Clayton Act Section 16

A final judgment or decree heretofore or hereafter rendered in any civil or criminal proceeding brought by or on behalf of the united states under the antitrust laws to the effect that a defendant has violated said laws shall be prima facie evidence against such defendant in any action or proceeding brought by any other party against such defendant under said laws as to all matters.

Clayton act section 16. Individuals and corporations that violate the act can be sued for three times the amount of damages suffered by the victim. 1526 codified at 15 u s c. The hart scott rodino act hsr adding section 7a of the clayton act is listed separately.

Any person firm corporation or association shall be entitled to sue for and have injunctive relief in any court of the united states having jurisdiction over the parties against threatened loss or damage by a violation of the antitrust laws including sections 13 14 18 and 19 of this title when and under the same conditions and principles as injunctive relief against threatened. The provision is further reinforced by the injunctive relief in section 16 that allows the court to force defendants to dispose of assets to pay off damages. Procedurally the act empowers private parties injured by violations of the act to sue for treble damages under section 4 and injunctive relief under section 16.

While section 16 of the clayton act is the governing provision granting state attorneys general with standing to challenge the permissibility of a transaction it does not on its face however provide states with the right to participate in the federal premerger review process other than those provisions of section 16 of the clayton act existing for all interested third parties private or otherwise. Under section 16 of the clayton act 5 standing to sue under section 4 however requires injury to business or property by reason of an antitrust violation. This section shall not apply to persons purchasing such stock solely for investment and not using the same by voting or otherwise to bring about or in attempting to bring about the substantial lessening of competition.

The governments individual claims class claims and parens patriae claims did not allege injury to commercial interests. For example specific forms of holding companies and interlocking directorates were forbidden as were discriminatory freight shipping agreements and the distribution of sales territories among so called natural competitors. A prima facie evidence.

13 13b and 21a under which the commission is authorized to prevent certain practices involving discriminatory pricing and product promotion. The supreme court has expressly ruled that the injunctive relief clause in section 16 includes the implied power to force defendants to divest assets.