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United States · Bill · S

S. 300 (96th)

Antitrust Enforcement Act of 1979

reportedUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

31 January 1979

Last action

10 July 1979 · Reported

Status

Reported to Senate from the Committee on the Judiciary with amendment, S. Rept. 96-239.

Sponsors

Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA], Sen. Metzenbaum, Howard M. [D-OH], Sen. Morgan, Robert B. [D-NC], Sen. Bayh, Birch [D-IN], Sen. Culver, John C. [D-IA], Sen. Domenici, Pete V. [R-NM], Sen. Durkin, John A. [D-NH], Sen. Exon, J. James [D-NE], Sen. Gravel, Mike [D-AK], Sen. Hart, Gary W. [D-CO], Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT], Sen. Levin, Carl [D-MI], Sen. Matsunaga, Spark M. [D-HI], Sen. Moynihan, Daniel Patrick [D-NY], Sen. Nelson, Gaylord [D-WI], Sen. Pell, Claiborne [D-RI], Sen. Proxmire, William [D-WI], Sen. Ribicoff, Abraham A. [D-CT], Sen. Riegle, Donald W., Jr. [D-MI], Sen. Stafford, Robert T. [R-VT], Rep. Tsongas, Paul E. [D-MA-5], Sen. Williams, Harrison A., Jr. [D-NJ], Sen. Danforth, John C. [R-MO], Sen. Melcher, John [D-MT]

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

10 August 2026

Official sourceView documentsShare

Summary

Antitrust Enforcement Act of 1979 - Amends the Clayton Act to entitle any purchaser or seller in the chain of manufacture, production, or distribution of goods and services to relief under such Act, upon proof of an overcharge or underpayment resulting directly or indirectly from an antitrust violation. States that such relief may be granted in individual suits, suits by the United States, or parens patrie actions brought by a State attorney general for natural persons residing in the State. Authorizes the courts, in any civil action brought by a person or the United States, to permit the defendant to prove that the plaintiff was able to pass on to third parties all or part of an overcharge or underpayment. Grants the court the discretion to hear such evidence as a partial or complete defense in order to avoid duplicative liability. Enables the parties to any class action to prove the fact of injury, the amount of passed on charges and the extent of damages on a classwide basis, without requiring proof of such matters by each individual member of the class. Authorizes the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation to consolidate and transfer any action brought under the Clayton Act, with or without the consent of the parties for both pretrial and trial purposes.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 31 January 1979

    Introduced

    Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 31 January 1979

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

  3. 10 July 1979

    Reported

    Reported to Senate from the Committee on the Judiciary with amendment, S. Rept. 96-239.

    Source: Committee

  4. 10 July 1979

    Reported

    Reported to Senate from the Committee on the Judiciary with amendment, S. Rept. 96-239.

    Source: Committee

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

2 official files

Sponsors

Related records

Sources

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