In business, a "trust" is a large corporation that controls the vast majority of a particular market share. The federal government and the individual state governments have enacted antitrust laws to foster a more robust competitive landscape by discouraging large mergers and acquisitions among corporations, as well as prohibiting monopolies. In the end, the purpose of antitrust laws is to protect consumers by keeping prices lower, ensuring the quality of the goods and services offered to consumers, and allowing for a diversity of choices available to consumers.
When it comes to regulating at the federal level, the government relies on three laws: the Sherman Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, and the Clayton Act. The Sherman Act represented the first major legislation aimed at curbing monopolies and anti-competitive business practices. Several years later Congress passed the Federal Trade Commission Act, which formed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a government agency that enforces antitrust regulations. In addition, Congress also prohibited specific types of anticompetitive acts through passage of the Clayton Act.
In Ohio, antitrust laws are subject to a four-year statute of limitations, which means that a claim must be brought within four years of the date the anti-competitive business practice was discovered (or reasonably should have been discovered). It should also be noted that Ohio antitrust laws allow both the attorney general and private parties to file antitrust claims.
The basics of Ohio antitrust laws are highlighted in the following table, including links to related resources.
| Antitrust Code Section | 1331:01, et seq. |
| Is a Private Lawsuit Possible? | Yes; attorney general power to enforce |
| Time Limit to Bring Claim | 4 yrs., 1331.12(B) |
| Can a Successful Plaintiff Recover Attorneys' Fees? | No |
Note: State laws are constantly changing -- contact an Ohio antitrust attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.
More Information
For more information on Ohio’s antitrust laws, click on the links listed below to access additional resources. If you’d like to read up on more general information relating to antitrust laws, you may find FIndLaw’s Details on State Antitrust Laws article to be a helpful resource. Finally, if you find you have more specific questions or are in need of legal advice, consider contacting a local antitrust attorney.
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Ohio Antitrust Laws: Related Resources
