Antitrust Lawyers

Antitrust laws are those that control how businesses operate in order to ensure free competition in the American market.

Monopolies, lockup contracts, specific types of mergers, and price-fixing are illegal actions under antitrust law because they restrict free competition.

What Is a Violation of Antitrust?

A company can break antitrust regulations in a number of different ways. The threshold of “per se violations” is used by the courts when examining potential antitrust infractions. According to this approach, the only thing that needs to be established in court is that the person accused of violating antitrust laws actually committed one of numerous “per se offenses.” It doesn’t matter what the accused person intended or their acts’ results.

The following are a few of the most prevalent and well-known antitrust per se violations:

• Price-fixing
• Lockup agreements
• Concerted refusals to negotiate, and
• Mergers where the main and sole rival is eliminated.

Three Major Federal Antitrust Laws

Federal antitrust law is made up of three primary legal systems. The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division enforce these three federal laws. The majority of states also have their own antitrust laws, which they themselves enforce. Because they are permitted to initiate cases alleging anti-competitive corporate conduct by some laws, private parties can also play a part in the enforcement of antitrust laws.

The following are the three primary federal laws that make up federal antitrust law:

• The 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act: The Sherman Act forbids agreements and plots that limit trade and support monopolization. The Sherman Antitrust Act forbids, among other things, agreements between rivals to control prices, rig bids, and divide up or divide up customers. Criminal offenses may be used to punish these actions. Those found guilty may be given fines or possibly prison sentences by the courts. Courts may also make orders prohibiting further offenses. The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division primarily enforces the Sherman Act’s provisions.
• Clayton Act of 1914: The Clayton Act addresses particular illegal limitations such as tie-in sales, price discrimination, mergers and acquisitions, and interlocking directorates. The Clayton Act only carries civil penalties for violations. The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division work together to enforce the Clayton Act.
• Federal Trade Commission Act: This statute permits private parties to file federal court cases for damages and halt further violations. Only the Federal Trade Commission is responsible for enforcing the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC). This statute is seen as a catch-all collection of regulations that were created to cover all of the other antitrust laws’ restrictions. There are other clauses that fill gaps in the other, more clear regulatory statutes.

The Function of State Antitrust Laws

There are antitrust laws in several states. They permit private people to sue businesses that engage in anti-competitive behavior and are generally comparable to federal antitrust laws.

Though essentially identical, state and federal antitrust laws differ greatly in their specifics from state to state. For instance, the text of several state antitrust statutes closely mirrors that of federal laws. Some portions of the federal antitrust statutes are incorporated into state law in other jurisdictions. Specific sorts of forbidden behavior may be defined, and some may completely introduce new areas of substance.

When it comes to the types of conduct that are forbidden, state antitrust laws frequently have a broader scope than federal antitrust statutes. State courts frequently, but not always, construe state antitrust laws in accordance with how federal antitrust laws are interpreted.

Here are some instances of state antitrust laws:

• The Cartwright Act of California: The main antitrust law in California is this one. It forbids businesses doing business in California from engaging in a number of anti-competitive practices. Any agreements between rivals to stifle trade, fix prices or output, or lessen competition are forbidden by the Cartwright Act. Legal actions brought by private individuals with claims of infringement of the Cartwright Act are permitted.
  • Typically, competitors who allege unfair competition are the private parties who file Cartwright Act claims. They might also be consumers who claim that the prices they have paid for goods and services have escalated due to price gouging or trade restrictions. Some of the prohibited actions include price fixing. Price fixing occurs when rival businesses agree to exchange goods, services, or commodities at a predetermined price or rate, or competitors who concur to boycott a specific entity are said to be “group boycotting”;
• Market Division Plan: Instead of letting customers choose which company they want to support, a market division scheme is an agreement between or among competitors to split markets, products, customers, or territories among themselves;
• Exclusive Dealing: Exclusive dealing entails requiring a buyer to purchase the entirety of a certain product from a single supplier or a seller to sell the entirety of a specific product in its inventory to a single buyer;
• Price Discrimination: Selling the same or similar items to different customers at various prices is price discrimination. Usually, the goal is to force one of them out of business so that another can benefit;
• Tying: Selling a good or service on the condition that the customer also purchases another good or service provided by the company is known as tying;
• California Unfair Practices Act: In California, unlawful price discrimination is outlawed by the California Unfair Practices Act (CUPA). The Act gives individual parties the right to sue businesses that engage in illegal business activities. Price discrimination that aims to reduce competition is illegal under the CUPA. Acts that are attempting to compete with rivals legally are not forbidden. Among the prohibited actions are the following:
  • Paying Selected Customers Secret Commissions or Rebates: When a company pays certain customers secret commissions or rebates while withholding them from other customers, it may be against the law since it reduces competition. For instance, a business may sell a product to numerous distributors and covertly give a discount to everyone but one of them in an effort to force the remaining one out of business;

How Does Antitrust Law Affect the Medical Sector?

Only in the last thirty years has antitrust law begun to take shape in the healthcare sector. Prior to the 1970s, “learned professions” like law and medicine were typically exempt from antitrust legislation. However, throughout that period, healthcare went from being a regional profession to a U.S. service. The Supreme Court held in 1975 that the practice of medicine and other “learned professions” are covered by antitrust law.

Midway through 1996, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the two federal agencies in charge of enforcing antitrust laws, released joint policy statements regarding how antitrust law relates to the healthcare sector. The claims establish “safety zones” for particular actions by healthcare professionals. The providers are immune from antitrust liability as long as they follow the rules.

Is a Business Attorney Necessary?

All healthcare providers, from national health maintenance organizations to doctors working inside a network, are subject to antitrust rules, whether federal or state. When antitrust and healthcare law interacts, the complexities in each of these legal fields significantly increase.

Get in touch with a business lawyer with experience in healthcare as soon as possible if you have a problem with antitrust law and healthcare.