- Federal antitrust laws seek to control the exercise of private economic power by
preventing monopoly, punishing cartels and otherwise protecting competition.
The antitrust laws exist to keep markets competitive and businesses free to
receive the best goods and services at the lowest possible prices. These laws
ensure the protection of consumers by making it unlawful for competing companies
to enter into anticompetitive agreements as well as by making it unlawful for
companies to acquire or maintain a monopoly in a manner that harms consumers.
Common examples of antitrust violations include: Price-Fixing - when competing
companies agree to set the price of similar products or services at pre-determined
maximum or minimum prices; Tying - when a company conditions the purchase of a
product or service a purchaser wants on the purchase of a product or service
the purchaser may not want; Predatory Pricing - when a company sells a product
or service below cost with the purpose of driving a competitor out of business;
Monopolization -- When a company attempts or conspires to gain monopoly power
over a particular market. The Sherman Act's chief innovation was to authorize
public and private enforcement of prohibitions against restraints of trade.
The federal antitrust statutes decentralize the power to prosecute violations.
Enforcement authority is vested not only in the Department of Justice and the
Federal Trade Commission, but also is vested in state governments, private
corporations and individuals - all of whom may seek injunctive relief and
treble damages. Specifically, the Clayton Act authorizes private parties
to sue for treble damages and injunctive relief to remedy federal antitrust
violations. Successful private plaintiffs are also entitled to recover attorney's
fees.
Bolognese & Associates is a nationally recognized leader in the area of antitrust litigation, and has served in a leadership role in many of the most important and substantial antitrust cases. For over 20 years, the firm's attorneys have represented individuals and businesses in antitrust class action suits to recover damages resulting from violations of the federal and state antitrust laws, including actions involving price-fixing, customer allocation, geographical allocation and other forms of anticompetitive conduct involving a broad array of products and services. These actions have resulted in recoveries for our clients totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, and have, in several instances, resulted in substantial industry-wide therapeutic measures and other reforms designed to enhance competition and prevent future antitrust violations.
