Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons^™

Taking Antitrust Away From The Courts, Ganesh Sitaraman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

A small number of firms hold significant market power in a wide variety of sectors of the economy, leading commentators across the political spectrum to call for a reinvigoration of antitrust enforcement. But the antitrust agencies have been surprisingly timid in response to this challenge, and when they have tried to assert themselves, they have often found that hostile courts block their ability to foster competitive markets. In other areas of law, Congress delegates power to agencies, agencies make regulations setting standards, and courts provide deferential review after the fact. Antitrust doesn’t work this way. Courts – made up of …

Denial Of Standing To Private,Noncommercial Consumers Under Section 4 Of The Clayton Act, David L. O'Daniel

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Sherman Act and the Clayton Act are efforts by Congress to promote a free and competitive economy and to compensate those injured by anticompetitive activities. To supplement government enforcement, section 7 of the Sherman Act provided a means of combating antitrust violations through private treble damage actions. Section 4 of the Clayton Act, which superseded section 7 of the Sherman Act with only slight modification, provides for treble damage actions by "any person who shall be injured in his business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws"....

In light of the uncertainty regarding private consumer …

The Contemporary Antitrust Regulation Of Joint Ventures In The European Economic Community, Stephen O. Spinks

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The joint venture is a form of organization widely used in international business. Although anticompetitive effects of mergers, interlocking directorates, and cartels are more frequently the targets of enforcement efforts under antitrust laws than joint ventures, the latter can be equally effective in reducing competition in the market place.

The legal status of joint ventures in various jurisdictions has remained a subject of some confusion possibly because of their hybrid nature--not quite cartels, yet not quite mergers. This confusion still exists to some extent in the United States, despite the fact that the Supreme Court has held that section 7 …

The Antitrust Laws And The Corporate Executive's Civil Damage Liability, Joseph R. Manning

Vanderbilt Law Review

It will be the purpose of this note to examine the executive's potential civil liability for damages resulting from his violations of the federal antitrust laws. First, there is the injury to the persons against whom his unlawful conduct was directed. They may desire compensation for their injuries, as well as treble damages in a suit authorized by section 4 of the Clayton Act.' Also, the executive may cause injury to his corporation by subjecting it to fines, damages,and litigation expenses. This presents the question: whether a shareholder may bring a derivative suit against the executive for these damages to …

Determining The "Line Of Commerce" Under Section Seven Of The Clayton Act, William H. Barr

Vanderbilt Law Review

A provision of the antitrust statutes currently receiving a great deal of publicity is the anti-merger section of the Clayton Act-section 7. The statute prohibits the acquisition by one corporation of stock or assets of another corporation, "where in any line of commerce in any section of the country, the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly." It is designed to eliminate the merger as a means to amassing monopoly power by prohibiting at its incipiency the lessening of competition or the creation of monopoly power through merger. A finding …

The Impact Of Antitrust, John P. Miller

Vanderbilt Law Review

The functions of the antitrust laws have never been well articulated. Some proponents of the law emphasize the economic benefits of competition, i.e., incentives to economic efficiency and growth. Others emphasize the political and social advantages of minimizing the concentration of economic power. A review of the history and present status of antitrust suggests that both these views play a part. The Sherman Act prohibitions of "restraint of trade" and "monopolizing" suggest concern that entry into an industry shall not be barred by arbitrary restraints and that decisions of various firms shall be arrived at independently. This is not the …

Legal, Economic And Political Considerations Involved In Mergers, Joseph W. Burns

Vanderbilt Law Review

Although the merger statute--section 7 of 'the Clayton Act'--was enacted in 1914, it was forty years before it assumed any importance in the antitrust field. The original statute, applicable to acquisitions of stock but not to acquisitions of assets, was wholly ineffective to prevent mergers. Enforcement efforts were insignificant...

If Congress expected the 1950 amendment to solve all the merger problems which were discussed prior to its enactment, this expectation has not been realized. Congressional committees in both the House and Senate have instituted investigations and held public hearings which have indicated considerable dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of section 7 …