by companies for the benefit of consumers. Competition law has its roots in the Roman Empire. Market traders, guilds, and governments have always been scrutinized, and even severe sanctions imposed, for anticompetitive behavior. The move to enact competition laws began globally in the 20th century. The most extensive regulation systems exist in the United States and the European Union. There are also many other competition authorities across the world that have formed international support and enforcement networks. Antitrust laws in the USA prohibit one company with a major share of the market from keeping out competition. They also prohibit major players from combining resources or conspiring to keep out competition or to otherwise fix prices.

International competition is governed and protected by international agreements. In 1945, during the negotiations preceding the adoption of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (“GATT”), limited international competition obligations were proposed within the Charter for an International Trade Organization. These obligations were not included in GATT, but in 1994, the World Trade Organization was created and adopted an agreement addressing various cross-border competition issues in specific industries.

The United States antitrust law is comprised of federal and state government laws that regulate the conduct and organization of business corporations to promote fair competition for the benefit of consumers. The main statutes are the Sherman Act of 1890, the Clayton Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914. These acts restrict or prohibit three primary practices:

Private parties who are sufficiently affected and governmental entities, such as the Federal Trade Commission, the United States Department of Justice and state governments, may all bring court actions to enforce the antitrust laws.