H.R. 8633 — Competitive Prices Act.

This section establishes standards for pleading and proving violations of the antitrust laws in civil actions, including those brought by the United States, the Federal Trade Commission, State attorneys general, or private parties. It defines “parallel conduct” as two or more persons acting similarly to raise, lower, maintain, stabilize, or manipulate price, output, capacity, supply, or other terms of competition, and defines “plus factors” to include nine specific types of allegations, such as motive to coordinate, actions contrary to unilateral self-interest, exchanges of competitively sensitive information, past collusive practices, and market conditions conducive to coordination. At the pleading stage, a claimant states a plausible claim by alleging parallel conduct together with two or more plus factors and need not allege direct evidence of conspiracy, facts excluding independent action, or a theory more plausible than alternatives offered by defendants. At summary judgment or trial, a claimant may demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact with direct, circumstantial, or combined evidence sufficient for a trier of fact to find an unlawful conspiracy and need not exclude the possibility of independent action. The section includes a rule of construction preserving all existing remedies under the antitrust laws.