Price-Fixing Claims in Federal Court

<h2>Price-Fixing Overview</h2><p>Price-fixing — an agreement among competitors to set prices at a certain level — is a per se violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. This means that once a price-fixing agreement is proven, it is automatically illegal regardless of whether the agreed-upon price was "reasonable." Price-fixing can be prosecuted both criminally (by the DOJ) and civilly (by private plaintiffs seeking treble damages).</p><h2>Types of Price-Fixing</h2><ul><li><strong>Horizontal price-fixing:</strong> Agreements among competitors at the same level of the supply chain</li><li><strong>Bid rigging:</strong> Agreements to manipulate the competitive bidding process</li><li><strong>Market allocation:</strong> Agreements to divide markets by territory, customer, or product</li><li><strong>Output restrictions:</strong> Agreements to limit production to drive up prices</li></ul>