Law, College of
Date of this Version
2005
Citation
90 IOWA L. REV. 1649 (2005).
Abstract
In Comes v. Microsoft, the Iowa Supreme Court determined that the Iowa Competition Law allows indirect purchaser suits. The court, however, failed to clarify the impact of its ruling on defensive pass-on. As such, it appears that antitrust violators may be subject to sextuple damages in Iowa. While this result may have been unintended, it allows a new approach to the problems of indirect purchaser suits. The Comes decision, coupled with the damages provisions of Iowa Code section 553.12, grants district court judges the discretion to craft remedies that more adequately reflect the damages that antitrust violators cause. This discretion could help to strengthen the deterrent effect of the Iowa Competition Law and maximize the incentives of injured parties to exercise their rights. While this system is not a fix-all for the problems surrounding indirect purchaser suits, it allows Iowa to operate more effectively within the current system.