Chapter 36
for the
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
Updated and Revised by
George F. Sanderson III, Esq.
Ellis & Winters LLP
Raleigh, North Carolina
The Section of Antitrust Law thanks K.D. Sturgis, Special Deputy Attorney General,
Consumer Protection Section, North Carolina Department of Justice, for his review
of this chapter.
The Section gratefully acknowledges John F. Graybeal, Esq., Caswell O. Hobbs,
Esq., and Matthew W. Sawchak, Esq. for their work on this chapter in prior editions.
North Carolina 36-iii
CONTENTS
1.Introduction ................................................................................................... 1
1.a.
Overview ........................................................................................... 1
1.b.
Source of Law–Statutes and Other .................................................... 1
1.c.
History ............................................................................................... 2
1.d.
Relation to Federal Law .................................................................... 2
1.e.
Remedies ........................................................................................... 3
1.f.
Enforcement ...................................................................................... 4
2.
The Per Se Rule and the Rule of Reason ....................................................... 4
3.
Horizontal Agreements Other Than Group Boycotts .................................... 5
3.a.
Price Fixing ....................................................................................... 5
3.b.
Market Allocation ............................................................................. 5
3.c.
Customer Allocation ......................................................................... 6
3.d.
Bid Rigging ....................................................................................... 6
3.e.
Covenants Not to Compete ............................................................... 6
4.
Group Boycotts .............................................................................................. 7
4.a.
Concerted Refusals to Deal ............................................................... 7
4.b.
Expulsion or Exclusion from Membership in Trade
Associations or Other Groups ........................................................... 8
5.
Resale Price Maintenance .............................................................................. 8
5.a.
Generally ........................................................................................... 8
5.b.
Monsanto Rule ................................................................................ 10
5.c.
Impact of Leegin ............................................................................. 10
6.
Nonprice Vertical Restraints–Intrabrand ..................................................... 11
7.
Nonprice Vertical Restraints–Interbrand ..................................................... 12
8.
Tying Arrangements .................................................................................... 15
9.
Dual Distribution ......................................................................................... 16
10.
Intracorporate Conspiracy............................................................................ 16
11.
Monopolization ............................................................................................ 17
11.a.
Monopolization ............................................................................... 17
11.b.
Attempts to Monopolize .................................................................. 18
11.d.
Predatory Pricing ............................................................................. 19
11.e.
Conspiracy to Monopolize .............................................................. 19
12.
Mergers ........................................................................................................ 19
13.
Discrimination & Other Single Firm Pricing Regulation ............................ 20
13.a.
Price Discrimination ....................................................................... 20
13.c.
Specific Industry Rules ................................................................... 21
13.c.2.
Cigarettes .................................................................... 21
13.c.4.
Fuel and Petroleum ..................................................... 22
14.
Exemptions and Defenses to Antitrust Liability .......................................... 22
14.a.
Statutory Exemptions and Defenses ................................................ 22
14.a.2.
Contribution ................................................................ 22
14.a.3.
Filed-Rate Doctrine ..................................................... 22
14.a.4.
Statute of Limitations .................................................. 24
14.a.6.
Labor ........................................................................... 24
