Exam 17: Antitrust

The classic definition of conspiracy focuses on whether the alleged conspirators had a meeting of the minds in a scheme that violates the law.

The Robinson-Patman Act prohibits a manufacturer from making any price discrimination among its customers.

The courts are more likely to allow a restraint of interbrand competition than intrabrand competition.

Horizontal agreements among competitors not to compete on nonprice matters cannot be a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.

Fact pattern 17-1 Patty owns and operates a gym.Her main competitor is Jason who runs another gym three streets from her.They cater to the same clientele.Patty and Jason keep trying to undercut each other in order to attract customers.One evening Patty sees Jason in the local coffee shop and sits down to talk with him.They discuss how difficult it is to do upgrades and make money with the prices they are charging.Patty winked at Jason and said "You know,charging $80 per month would enable a good profit margin." The next day Patty started charging $80 per month as did Jason.Customers started complaining particularly after another coffee drinker and gym customer at a table sitting at a table near Patty and Jason made it known that they had seemed very cozy.Patty and Jason deny any agreement to set the same price for gym membership.They avow that the decision was made by each of them independently. -Refer to fact pattern 17-1.Frank,a first year law student and gym member,is suspicious; but he does not know what violation to claim.Which of the following is the correct term for an illegal agreement by providers of the same good or service to charge a set fee?

An equilibrium in which scarce societal resources are allocated to the production of various goods and services up to the point where the cost of the resources equals the benefit society reaps form their use is _________.

The Sherman Act was passed as part of a populist movement to combat the rise of trusts in such basic industries as oil and steel.

The Supreme Court has held that under the rule of ________ some allegations of predatory pricing are inherently implausible,because the marketplace cannot be successfully monopolized.

Fines,but not jail time,may be imposed for price-fixing in violation of the Sherman Act.

Happy City has three distributors of milk products.Sam,who owns a grocery store,angers one of the distributors when he insists that additional milk be delivered on Christmas Eve.He annoys another distributor when he makes a delivery driver wait to deliver milk.The three distributors get together and discuss the fact that they like all the other grocers in town better than Sam.One of them has an idea that they should stop selling milk products to Sam.The milk distributors call their friends the meat distributors and talk them into not selling meat to Sam either.Sam hears about the plot and wants to stop it.Which of the following best describes the agreements between the distributors of milk and meat to not sell to Sam?

Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act is broader than the other antitrust laws.

Which of the following is not an illegal horizontal market division?

The agreement of all the commercial airlines not to lower their fares would be an example of a

Which of the following markets is not relevant in establishing the existence of a monopoly?

For a monopoly to be found illegal,which of the following is relevant after market power is established?

Horizontal price-fixing is the classic example of a(n)________ violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.

Many countries do not have the equivalent of our anti-trust laws.Does vigorous enforcement of American anti-trust laws put American companies at a disadvantage in the global marketplace? Should changes in the law or in its enforcement be made to reflect the emerging global economy? Discuss fully.

Molly runs the best dog grooming shop in town.All the dogs love her as do the owners.She is particularly popular because of a special type of dog biscuit she gives for treats that provides such energy that owners have been known to try them too.Slowly but surely all the other dog grooming shops start to go out of business.Molly claims surprised when one day she is charged with unlawfully monopolizing the dog grooming business.Which of the following would be her best defense?

What three factors does a court primarily look to in determining if a horizontal merger is permissible once the market is defined? Discuss fully.

One of the major differences between U.S.and European Union competition laws is the European Union's treatment of horizontal agreements.