Antitrust

• Author: Richard Leiter
• Pages: 3-8

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Antitrust violations are “crimes” committed by business entities that injure both competing businesses and the consumer by artificially inflating or fixing prices.

Antitrust laws came into national prominence in the late nineteenth century with the rise of the giant industrial monopolies. Two types of monopolies, horizontal and vertical, were felt to be particularly harmful to competition. In a horizontal monopoly, a single entity owns all or an unreasonable percentage of the firms competing in the same business, such as all the telephone or oil companies. In a vertical monopoly, a single entity owns all or an unreasonable percentage of all levels of business within a single industry, for example, all the forests, logging firms, mills, printing plants, and newspapers.

Through the exercise of its power to regulate interstate commerce, Congress has enacted the most sweeping of antitrust regulations in the Sherman Antitrust Act. Because of the great size of the businesses engaged in antitrust or anti-competitive practices as well, the federal government has taken the lead in enforcing against these types of unfair business practices.

Most antitrust statutes are enforced in two ways: the state attorney general can sue on behalf of the state in order to correct the unfair practice, either by obtaining an injunction prohibiting the offensive practice or by ordering fines or other redress to be paid or otherwise addressed to the consumers; the other way is by a private right of action, whereby consumers themselves or competing businesses sue to recover for damages or injuries suffered as a result of the offending behavior. Some states permit civil charge only; some permit civil and criminal charges.

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Table 1: Antitrust
State	Code Section	Private Action	Statutes of Limitation	Attorney’s Fees
FEDERAL	Tit. 15 § 15(a-b); 15 USCA §4 deals with jurisdiction of courts, duty of US Attny & procedure to bring fed. claim; 15 USCA §21 deals with enforcement provisions	Yes; a person who is a foreign state may not recover an amount in excess of damages, the cost of the suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee §15(a)+(b)	4 yrs. 15 USCA§15b	Yes; a person who is a foreign state may not recover an amount in excess of damages, the cost of the suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee §15(a) and (b)
ALABAMA	6-5-60	Yes	Not specified	No
ALASKA	45.50.562 to 596	Yes; attorney general may also be able to bring an action 45.50.580, 45.50.5+6	4 yrs., 45.50.588	Yes; restoration, injunction, treble damages, costs of suit; misdemeanor, civil penalty not more than $20,000 or 12 mos. prison, 45-50.576(a)
ARIZONA	44-1401 to 1416 Uniform State Antitrust Act	Yes, 44-1408(A)	4 yrs.; Private action must be brought within 4 yrs. of the cause of action or one years after the conclusion of a timely action of the state 44-1410(B)	Yes, 44-1408(B)
ARKANSAS	4-75-301, et seq. 45-75-304 through 307 were repealed by Act 2003 No. 1172 §3	No prerequisite; it is the duty of the attorney general to enforce the status 4-75-307	5 yrs., 4-75-322(1)	Attorney general receives costs + attnys fees Act 1172 of 2003 §1
CALIFORNIA	Bus. & Prof. §16700, et seq.	Yes; attorney general may bring action on behalf of state 16750(a)+(c)	4 yrs., 16750.1	Yes, 16750(a)
COLORADO	Unfair Practices Act, 6-2-101, etseq.; 6-4-101, et seq.	Yes; attorney general may bring action on behalf of state 6-2-111	6 yrs. for criminal actions brought by attorney general; 4 yrs. for civil actions	No, 6-2-111; 6-4-114(3)
CONNECTICUT	Connecticut Anti-Trust Act: 35-24, et seq.	Yes; attorney general also enforces	4 yrs.	Yes
DELAWARE	Anti-Trust Act: Tit. 6 §§2101, et seq.	Yes; attorney general also enforces	3 yrs.	Yes
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	28-4501, etseq.; 28-4511	Yes; corporation counsel power to enforce	4 yrs.	Yes
FLORIDA	542.15, etseq.	Yes; attorney general also enforces	1 yr. (plus period for attorney

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