Antitrust Law Firm

Have you or your business been harmed by a monopolized industry, price fixing, bid rigging, or other illegal and anti-competitive conduct? If so, it’s time to turn to an experienced antitrust law firm.

Herman Jones LLP’s antitrust lawyers have devoted themselves to fighting back against powerful corporations engaging in questionable business practices. Our firm is dedicated to promoting fair, honest, and open competition in the U.S. markets.

As a national leader in antitrust law, we’ve handled some of the most complex and high-stakes antitrust and anti-competition cases in the country. Send our firm a message today or call us at 404.504.6500 to get a contact us for a review of your case.

What is antitrust law?

Initially established by the federal government, antitrust laws exist to protect our country’s free and open markets. These laws are essential for regulating business conduct and competition for the benefit of consumers and small businesses. Without them, businesses would lose their incentive to maintain good quality for fair prices.

There are three federal statutes at the heart of antitrust law that aim to protect the free market:

Sherman Act

The Sherman Act, passed in 1890, makes it illegal to engage in contracts, combinations, and conspiracies that unreasonably restrain trade. This includes monopolies, price-fixing cartels, and bid-rigging.

Clayton Act

Passed in 1914, the Clayton Act expanded the Sherman Act by prohibiting mergers and acquisitions that reduce competition in the market. Not only does the Clayton Act enforce antitrust regulations for businesses that have created a monopoly, but it also applies to businesses that “tend to create” a monopolistic atmosphere.

FTC Act of 1914

The Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 prohibits unfair methods of competition such as price-fixing agreements, mergers, price discrimination, false advertising, and deceptive packaging and labeling.

Of these three laws, private companies and citizens can file antitrust lawsuits under the Sherman and Clayton Acts.

Because of their far-reaching effects, antitrust lawsuits often make the news as their results have the potential to shift entire industries. Antitrust law was responsible for the Standard Oil Company’s breakup and the U.S. government’s lawsuits against IBM and Microsoft.

In addition to being incredibly complex, antitrust lawsuits carry high stakes for the rights of consumers and maintaining a free market. For this reason, it’s critical that you rely on an experienced antitrust law firm that is not only skilled at handling complicated cases but has the know-how of navigating complex antitrust law.

Types of Antitrust Cases We Handle

The attorneys at Herman Jones LLP are experienced in handling a variety of complex antitrust cases. Here are some examples of antitrust violations our lawyers litigate:

Monopolization

Monopolization occurs when a company seeks to eliminate or restrain competition over a particular good or service. If a company can raise its prices or restrict supply without fear of a competitor lowering their prices for a similar product, there’s a good chance that the company has monopolized the industry.

Market Allocation

Market allocation (also known as market division, customer division, or customer allocation) is a scheme that works against fair competition and negatively affects consumers. This occurs when competitors agree to divide the market and customer base amongst themselves.

Price Fixing

Price fixing involves an agreement between two or more competitors that raises, lowers, or stabilizes prices for a good or service. When competitors fix prices, they’re unlawfully imposing higher prices on consumers and violating consumers’ rights to purchase goods in a fair market.

A price-fixing lawsuit can involve not only the price of goods but also the agreement of competitors on shipping fees, financing rates, discounts, future prices, and promotions.

 

Bid Rigging

Bid rigging involves the collusion of competing parties to pre-determine the winner of a bidding process. The coordination of bidders completely undermines the bidding process, resulting in a rigged bid. Bid rigging prices are higher than they otherwise would have been in a fair and competitive bidding process in a free market.

Tying Arrangement

When a company conditions the sale of a good or service on the additional purchase of a second good or service, this is known as tying. Tying, or a bundle arrangement, can either require the customer to buy an unrelated product in addition to the desired product (vertical tying) or requires a customer to buy a related product (horizontal tying).

Price Discrimination

It’s not inherently an antitrust violation to charge different prices to different consumers. However, if a business offers promotions to certain customers or lowers prices in certain locations and impacts competition, there could be grounds for an antitrust lawsuit.

What damages are available in an antitrust lawsuit?

Antitrust violations harm consumers on an individual level and also the economy as a whole. Due to the magnitude of negative effects anti-competitive practices can have, Section 4 of the Clayton Act provides courts the ability to award plaintiffs triple the amount of economic injury in the form of compensation.

In addition to compensation, antitrust lawsuits can also entitle plaintiffs to consent decrees and injunctive relief, preventing or halting ongoing antitrust violations.

An experienced antitrust law firm will review your case for free and determine if you have grounds for an antitrust lawsuit.

Herman Jones LLP’s Promise to You

The Herman Jones promise includes…

  1. A free consultation to review your case
  2. Thorough analysis and in-depth research to determine the best course of action
  3. The backing of a prominent antitrust law firm that’s litigated cases across the nation
  4. Commitment to getting you the best results possible

We aggressively fight for justice for all of our clients. At Herman Jones LLP, we know that no company is too big to take on, and we’re not afraid to pursue accountability for anti-competitive practices.

Learn more about our team’s successful cases and the results we’ve achieved on behalf of our clients.

Contact Our Top National Antitrust Lawyers Today

As an established antitrust law firm, our attorneys are up-to-date on antitrust law, regulatory developments, and emerging antitrust cases. If you or your business has suffered financial harm due to illegal, anti-competitive business conduct, we urge you to contact us today.

Find out if you can recover compensation through an antitrust lawsuit with the help of our experienced lawyers. Call us at 404.504.6500 or message us online. We look forward to assisting you with your case.