High Court Expands Price-Fixing Suits
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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court, in a major victory for consumers, today upheld state laws that allow those indirectly affected by illegal price-fixing to sue for monetary damages.
By a 7-0 vote, the court reinstated efforts by four states--California, Minnesota, Alabama and Arizona--to participate in a multimillion-dollar settlement of a nationwide conspiracy to fix cement prices.
Lower courts had relied on a 1977 Supreme Court decision in which the justices said federal antitrust law does not permit “indirect purchasers” to sue. But writing for the court today, Justice Byron R. White said that ruling was never intended to preclude state laws allowing such lawsuits.
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