| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 1788 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To prohibit the use of algorithmic systems by food producers to artificially |
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| 6 | 6 | | inflate the price or reduce the supply of their foods. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 8 | 8 | | MARCH3, 2025 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Mr. F |
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| 10 | 10 | | ROSTintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee |
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| 11 | 11 | | on the Judiciary |
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| 12 | 12 | | A BILL |
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| 13 | 13 | | To prohibit the use of algorithmic systems by food producers |
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| 14 | 14 | | to artificially inflate the price or reduce the supply of |
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| 15 | 15 | | their foods. |
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| 16 | 16 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 17 | 17 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 19 | 19 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Grocery Pricing 4 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Act’’. 5 |
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| 21 | 21 | | SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 |
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| 22 | 22 | | In this Act: 7 |
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| 23 | 23 | | (1) C |
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| 24 | 24 | | HAIR.—The term ‘‘Chair’’ means the 8 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Chair of the Commission. 9 |
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| 27 | 27 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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| 28 | 28 | | •HR 1788 IH |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | means the Federal Trade Commission. 2 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (3) C |
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| 32 | 32 | | ONSCIOUSLY PARALLEL PRICING COORDI -3 |
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| 33 | 33 | | NATION.—The term ‘‘consciously parallel pricing co-4 |
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| 34 | 34 | | ordination’’ means a tacit agreement between 2 or 5 |
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| 35 | 35 | | more food producers to raise, lower, change, main-6 |
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| 36 | 36 | | tain, or manipulate pricing for the purchase or sale 7 |
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| 37 | 37 | | of reasonably interchangeable food products. 8 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (4) C |
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| 39 | 39 | | OORDINATING FUNCTION .—The term ‘‘co-9 |
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| 40 | 40 | | ordinating function’’ means— 10 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (A) collecting historical or contempora-11 |
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| 42 | 42 | | neous food product prices or supply levels from 12 |
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| 43 | 43 | | 2 or more food producers; 13 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (B) analyzing or processing of the informa-14 |
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| 45 | 45 | | tion described in subparagraph (A) using a sys-15 |
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| 46 | 46 | | tem, software, or process that uses computa-16 |
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| 47 | 47 | | tion, including by using that information to 17 |
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| 48 | 48 | | train an algorithm; and 18 |
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| 49 | 49 | | (C) recommending food prices, supply or 19 |
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| 50 | 50 | | output, or other commercial term to a food pro-20 |
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| 51 | 51 | | ducer. 21 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (5) C |
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| 53 | 53 | | OORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘coordinator’’ 22 |
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| 54 | 54 | | means any person that operates a software or data 23 |
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| 55 | 55 | | analytics service that performs a coordinating func-24 |
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| 56 | 56 | | tion for any food producer, including a food pro-25 |
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| 58 | 58 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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| 59 | 59 | | •HR 1788 IH |
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| 60 | 60 | | ducer performing a coordinating function for their 1 |
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| 61 | 61 | | own benefit. 2 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (6) F |
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| 63 | 63 | | OOD.—The term ‘‘food’’ has the meaning 3 |
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| 64 | 64 | | given the term in the 321st section of the Food, 4 |
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| 65 | 65 | | Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321). 5 |
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| 66 | 66 | | (7) F |
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| 67 | 67 | | OOD PRODUCER.—The term ‘‘food pro-6 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ducer’’ means any individual, corporation, or entity 7 |
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| 69 | 69 | | engaged in the manufacturing, processing, or pro-8 |
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| 70 | 70 | | duction of food products for commercial distribution. 9 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (8) P |
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| 72 | 72 | | ERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 10 |
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| 73 | 73 | | meaning given the term in the 1st section of the 11 |
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| 74 | 74 | | Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12). 12 |
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| 75 | 75 | | (9) P |
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| 76 | 76 | | RE-DISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT .— 13 |
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| 77 | 77 | | The term ‘‘pre-dispute arbitration agreement’’ 14 |
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| 78 | 78 | | means an agreement between 2 or more parties to 15 |
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| 79 | 79 | | arbitrate a dispute between the parties that is made 16 |
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| 80 | 80 | | before any dispute has arisen. 17 |
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| 81 | 81 | | (10) P |
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| 82 | 82 | | RE-DISPUTE JOINT ACTION WAIVER .— 18 |
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| 83 | 83 | | The term ‘‘pre-dispute joint action waiver’’ means 19 |
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| 84 | 84 | | an agreement between 2 or more parties, which may 20 |
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| 85 | 85 | | be part of a pre-dispute arbitration agreement, 21 |
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| 86 | 86 | | that— 22 |
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| 87 | 87 | | (A) would prohibit or waive the right of a 23 |
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| 88 | 88 | | party to participate in a joint, class, or collec-24 |
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| 89 | 89 | | tive action in a judicial, arbitral, administrative, 25 |
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| 92 | 92 | | •HR 1788 IH |
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| 93 | 93 | | or other forum relating to a dispute between 1 |
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| 94 | 94 | | parties; and 2 |
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| 95 | 95 | | (B) is made before any dispute has arisen. 3 |
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| 96 | 96 | | (11) S |
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| 97 | 97 | | TATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 4 |
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| 98 | 98 | | the several States, the District of Columbia, the 5 |
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| 99 | 99 | | Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or 6 |
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| 100 | 100 | | possession of the United States. 7 |
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| 101 | 101 | | SEC. 3. UNLAWFUL CONDUCT. 8 |
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| 102 | 102 | | (a) I |
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| 103 | 103 | | NGENERAL.— 9 |
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| 104 | 104 | | (1) C |
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| 105 | 105 | | ONTRACT OR CONSPIRACY IN RESTRAINT 10 |
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| 106 | 106 | | OF TRADE.—It is unlawful for a food producer, in 11 |
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| 107 | 107 | | or affecting commerce, or any agent or subcon-12 |
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| 108 | 108 | | tractor thereof, to subscribe to, contract with, or 13 |
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| 109 | 109 | | otherwise exchange anything of value or use in re-14 |
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| 110 | 110 | | turn for the services of a coordinator, and such ac-15 |
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| 111 | 111 | | tion shall be deemed to be a per se violation of the 16 |
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| 112 | 112 | | Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.). 17 |
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| 113 | 113 | | (2) F |
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| 114 | 114 | | ACILITATION.—It is unlawful for a coordi-18 |
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| 115 | 115 | | nator, in or affecting commerce, to facilitate an 19 |
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| 116 | 116 | | agreement among food producers to not compete 20 |
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| 117 | 117 | | with respect to food prices, supply or output, or 21 |
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| 118 | 118 | | other commercial term, including by performing a 22 |
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| 119 | 119 | | coordinating function. 23 |
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| 120 | 120 | | SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 24 |
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| 121 | 121 | | (a) E |
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| 122 | 122 | | NFORCEMENT.— 25 |
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| 125 | 125 | | •HR 1788 IH |
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| 126 | 126 | | (1) IN GENERAL.— 1 |
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| 127 | 127 | | (A) F |
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| 128 | 128 | | EDERAL TRADE COMMISSION .—The 2 |
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| 129 | 129 | | Commission shall enforce this Act in the same 3 |
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| 130 | 130 | | manner, by the same means, and with the same 4 |
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| 131 | 131 | | jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 5 |
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| 132 | 132 | | applicable terms of the Federal Trade Commis-6 |
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| 133 | 133 | | sion Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor-7 |
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| 134 | 134 | | porated into and made a part of this Act. 8 |
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| 135 | 135 | | (B) A |
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| 136 | 136 | | TTORNEY GENERAL .—The Attorney 9 |
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| 137 | 137 | | General shall enforce this Act in the same man-10 |
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| 138 | 138 | | ner, by the same means, and with the same ju-11 |
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| 139 | 139 | | risdiction, powers, and duties as though all ap-12 |
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| 140 | 140 | | plicable terms of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 13 |
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| 141 | 141 | | 1 et seq.), Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.), 14 |
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| 142 | 142 | | and Antitrust Civil Process Act (15 U.S.C. 15 |
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| 143 | 143 | | 1311 et seq.) were incorporated into and made 16 |
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| 144 | 144 | | a part of this Act. 17 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (C) S |
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| 146 | 146 | | TATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL .—Any 18 |
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| 147 | 147 | | attorney general of a State shall enforce this 19 |
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| 148 | 148 | | Act in the same manner, by the same means, 20 |
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| 149 | 149 | | and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and du-21 |
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| 150 | 150 | | ties as though all applicable terms of the Sher-22 |
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| 151 | 151 | | man Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) and the Clayton 23 |
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| 152 | 152 | | Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.) were incorporated 24 |
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| 153 | 153 | | into and made a part of this Act. 25 |
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| 156 | 156 | | •HR 1788 IH |
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| 157 | 157 | | (2) UNFAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION .—A 1 |
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| 158 | 158 | | violation of this Act shall also constitute an unfair 2 |
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| 159 | 159 | | method of competition under section 5 of the Fed-3 |
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| 160 | 160 | | eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45). 4 |
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| 161 | 161 | | (3) I |
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| 162 | 162 | | NDEPENDENT LITIGATION AUTHORITY .—If 5 |
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| 163 | 163 | | the Commission has reason to believe that a person 6 |
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| 164 | 164 | | violated this Act, the Commission may commence a 7 |
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| 165 | 165 | | civil action, in its own name by any of its attorneys 8 |
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| 166 | 166 | | designated by it for such purpose, to recover a civil 9 |
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| 167 | 167 | | penalty and seek other appropriate relief in any dis-10 |
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| 168 | 168 | | trict court of the United States. 11 |
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| 169 | 169 | | (4) S |
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| 170 | 170 | | TANDARDS OF PLEADING .—In a civil ac-12 |
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| 171 | 171 | | tion under this subsection, a complaint— 13 |
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| 172 | 172 | | (A) plausibly pleads a violation of section 14 |
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| 173 | 173 | | 1 or 3(a) of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1, 15 |
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| 174 | 174 | | 3(a)) if the complaint contains factual allega-16 |
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| 175 | 175 | | tions, including allegations of consciously par-17 |
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| 176 | 176 | | allel pricing coordination, demonstrating that 18 |
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| 177 | 177 | | the existence of a contract, or conspiracy in re-19 |
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| 178 | 178 | | straint of trade or commerce is among the 20 |
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| 179 | 179 | | realm of plausible possibilities; and 21 |
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| 180 | 180 | | (B) need not allege facts tending to ex-22 |
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| 181 | 181 | | clude the possibility of independent action. 23 |
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| 182 | 182 | | (b) C |
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| 183 | 183 | | IVILACTIONS BYINJUREDPERSONS.— 24 |
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| 186 | 186 | | •HR 1788 IH |
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| 187 | 187 | | (1) CIVIL ACTION AUTHORIZED .—Any person 1 |
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| 188 | 188 | | who is aggrieved by a violation of this Act may bring 2 |
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| 189 | 189 | | a civil action in an appropriate district court of the 3 |
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| 190 | 190 | | United States, without respect to the amount in con-4 |
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| 191 | 191 | | troversy, to recover an amount described in para-5 |
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| 192 | 192 | | graph (2). 6 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (2) A |
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| 194 | 194 | | WARD AMOUNT.— 7 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (A) I |
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| 196 | 196 | | N GENERAL.—The court shall award 8 |
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| 197 | 197 | | to the plaintiff threefold the damages sustained 9 |
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| 198 | 198 | | by the plaintiff and the reasonable cost of liti-10 |
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| 199 | 199 | | gation, including a reasonable attorney fee. 11 |
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| 200 | 200 | | (B) I |
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| 201 | 201 | | NTEREST ON DAMAGES .—Pursuant to 12 |
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| 202 | 202 | | a motion by the plaintiff promptly made, the 13 |
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| 203 | 203 | | court may award simple interest on actual dam-14 |
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| 204 | 204 | | ages sustained by the plaintiff for the period 15 |
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| 205 | 205 | | beginning on the date of service of the pleading 16 |
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| 206 | 206 | | of the plaintiff setting forth a claim under this 17 |
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| 207 | 207 | | Act and ending on the date of judgment, or for 18 |
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| 208 | 208 | | any shorter period therein. 19 |
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| 209 | 209 | | (3) I |
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| 210 | 210 | | NVALIDITY OF PRE-DISPUTE ARBITRATION 20 |
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| 211 | 211 | | AGREEMENTS AND PRE -DISPUTE JOINT ACTION 21 |
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| 212 | 212 | | WAIVERS.—At the election of the plaintiff in an ac-22 |
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| 213 | 213 | | tion authorized under paragraph (1), a pre-dispute 23 |
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| 214 | 214 | | arbitration agreement or pre-dispute joint action 24 |
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| 217 | 217 | | •HR 1788 IH |
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| 218 | 218 | | waiver relating to a violation of this Act shall be in-1 |
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| 219 | 219 | | valid or unenforceable. 2 |
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| 220 | 220 | | SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP TO FEDERAL ANTITRUST LAWS. 3 |
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| 221 | 221 | | Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this 4 |
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| 222 | 222 | | Act, shall be construed to modify, impair, or supersede 5 |
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| 223 | 223 | | the operation of any of the antitrust laws 6 |
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| 224 | 224 | | SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE AND LOCAL LAWS. 7 |
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| 225 | 225 | | Nothing in this Act may be construed to preempt any 8 |
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| 226 | 226 | | State, Tribal, city, or local law, regulation, or ordinance 9 |
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| 227 | 227 | | that supplements this Act. 10 |
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| 228 | 228 | | SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY. 11 |
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| 229 | 229 | | If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 12 |
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| 230 | 230 | | a provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be 13 |
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| 231 | 231 | | unconstitutional, the remaining provisions of this Act, and 14 |
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| 232 | 232 | | the application of such provisions to any person or cir-15 |
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| 233 | 233 | | cumstance shall not be affected thereby. 16 |
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| 234 | 234 | | Æ |
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