The Sherman Act of 1890 - Anti-Trust Laws

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ANTI-TRUST LAWS

Introduction

Trade and businesses are crucial players in the economic growth of individuals and the country at large. However, there are some traders that may want to remain dominant in certain industries hence the high likelihood of devising formulas to lock out other competitors. Businesses have been seen to use tactics that will make them monopolies thus getting all the market and hence profits. To create a uniform playground, the Sherman Act was introduced. It sought to promote fair trade and prevent unfair competition between different sector players. Companies were restricted from acts that would seek to unjustly increase their profits at the expense of the customer. This paper thus looks at case scenarios that may fall under the province of the anti-trust laws.

Question One

The Sherman Act was enacted to prevent the abovementioned cases. With regard to the case at hand, the customers of the bars around Wisconsin were used to liquor specials. The unprecedented reduction in the flow of the specials amounted to controlling the market and left the customers with no option but to do what the bar owners association. Another ground that qualifies the requirement under the anti-trust laws is that the move by the bar association amounted to monopolization which is an offense according to the Sherman Act (1890) which bars any contract or conspiracy to monopolize a business. These two reasons are enough to warrant a violation of the Sherman Act. With that in mind, it is in order to file the suit as there has been a violation of the laws governing contracts in restraint of trade. The plaintiff’s right to uninterrupted supply of their drinks was violated and infringed by the bar associations move to cut their specials.  

Question Two

When it comes to traders or businesses covered by the anti-trust laws, there is a varied range of businesses that the law applies to. These include companies in businesses and other traders that are involved in the supply of goods and services to consumers. While some contracts are illegal per se, others are not illegal if they can be deemed to be reasonably fair. On whether the defendants are exempt from the anti-trust laws, the answer is that they are not exempted. They are traders under the Sherman Act and their deliberate move to control when and how often they would give specials amounted to a conspiracy (Sherman Act,1890). As an association of bar owners in the area, they agreed to fix dates on which prices would be normal and dates upon which prices would have a special tag. As such, they knew they would have a controlling effect on the number of drinks each client may consume at a certain price and also the amount one student may use on days without special prices. However, the defendants may be reasonably exempted from the application of the anti-trust laws on the basis that their move to fix specials on certain dates and time was not to control the market but an act done courtesy of public policy as the public was against overconsumption of liquor by students and residents within the affected area.