Agreements In Restraint of Trade
Federal antitrust laws are considered inapplicable to economic regulation by the States. In Parker v. Brown, 317 U.S. 341 (1943), the Supreme Court reasoned that in the "dual system of government" of the United States, any subtraction by Congress from the sovereign powers of the states must be explicitly stated. Nothing in the Sherman Act (the first federal antitrust law) or in the legislative history of the Sherman Act indicated a Congressional intent to subject state regulatory activities to the Sherman Act.
Before engaging in a business practice, individuals and companies may seek the view of the U.S. Department of Justice on the legality of the business practice under federal antitrust law. The procedure, known as a Business Review, allows persons to ask the Department of Justice for a statement of its current enforcement intentions. Although the Department of Justice is not authorized to provide advisory opinions to private parties, its business review procedure does allow such parties to seek a statement of present enforcement intentions.
(Fair Disclosure Requirements for Public Companies)
Shareholders who control corporations either through majority ownership or ownership of sufficient shares in a particular corporate structure to exercise control have a duty of fairness to minority shareholders. In addition to such fairness required by courts, corporation statutes of most states provide for additional remedies for minority shareholders. Those remedies include appraisal rights, dissolution, and judicial intervention.
