SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION (Conspiracy to Evade State Price Regulation as Per Se Violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act)
92. Plaintiffs repeat and reallege the allegations of Paragraphs 1 through 85 as if set forth fully herein.
93. For least the last several years, Defendants have been engaged in an unlawful conspiracy to evade state regulations limiting the commissions and charges that Defendants could collect as employment agencies. This conspiracy began in or around the mid-1970's, when Defendants Ford and Wilhelmina agreed to resign their licenses as employment agencies and declare themselves to be managers not subject to state regulation.
94. Defendants' agreement to evade state price regulation was later expanded to include Elite and each of the other Defendants, at times and on terms that are known only to Defendants, and has been maintained through the years through various acts, including by the adoption of form contracts and terms that purport to disavow Defendants' legal status as employment agencies.
95. As a direct and foreseeable result of Defendants' unlawful conspiracy, Plaintiffs and other members of the Class have been damaged and continue to be damaged in their business or property in that they have to pay non-competitive prices for Defendants' services in the form of commissions above 10%, and have been required to pay other unlawful charges.
96. Defendants' concerted actions to avoid the price restrictions contained in GBL 170 - 190 constitute a ~ ~ violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Pursuant to 15 V.S.C. 15 (a), Plaintiffs are therefore entitled to recover treble their actual damages caused as a result of Defendants' unlawful price-fixing and such other and further relief as pennitted by law, their attorneys fees and the costs of this action.
Dave
Orlando, Florida
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