AUSTIN – Several business associations recently sent the House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence a letter regarding HB 4256 – a bill seeking to expand the authority of the attorney general to pursue antitrust actions.
Sponsored by Rep. David Spiller, HB 4256 relates to actions brought by the attorney general on behalf of certain persons under the Texas Free Enterprise and Antitrust Act of 1983.
Currently, the AG can bring an antitrust action on behalf of the state. The bill would amend the act to allow the AG to sue on behalf of consumers to recover damages.
According to the letter, the act provides for a framework for the state to protect consumers (and consumers to protect themselves) from anti-competitive behavior. HB 4256 would amend the act with a so-called “Illinois Brick Repealer,” allowing the AG to file suit, on behalf of individuals or government entities, against individuals or corporations that did not engage in a direct transaction with the aggrieved party. Texas law has not recognized this “indirect purchaser” cause of action in the forty-two years of the Act’s existence, while thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have chosen to do so.
“Creating this cause of action is a sweeping change in Texas’ antitrust law; this bill would allow more and varied types of suits against individuals and businesses accused of anti-competitive practices,” the letter states. “We believe that this change should be fully vetted by the Legislature, and that the State deserves to have the following question answered: ‘What has happened in Texas jurisprudence that would necessitate this striking action?’
“Texas enjoys a reputation as the best place in the country to do business – do broader causes of action really fit in here?”
The letter was sent by the Texas Association of Manufacturers, Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute, Texas Association of Business, Texas Chemistry Council, Texas Civil Justice League, Texas Broadband Association, and Texas Oil & Gas Association.