Over the years, Audet & Partners, LLP has been appointed to leadership positions in some of the largest class action cases, and has also represented small businesses impacted by illegal actions, such a price fixing and improper allocation agreements.

Our antitrust lawyers are recognized leaders in the courtroom, with the ability to proceed to trial if that is what is required to obtain compensation and justice for our clients. We have litigated antitrust cases throughout the United States, and obtained multimillion dollar recoveries for our clients and class members. Audet & Partners, LLP, as plaintiffs-only law firm, has the advantage over many other firms that represent both plaintiffs and defendants in antitrust cases, and our in-depth understanding of the law and commitment to obtaining positive results is what distinguishes our firm from many others in this field of law.

Some of the issues navigated by our antitrust and anti-competition attorneys include the following:

Price-Fixing: Price-fixing is an agreement among competitors to raise or maintain prices. Price-fixing lawsuits may involve agreements to raise the prices of goods or services, but may also involve agreements between companies to change the terms of warranties, discount programs, shipping fees or financing rates.   Absent direct evidence of collusion, price-fixing lawsuits often involve circumstantial evidence, such as a pattern of unexplained, identical price increases or a change in contract terms without a legitimate business reason for doing so.

Bid-Rigging: Coordination among bidders undermines the fairness of the bidding process and is illegal. Through bid-rigging, competitors conspire to effectively raise prices in situations where purchasers (often federal, state or local governments) attempt to acquire goods or services by soliciting competing bids. One of the most common types of bid-rigging schemes is complementary bidding, where some competitors agree to submit bids that are either too high to be accepted or contain terms that will not be accepted by the buyer. These bids are not intended to win the auction, but rather are designed to give the appearance of competitive bidding to make the winning bid seem fair and reasonable. Bid-rigging arrangements may also involve subcontracting part of the main contract to the losing bidders or forming a joint venture to submit a single bid.

Market Division or Customer Allocation: Market division or customer allocation schemes are agreements by competitors on how to divide markets among themselves. Market division antitrust lawsuits often involve competing firms allocating specific customers, products or territories among themselves.

Monopolization: Antitrust laws are created to prevent businesses from creating monopolies that eliminate market competition for a particular product or service. Monopolization occurs when one company deliberately destroys its rivals to obtain “monopoly power” over a particular good or service. A company has obtained monopoly power if it has the ability to raise prices or reduce supply without fear that a rival can charge lower prices for a substitute good or service. Our antitrust attorneys represent businesses and individuals who have suffered financial harm because of illegal monopolies.

Mergers and Acquisitions: Antitrust law prohibits mergers and acquisitions that substantially decrease competition or create monopolies for certain goods or services. When a merger or acquisition creates a monolithic company that takes over a large share of the market, our antitrust attorneys can challenge the plan by issuing an antitrust lawsuit.

If you or your business has been impacted by antitrust actions or unfair business practices, our firm’s attorneys will review your case for free to determine whether you have a viable claim. In some cases, a class action case may have already been filed, but your financial interests may be best served by the filing of your own case against the offending parties.

Audet & Partners, LLP Representative Antitrust Experience