Context of state antitrust enforcement

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CHAPTER I

CONTEXT OF STATE ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT

A. Introduction and Overview of State Antitrust Enforcement

State antitrust enforcement officials continue to be very active in

investigating, litigating and resolving civil and criminal antitrust matters.

The rising tide of antitrust enforcement by state attorneys general affects

all industries and jurisdictions and has had a significant impact on the

development of U.S. antitrust law. The states’ efforts in this area have

also sought to improve consumer welfare by increasing competition, with

the result being higher quality products and services, more choice, and

greater innovation. State antitrust enforcement is not without its

challenges—the interplay of state and federal antitrust laws is complex,

sometimes involving a multiplicity of actors, laws, and jurisdictions.1

The Section of Antitrust Law (Section) has prepared this Third Edition of

the State Antitrust Enforcement Handbook (Handbook) to analyze these

developments and serve as valuable resource for state and federal

antitrust enforcers and private practice attorneys.

In particular, the Handbook focuses on how state attorneys general

exercise their authority to investigate antitrust concerns and to secure

remedies for antitrust violations. Whether one views antitrust

1. For a state-by-state analysis of antitrust laws, see ABA SE CTION OF

ANTITRUST LAW, STATE ANTITRUST PRACTICE AND STATUTES (5th ed.

2014) [hereinafter ABA STATE AN TITRUST TREATISE]. In this three-

volume work, practitioners, government attorneys, and academics cite

and analyze the statutes and case law from each American jurisdiction,

provide a historical overview of state enforcement and p rivate antitrust

litigation under state statutes, and highlight differences bet ween state and

federal law. The treatise also describes the role of state attorneys general

in enforcing federal antitrust laws on behalf of the states and their entities

and as parens patriae on behalf of natural person consumers pursuant to

§ 4C of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §15c. Unlike the ABA Sta te Antitrust

Treatise, this ABA State Antitrust Enforcement Handbook is organized by

substantive topic, rather than by individual state. More over, this book

focuses primarily on actual practices of state attorneys general, rather

than on what they are l egally enabled to d o.