Antitrust Law

In the U.S. antitrust laws are developed to protect consumers from harmful business practices by ensuring that fair competition exists in an open-market economy. Businesses may employ forms of conduct or tactics that go beyond normal competition, and may harm or distort normal competition. Antitrust laws are used to counter a wide range of questionable business activities.

If you have experienced unfair business practices you may have been the victim of violations of antitrust law. Please contact us using the form on this page or call 424-245-5505. You may be part of a class action lawsuit.

What is Antitrust Law?

Antitrust law is also known as competition law. It is a field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain competition in a market economy. Competition between businesses is desirable because it creates an informal system of checks and balances. When only a few powerful organizations control the market it can lead to unethical and unfair business practices. Without competition, there would be monopolies and cartels. A monopoly is when one person or organization has the exclusive control of the supply or trade in commodities and services. A cartel is an agreement between competing firms to control prices or exclude the entry of new competitors in the market. These practices have the effect of restraining trade at the cost of the consumer.

Restrictive Business Practices

Some practices are deemed by the courts to be so obviously detrimental that they are categorized as being automatically unlawful. The main one is when cartels engage in price fixing. Price fixing is when business competitors agree to set an artificial price. If cartels can control the price of goods and services, they effectively control the entire industry.

Another restrictive business practice is bid rigging. Bid rigging is when there is an agreement to arrange that one party in a group of bidders wins a bid.

U.S. Antitrust Law

U.S. antitrust law is a collection of federal and state government laws, which regulates the conduct and organization of business corporations, generally to promote fair competition for the benefit of consumers. These laws restrict the formation of cartels and prohibit other collusive practices that could result in restraint of trade.

How Does Antitrust Law Affect Me?

When businesses collude to control the market the expense falls on the consumers. Consumers shouldn’t have to deal with the unfair and illegal business practices of monopolies and cartels. Fair competition promotes a healthy economy and antitrust laws help to ensure that fair competition exists in all markets.

Potential Civil Rights Class Action Lawsuits

Businesses in violation of antitrust laws will typically have vast resources available to them, including legal and financial means. Trying to obtain legal relief by yourself can be a difficult process. A class action in these situations can be an effective method of obtaining relief for those that have suffered harm. A class action lawsuit will bring together others who have also suffered from the same results of the illegal business practice and will collectively have a greater ability to affect change.