ABSTRACT
This chapter explores anti-competition offenses, which were once handled in civil court but were transformed into criminal offenses due to the spread of industrialization and the emergence of various pieces of legislation regulating business practices. The chapter first discusses the case of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who created a monopolistic railroad empire by manipulating stock prices and buying up shares, in addition to various other practices which are now illegal. However, he was never prosecuted. The chapter then discusses the Swift Meats company, which formed part of an oligopoly in the meat packaging industry and effectively undermined competition and fixed prices in the market. While the Supreme Court found the conduct to be improper, the decision hardly changed the company’s operations. The chapter then discusses a brief history of anti-competition legislation and reveals the state diversity in anti-competition laws, which may criminalize different kinds of predatory pricing, including sales below cost and price discrimination. The chapter ends with a discussion on how anti-competition laws and the criminalization of predatory pricing seek not necessarily to punish tangible harms to consumers, but seek to uphold greater institutions and societal interests regarding fair business practices.
