In a significant development in Californian legal circles, a serious shift towards combating criminal antitrust violations has been signaled by the state’s Justice Department, with Assistant Attorney General Paula Blizzard leading the charge.
After a quiet spell spanning more than two decades, California’s Department of Justice is poised to engage in rigorous enforcement. Blizzard revealed her commitment to reviving the criminal prosecutions program during a recent meeting with a congregation of white-collar defense lawyers and in-house counsel.
Prior to Blizzard’s tenure, California hadn’t pressed charges for criminal antitrust violations for over 20 years. However, she has declared her intent to reinstate the program, intending to take full advantage of the latitude granted by the state’s antitrust statute, the Cartwright Act.
Details surrounding the specifics of the case or the involved entities have not been disclosed as yet. But this announcement nonetheless sends a clear message to corporations operating within California that any form of contravention of antitrust regulations will not be tolerated and could potentially attract sweeping punitive actions.
You can learn more about this development at Law.com.