N.Y. General Business Law § 340: 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.