Law Commons^™

Divestiture As A Remedy In Private Actions Brought Under Section 16 Of The Clayton Act, Paul V. Timmins

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that private parties should be permitted to bring suits for divestiture under section 16 of the Clayton Act. Part I analyzes the language of section 16 and the relevant legislative history of the Clayton Act and concludes that Congress did not intend to limit the injunctive relief available to private parties. Part II argues that courts should be free to exercise their broad equity powers to grant the most appropriate and effective relief, including divestiture, to an injured plaintiff. Finally, Part III contends that policy considerations disfavor omitting divestiture from the types of equitable remedies that a …

Redefining The "Cost Of Suit" Under Section Four Of The Clayton Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note explores the possible interpretations of the "cost of suit" provision and the policies which it implicates. It concludes that the Copper Liquor interpretation best advances the goals of the antitrust laws set forth by Congress and the courts. Part I examines the development of the present controversy among the circuits. Part II analyzes and refutes the arguments which have been set forth in support of the traditional rule. Part III explores the policy considerations which underlie private treble damage actions and concludes that the Copper Liquor interpretation of the "cost of suit" provision serves them better than does …

Antitrust Law - Standing - Direct Purchasers From Defendants' Competitors Lack Standing To Bring Treble Damage Action, Indirect Purchasers From Defendants Have Standing To Seek Injunctive Relief, Robert C. Mickle

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.

Divestiture Of Illegally Held Assets: Observations On Its Scope, Objective, And Limitations, William T. Kerr

Michigan Law Review

"Divestiture has been called the most important of antitrust remedies. It is simple, relatively easy to administer, and sure." This observation was made with reference to an order requiring divestiture of illegally held stock. In the context of the divestiture of illegally held assets, however, the statement is an oversimplification of myriad complex problems. This Comment will examine the difficulties encountered in eliminating the anticompetitive effects of a fully consummated merger found to have violated section 7 of the Clayton Act. No attempt will be made to assess the substantive doctrine upon which the violation in any instance was based, …

Antitrust-Clayton Act-Admissibilty Of Criminal Conviction Entered On A Plea Of Guilty As Prima Facie Evidence In Civil Suit For Treble Damage, Arthur M. Sherwood

Michigan Law Review

In a civil action for treble damages under section 4 of the Clayton Act, the plaintiff sought to allege as prima facie evidence of a Sherman Act violation a criminal conviction entered on a plea of guilty by the defendant in an earlier prosecution by the government. The trial court sustained a motion by the defendant to strike from plaintiff's complaint any reference to the criminal prosecution. On appeal, held, reversed, one judge dissenting. A judgment entered on a plea of guilty is not a consent judgment within the meaning of the proviso to section 5(a) of the Clayton …

Federal Antitrust Law--Price Discrimination--Proof And Measurement Of Damages In Treble Damage Action, Richard A. Miller S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Section 2(a) of the Robinson-Patman Act makes it unlawful for a seller to charge buyers who compete with each other different prices for commodities of like grade and quality. Price discrimination which violates this section operates to confer an unlawful benefit upon a favored buyer by making his costs of obtaining, using, or reselling the particular commodities involved lower than the similar costs of non-favored buyers and puts non-favored buyers at a competitive disadvantage to the extent that the difference in costs affects the ability of favored and non-favored buyers to compete with one another. If this wrongfully induced competitive …

Antitrust Laws- Judicial Relief For Violations Of Section Seven Of The Clayton Act - Disenfranchisement In United States V. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., Barbara B. Burt S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

This comment will approach section 7 relief questions and solutions primarily in the light of du Pont's unique facts, which included a vertical stock acquisition made thirty years before the judicial proceeding plus the complicating factors of vast financial interests, numerous innocent investors and several corporate interrelationships. Thereby were posed complex problems regarding (1) parties to the relief determination, (2) interests to be affected by the decree and (3) the manner of affecting those interests.

The Patent-Antitrust Problem, Bartholomew Diggins

Michigan Law Review

The Patent-Antitrust section of the Report of the Attorney General's National Committee to Study the Antitrust Laws is an excellent analysis of the existing law and is an invaluable handbook for practitioners in this difficult field. The writer's approach to the problem is different from that of the committee and before commenting specifically on the Report it is only fair to state the writer's views of the problem lest differences in viewpoint give the impression of criticism of the Report.

In any approach to the patent-antitrust problem there is a basic question: does a "patent-antitrust problem" exist? The Report …

Antitrust Administration And Enforcement, John T. Chadwell

Michigan Law Review

The importance of the nation's antitrust policy requires that administration and enforcement powers and techniques be equal to the huge task of effectively safeguarding competition. The recommendations of the Attorney General's Committee represent a statesmanlike effort to balance the need for effective enforcement with the need for the preservation of fairness and the conservation of time and resources in antitrust litigation. Some of the recommendations will undoubtedly engender heated controversy; others seem relatively uncontroversial.

Many individual topics are dealt with in the Report of the committee and space does not permit comment upon all of them. The following discussion is …

The Treble Damage Bonanza: New Doctrines Of Damages In Private Antitrust Suits, Homer Clark

Michigan Law Review

Section 7 of the Sherman Act, as amended by section 4 of the Clayton Act, gives a private right of action for treble damages to persons injured "in . . .business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws. . . ." The lucrative possibilities of this section for plaintiffs and their attorneys have recently received sufficient notoriety to arouse curiosity concerning the legal doctrines involved.

The purposes of the section have been said to include compensation for those affected by violations, prevention of violations, and assistance for the government in discovering and bringing before the courts …