PRINTER'S NO. 723
No. 681 Session of 1977
INTRODUCED BY DOUGHERTY AND COPPERSMITH, MARCH 30, 1977
REFERRED TO BUSINESS AND COMMERCE, MARCH 30, 1977
AN ACT
1 Relating to trade and commerce; prohibiting restraints and
2 monopolies of trade or commerce; providing for investigations
3 and written demands by the Attorney General; and prescribing
4 remedies and penalties.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Uniform
9 State Anti-trust Act."
10 Section 2. Definitions.
11 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
12 have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the
13 meanings given to them in this section:
14 "Person." An individual, corporation, business trust,
15 partnership, association, or any other legal entity.
16 "Relevant market." The geographical area of actual or
17 potential competition in a line of commerce, all or any part of
18 which is within this Commonwealth.
19 Section 3. Contract, combination, or conspiracy to restrain or
1 monopolize trade.
2 A contract, combination, or conspiracy between two or more
3 persons in restraint of, or to monopolize, trade or commerce in
4 a relevant market is unlawful.
5 Section 4. Establishment, maintenance, or use of a monopoly.
6 The establishment, maintenance, or use of a monopoly, or an
7 attempt to establish a monopoly, of trade or commerce in a
8 relevant market by any person, for the purpose of excluding
9 competition or controlling, fixing, or maintaining prices, is
10 unlawful.
11 Section 5. Exclusions.
12 (a) Labor of a human being is not a commodity or an article
13 of commerce.
14 (b) Nothing in this act shall be construed to forbid the
15 existence and operation of any labor, agricultural, or
16 horticultural organization instituted for the purpose of mutual
17 help, while lawfully carrying out its legitimate objects.
18 Section 6. Judicial jurisdiction.
19 An action for violation of this act may be brought in the
20 court of common pleas of the county in which the defendant or
21 respondent resides or maintains a principal place of business or
22 in the Commonwealth Court.
23 Section 7. Official investigation.
24 (a) If the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe
25 that a person has information or is in possession, custody, or
26 control of any document or other tangible object relevant to an
27 investigation for violation of this act, he may serve upon the
28 person, before bringing any action in court, a written demand to
29 appear and be examined under oath, to answer written
30 interrogatories under oath, and to produce the document or
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1 object for inspection and copying. The demand shall:
2 (1) be served upon the person in the manner required for
3 service of process in this Commonwealth;
4 (2) describe the nature of the conduct constituting the
5 violation under investigation;
6 (3) describe the document or object with sufficient
7 definiteness to permit it to be fairly identified;
8 (4) contain a copy of the written interrogatories;
9 (5) prescribe a reasonable time at which the person must
10 appear to testify, within which to answer the written
11 interrogatories, and within which the document or object must
12 be produced, and advise the person that objections to or
13 reasons for not complying with the demand may be filed with
14 the Attorney General on or before that time;
15 (6) specify a place for the taking of testimony or for
16 production and designate a person who shall be custodian of
17 the document or object; and
18 (7) contain a copy of subsection (b).
19 (b) If a person objects to or otherwise fails to comply with
20 the written demand served upon him under subsection (a) the
21 Attorney General may file in court a petition for an order to
22 enforce the demand. Notice of hearing the petition and a copy of
23 the petition shall be served upon the person, who may appear in
24 opposition to the petition. If the court finds that the demand
25 is proper, there is reasonable cause to believe there has been a
26 violation of this act, and the information sought or document or
27 object demanded is relevant to the violation, it shall order the
28 person to comply with the demand, subject to modification the
29 court may prescribe. Upon motion by the person and for good
30 cause shown, the court may make any further order in the
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1 proceedings that justice requires to protect the person from
2 unreasonable annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, burden, or
3 expense.
4 (c) Any procedure, testimony taken, or material produced
5 under this section shall be kept confidential by the Attorney
6 General before bringing an action against a person under this
7 act for the violation under investigation, unless
8 confidentiality is waived by the person being investigated and
9 the person who has testified, answered interrogatories, or
10 produced material, or disclosure is authorized by the court.
11 Section 8. Civil penalty and injunctive enforcement by
12 Commonwealth.
13 The Attorney General, or a district attorney with the
14 permission or at the request of the Attorney General, may being
15 an action for appropriate injunctive relief and civil penalties
16 in the name of the Commonwealth for a violation of this act. The
17 court may assess for the benefit of the Commonwealth a civil
18 penalty of not more than $50,000 for each violation of this act.
19 Section 9. Damages and injunctive relief.
20 (a) The Commonwealth, a political subdivision, or any public
21 agency threatened with injury or injured in its business or
22 property by a violation of this act may bring an action for
23 appropriate injunctive relief, damages sustained and, as
24 determined by the court, taxable costs and reasonable attorney's
25 fees.
26 (b) A person threatened with injury or injured in his
27 business or property by a violation of this act may bring an
28 action for appropriate injunctive relief, damages sustained and,
29 as determined by the court, taxable costs and reasonable
30 attorney's fees. If the trier of fact finds that the violation
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1 is flagrant, it may increase recovery to an amount not in excess
2 of three times the damages sustained.
3 Section 10. Judgment in favor of Commonwealth as prima facie
4 evidence.
5 A final judgment or decree determining that a person has
6 violated this act in an action brought by the Commonwealth under
7 section 8 or section 9 (a), other than a consent judgment or
8 decree entered before any testimony has been taken, is prima
9 facie evidence against him in any other action against him under
10 section 8 as to all matters with respect to which the judgment
11 or decree would be an estoppel between the parties thereto. This
12 section does not affect the application of collateral estoppel
13 or issue preclusion.
14 Section 11. Limitations of actions.
15 (a) An action under section 8 to recover a civil penalty is
16 barred if it is not commenced within four years after the cause
17 of action accrues.
18 (b) An action under section 9 to recover damages is barred
19 if it is not commenced within four years after the cause of
20 action accrues, or within one year after the conclusion of any
21 timely action brought by the Commonwealth under section 8 or 9
22 (a) based in whole or in part on any matter complained of in the
23 action for damages, whichever is later.
24 Section 12. Remedies cumulative.
25 The remedies provided in this act are cumulative.
26 Section 13. Uniformity of application and construction.
27 The act shall be applied and construed to effectuate its
28 general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the
29 subject of this act among those states that enact it.
30 Section 14. Severability.
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1 If any provision of this act or the application thereof to
2 any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
3 not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can
4 be given effect without the invalid provision or application,
5 and to this end, the provisions of this act are severable.
6 Section 15. Repealer.
7 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
8 inconsistent with this act.
9 Section 16. Effective date.
10 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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