Agreements to allocate markets raise serious antitrust concerns and can encompass a wide range of activities. Common forms of market allocation agreements include agreements between competitors involving facility locations, service line offerings, and the provision of ancillary services (such as ambulance, durable medical equipment, and diagnostic services). However, less common agreements can be equally as concerning. For example, agreements between competitors related to where and how a party will advertise and agreements related to who will or will not submit a certificate of need (CON) application can give rise to market allocation claims.
Unless regarded as ancillary to a legitimate procompetitive venture between the parties, market allocation agreements likely would be deemed per se violations of the antitrust laws.
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For additional information about the issues discussed above, or if you have any other antitrust concerns, please contact the Epstein Becker Green attorney who regularly handles your legal matters, or one of the authors of this Antitrust Byte:
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E. John Steren |
Patricia Wagner |
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