Queens
Antitrust Violation
Attorney
Representing Queens, NY Clients in Antitrust Violations Cases
The American economy thrives on competition. Providing consumers with choice inherently encourages innovation, better customer service, and offering customers greater value with each iteration of a product or service. Business owners need to make many decisions every day to ensure their companies’ futures and being a business owner in any industry can be equal parts rewarding and challenging.
Unfortunately, some business owners engage in unethical and unlawful tactics to get an edge over their competitors. It is also possible for direct competitors to engage in unethical practices to divide a market in several ways, stifling competition and decreasing the value their customers should expect. Antitrust laws exist to preserve healthy competition in the economy and violating these laws can entail severe penalties.
If you have been accused of breaking state or federal antitrust laws in any way, you need criminal defense counsel you can trust. Some antitrust violations happen with no intent to do harm while others are willfully and intentionally committed for financial gain at the expense of the consumer.
The Law Offices of Robert Tsigler, PLLC can provide the criminal defense representation you need in New York state or federal court. We have years of experience handling complex financial crime cases and are familiar with the antitrust laws in place at the state and federal levels. Our firm can provide the comprehensive defense representation you need to approach your antitrust case with confidence and peace of mind.
Why Do I Need a Queens Antitrust Attorney?
You may wonder if you really need to hire legal representation to confront your antitrust case in Queens, NY. Unless your company has a powerful in-house legal team, it is crucial to obtain the best criminal defense representation you can find, to have the best chance of avoiding conviction and for ensuring the future of your company.
The Law Offices of Robert Tsigler, PLLC can provide that representation. Even if you have an in-house legal team, our firm can work closely with your own legal department to provide a cohesive and multifaceted defense for you and your company. We have experience working with antitrust laws at both the state and federal levels, and we can provide timely, responsive, and aggressive defense representation when you need it most.
The US Constitution guarantees legal representation to anyone accused of a crime, even if they are unable or unwilling to pay for private defense counsel. While large companies may have the liquidity to hire the best defense attorneys, small business owners accused of antitrust violations may not, and these business owners have the same right to defense counsel as any other defendant. It’s important to consider hiring an experienced Queens antitrust violations lawyer can offer a much better degree of defense representation and investment in your antitrust case.
If you have an in-house legal department, you may believe you can simply rely on your own internal legal professionals to handle your case. However, legal teams that provide in-house legal guidance and representation for their employers often become too focused on narrow aspects of the law. While they may have a holistic understanding of your company’s internal processes and regulatory obligations, working with an outside criminal defense team is one of the best ways to ensure a comprehensive and effective defense.
Understanding Antitrust Violations in Queens, NY
- Price fixing, which is the illegal practice of setting fixed prices for consumers. This practice ultimately leads to unfairly inflated prices. This offense occurs when business owners agree to fixed prices in order to corner a consumer market, or when they agree to stabilize prices at a certain level for mutual gain. Antitrust laws require all companies to set their own prices without consulting or colluding with other companies.
- Bid rigging. It is common for business owners in competitive markets to place bids for certain contracts. For example, a real estate developer may wish to build a new series of buildings and need a concrete contractor to lay the foundation, and they will field bids from various local concrete contractors until they find the most attractive bid and agree to a contract with the best bidder. Bid rigging would entail those contractors colluding to encourage the developer to choose one bid in particular. Companies that engage in this practice may essentially “trade” contracts by rigging their bids and depriving contract partners of fair choice. The parties will arrange for one to place the winning bid for one contract, and the next party will place the winning bid for the next similar contract, and so on without the knowledge of the parties fielding the bids.
- Resale price maintenance, also known as “vertical price fixing.” This antitrust violation occurs when manufacturers and distributors and/or retailers agree to sell the manufacturer’s products at specific prices. While “horizontal” price fixing occurs when competitors arrange unfair price fixing schemes, “vertical” price fixing occurs between manufacturers and other members of a supply chain. This dilutes market competition and can even eliminate competitors from a market, effectively diminishing consumer choice.
- Market allocation. Competing businesses within a specific market sector provide consumers with choice and value, but when these competitors agree behind the scenes to divide their market base, this ensures they profit by diluting choice for consumers. For example, if two businesses both operate in Queens, NY, they may agree to focus their marketing efforts on opposite sides of town, effectively reducing the chances that consumers in one target area would be inclined to visit the other.
- Group boycotts. This practice entails companies acting in concert to prevent specific services or products from entering their market. For example, if competitors agree among themselves to refuse to do business with a specific distributor or firm unless the distributor or firm agrees to stop doing business with one of their competitors, this would be a group boycott and violation of antitrust law.
- Price tying arrangements. A retailer or manufacturer may not “tie” the purchase of one product to the purchase of another product, meaning the retailer cannot force a consumer to purchase one product before purchasing another. For example, if one product has an accessory kit that provides additional functionality, the manufacturer could not force consumers to purchase the main product before buying the accessory kit.
- Monopolistic mergers. It is relatively common for companies to purchase smaller companies, but when they purchase competing companies, this can raise concerns of merger control and antitrust violations. Removing a competitor from the market inherently dilutes competition and reduces consumer choice and value.
The antitrust laws currently in place at the state level in New York outline very harsh penalties for any organizations that willfully violate these laws and harm consumers. Civil fines for antitrust violations can reach $100,000 for individual private business owners, and corporations can face million-dollar fines for antitrust violations of any kind. Additionally, private parties harmed by antitrust violations have the right to join the attorney general’s action and seek treble damages from the at-fault company. This can run in tandem with a civil suit from the alleged victim, and multiple victims of antitrust violations may band together into class-action lawsuits against companies accused of violating state or federal antitrust laws.
If any company or individual business owner violates the Donnelly Act, they will face felony prosecution, fines up to $100,000 for individuals and up to $1,000,000 for companies, and up to four years in prison. If you have been issued a subpoena that indicates your company has violated New York antitrust laws, or if you are otherwise notified that you are under investigation for organizing antitrust violations or knowingly participating in antitrust violations, you need criminal defense counsel on your side, as quickly as possible.
Potential Defenses in Your Antitrust Case
- The prosecution must prove that the defendant wields market power. The prosecution needs to establish the market share the defendant holds and establish their market power, to prove they are capable of inflicting harm through antitrust violations. Essentially, the prosecution needs to lay the legal groundwork showing the defendant is capable of committing the antitrust violation in question.
- The prosecution must then prove the defendant knowingly abused their market power in committing the antitrust violation in question. Antitrust violations generally do not occur accidentally or unintentionally. The prosecution must offer some evidence that shows the defendant engaged in an intentional antitrust violation.
- Lastly, the prosecution needs to prove that consumer harm occurred. It is possible for harmed consumers’ complaints to generate an antitrust lawsuit against a defendant, potentially leading into a class-action lawsuit.
It is inherently difficult to defend against antitrust charges due to their nature. When a prosecutor files antitrust charges there must be clear evidence already available to warrant the charges, and facts such as these are not generally open to interpretation. Instead of focusing on defending against an antitrust charge, it is generally preferable for a defendant to navigate their case by disproving the prosecution’s assertions. For example, if the antitrust case hinges on a merger that prosecutors claim violates antitrust laws and dilutes consumer choice and value, the defendant would need to provide clear evidence that the merger does not in fact harm the market or consumers in any meaningful way. If the prosecution cannot prove the aforementioned three elements of an antitrust violation, the defendant cannot be convicted. While the burden of proof rests on the prosecution in your antitrust violation case, this does not mean you should remain idle and hope the prosecution fails to make their case. It is essential to be proactive in defending yourself from accusations of antitrust violations. The Law Offices of Robert Tsigler, PLLC can help you determine your best available defenses and assist you in cultivating a solid foundation for your defense.
How Your Queens Antitrust Lawyer Will Help Your Defense
Whether you are part of a large company with an in-house legal department or a private individual business owner in need of defense counsel against antitrust violation charges, the Law Offices of Robert Tsigler, PLLC can provide the representation you need in these challenging cases. Our firm understands the various state and federal laws that typically come into play in antitrust violations cases. We also have significant experience handling complex business litigation and navigating the regulations that many business owners must uphold.
Our team will carefully review the charges against you and your company to determine the strength of the prosecutor’s case. These cases often involve complex legal statutes, careful interpretation of detailed business contracts, and various other concerns that demand the attention of an experienced team of Queens antitrust violations lawyers.
Avoiding conviction in some antitrust violations cases sometimes means consulting expert witnesses who have unique insights they can provide into a case. Economic professionals and various consultants sometimes play pivotal roles in antitrust violations cases. Whatever the demands of your antitrust violation case may include, you can rest assured that the team at the Law Offices of Robert Tsigler, PLLC will provide the comprehensive defense counsel you need to navigate your case effectively.
Secure the Legal Counsel You Need Today
Time is a critical factor in any criminal case, but it is especially crucial for any business owner facing accusations of antitrust violations. Every decision you make on behalf of your business has a direct impact on your company’s bottom line, and if you are forced to address antitrust litigation, this inherently distracts your time and attention away from running your company. Effective defense counsel is the best way to navigate these difficult cases, and the sooner you secure defense counsel, the sooner you can refocus your efforts back toward your company’s growth and success.
If you have an in-house legal department, the Law Offices of Robert Tsigler, PLLC will coordinate with them through every phase of your case, learning as much as we can about your operations and carefully examining the finest details of the antitrust charges filed against your organization. If your organization has been wrongfully charged with diluting your market or depriving consumers of choice, our team can help you regain your reputation and defeat such charges by effective leveraging of contradictory evidence against the prosecution, or by proving the prosecution has no real grounds for their case.
In the event you did knowingly engage in any antitrust violations, our team will guide you through your proceedings to help you minimize your penalty, as much as possible, while preserving your company’s reputation. The sooner you start building your defense, the better your chances will be of avoiding the most severe penalties on the table. If you are ready to discuss your legal options with an experienced Queens antitrust violations attorney, contact the Law Offices of Robert Tsigler, PLLC today to schedule a consultation with our team and learn how our firm can assist with your defense.
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The Antitrust Violations Defense Law firm of Robert Tsigler, PLLC is Ready to Fight for You!
Getting representation as soon as possible following any Antitrust Violations -related charge is the best way to promote a positive result from a subsequent trial. These charges are considered very serious and can result in expensive fines. Only an experienced Queens Antitrust Violations lawyer can successfully defend your case.
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