Clarkson files suit against University of Michigan for enabling pervasive image-based sexual violence against female athletes.
Our nation’s antitrust laws are grounded in the bedrock principle that competition “will yield the best allocation of our economic resources, the lowest prices, the highest quality, and the greatest material progress” in our marketplaces (Northern Pacific R. Co. v. United States, 356 U.S. 1, 4, (1958)). When companies work together to cheat that competitive process, state and federal antitrust laws may provide relief for injured competitors, consumers, or workers. Indeed, those wrongs often go unremedied outside of civil litigation on behalf of aggrieved market participants.
The Sherman Act, enacted in 1890, is the primary federal law addressing competition and one of our most enduring laws. It declares unlawful any unreasonable “contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy” in restraint of trade. So, when two or more would-be competitors decide instead to work together to restrain supply, fix prices, rig bids, or allocate markets among themselves, the Sherman Act (together with the Clayton Act) provides a civil damages remedy. The Sherman Act likewise prohibits monopolization or attempted monopolization of markets. When a single seller or buyer comes to dominate any particular marketplace, competitive pricing, quality, and innovation can suffer.
Shortcuts around fair competition often prove profitable for conspirators. Those profits, however, are unfairly extracted from consumers and other market participants, who end up getting the short end of the stick via higher prices, fewer choices, and a lack of innovation. Antitrust litigation is about more than just recovering damages. It’s about demanding fairer business practices that ultimately provide people with more freedom as a consumer. Through antitrust litigation, everyday people can help hold businesses accountable and demand greater adherence to our nation’s belief that the principle of competition is what benefits everyone in the long run.
The people we represent share their experiences because they understand the impact it can have—not just on their own lives, but on the lives of countless others. Our clients take valuable time out of their days to provide testimony, give depositions, and work with our team—all for a purpose far bigger than any one individual.