United States · Amendment · HAMDT

HAMDT 415 (101st)

An amendment to eliminate the provisions of the bill which change the evidentiary standards necessary to obtain a jury trial in price fixing cases. Under the bill, sufficient evidence for a jury trial exists if a plaintiff can demonstrate that a communication concerning price competition was received by a supplier from a retailer and that in response to the communication, the supplier terminated a supply contract with a rival retailer. The amendment would also eliminate the language of the bill making price restraints automatically illegal regardless of whether or not a specific minimum price has been set and would let stand recentSupreme Court decisions holding that in order to obtain a jury trial, a plaintiff must provide direct or circumstantial evidence that a supplier and retailer consciously intended to maintain resale price levels and that a specific minimum price agreement must be established for a per se violation of price fixing laws to exist.