2006 New York Code - Contracts Or Agreements For Monopoly Or In Restraint Of Trade Illegal And Void.

 
    §  340.  Contracts or agreements for monopoly or in restraint of trade
  illegal  and  void.  1.  Every  contract,  agreement,   arrangement   or
  combination whereby
    A monopoly in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce or in the
  furnishing  of  any  service  in this state, is or may be established or
  maintained, or whereby
    Competition or the free exercise of any activity in the conduct of any
  business, trade or commerce or in the furnishing of any service in  this
  state is or may be restrained or whereby
    For  the  purpose  of establishing or maintaining any such monopoly or
  unlawfully interfering with the free exercise of  any  activity  in  the
  conduct  of  any business, trade or commerce or in the furnishing of any
  service in this state any business, trade or commerce or the  furnishing
  of any service is or may be restrained, is hereby declared to be against
  public policy, illegal and void.
    2. Subject to the exceptions hereinafter provided in this section, the
  provisions  of  this  article shall apply to licensed insurers, licensed
  insurance  agents,  licensed  insurance  brokers,  licensed  independent
  adjusters  and other persons and organizations subject to the provisions
  of the insurance law, to the  extent  not  regulated  by  provisions  of
  article  twenty-three  of  the insurance law; and further provided, that
  nothing in this section shall apply to the marine insurances,  including
  marine  protection  and  indemnity  insurance  and  marine  reinsurance,
  exempted from the operation of article  twenty-three  of  the  insurance
  law.
    3.  The  provisions  of  this  article  shall not apply to cooperative
  associations,  corporate  or  otherwise,  of  farmers,   gardeners,   or
  dairymen,  including  live  stock  farmers  and  fruit  growers,  nor to
  contracts, agreements or arrangements made by such associations, nor  to
  bona fide labor unions.
    4.  The  labor  of  human  beings  shall not be deemed or held to be a
  commodity or article of commerce as such terms are used in this  section
  and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit or restrict the
  right   of   workingmen   to   combine   in  unions,  organizations  and
  associations, not organized for the purpose of profit.
    5. An action to recover damages caused by a violation of this  section
  must  be  commenced  within  four  years  after  the cause of action has
  accrued. The state, or any political subdivision or public authority  of
  the  state,  or  any  person  who shall sustain damages by reason of any
  violation of this section, shall recover three-fold the  actual  damages
  sustained  thereby, as well as costs not exceeding ten thousand dollars,
  and reasonable attorneys' fees. At or before  the  commencement  of  any
  civil  action by a party other than the attorney-general for a violation
  of  this  section,   notice   thereof   shall   be   served   upon   the
  attorney-general.  Where  the aggrieved party is a political subdivision
  or public authority of the state, notice of  intention  to  commence  an
  action  under  this  section must be served upon the attorney-general at
  least ten days prior to the commencement of such  action.  This  section
  shall  not  apply to any action commenced prior to the effective date of
  this act.
    6. In any action pursuant to this section, the fact that the state, or
  any political subdivision or public  authority  of  the  state,  or  any
  person  who has sustained damages by reason of violation of this section
  has not dealt directly with the defendant shall  not  bar  or  otherwise
  limit  recovery;  provided,  however, that in any action in which claims
  are asserted against a defendant by both direct and indirect purchasers,
  the court shall take all steps necessary to avoid  duplicate  liability,
  including  but  not  limited  to  the  transfer and consolidation of all
  related actions. In actions where both direct  and  indirect  purchasers
  are  involved,  a  defendant  shall be entitled to prove as a partial or
  complete defense to a claim for damages that the illegal overcharge  has
  been passed on to others who are themselves entitled to recover so as to
  avoid duplication of recovery of damages.