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67 UMKC L. Rev. 521 (1998-1999)
The Importance of Correctly Identifying the Consumer for an Antitrust Relevant Market Analysis

handle is hein.journals/umkc67 and id is 537 raw text is: THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECTLY IDENTIFYING THE CONSUMER FOR AN ANTITRUST RELEVANT MARKET ANALYSIS Matt Koehler* Claims under the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act often require proof of the defendant's market power by the plaintiff.' In order to prove that a defendant possesses market power, a plaintiff must establish the relevant market which enables the court to decide if market power exists.2 Failure to establish or properly define a relevant market by a plaintiff leads to the costly risk of losing a defendant's pretrial motion and the antitrust case.3 Taking heed of the basics often pays dividends in the practice of law. This is likely the case if a plaintiff or a defendant critically evaluates the consumer affected by the alleged violation. The consumer, or customer, can help show the trier of fact whether a relevant market exists in an antitrust dispute. A consumer focus aids the trier of fact with the relevant market analysis because the consumer determines a company's market power. A correctly defined consumer can assist the calculation of a company's market power within a specific region. Also, an identified consumer can help enable an antitrust party or a court to conclude whether one product grants a company greater market power. The existence of weak competitors, a strong or weak economy, or various product demand levels are not as insightful as the consumer when judging market power. The consumer causes these results. This Comment will attempt to show the importance of properly defining and initially identifying the consumer for a plaintiff and a defendant in an antitrust case that possibly requires a relevant market inquiry. Beginning with a brief synopsis of the antitrust legislation and case law which use a relevant market analysis, this Comment will then show the importance of pretrial motions for a relevant market examination, and explain with the aid of several cases how an antitrust party's identification of the consumer can affect the relevant market examination. The conclusion will reemphasize the court decisions that impact the relevant market examination and the effects on future antitrust parties. Antitrust Laws The federal antitrust laws throughout their lifetime have enjoyed a steady progression in strength. Congress used the interstate commerce power in Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution4 to pass the Sherman Antitrust Act on July 2, * J.D. candidate, 1999, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law; B.S. in Business Administration, 1996, Southwest Missouri State University. The author wishes to thank Professor Christopher Hoyt for his assistance, as well as Todd Johnson and Kimberly Collins for their help in editing this Comment. 1. See HERBERT HOVENKAMP, FEDERAL ANTITRUST PoLIcY: THE LAW OF COMPETITION AND ITS PRACTICE 79 (1994). 2. See id. at 82. 3. See Minnesota Ass'n of Nurse Anesthetists v. Unity Hosp., 5 F. Supp. 2d 694 (D. Minn. 1998). 4. U.S. CONST. art. I, § 8.