The Class Action as an Antitrust Enforcement Device: The Chicago Study Revisited

In 1976 the author published the results of a study of antitrust class actions in the Northern District of Illinois. At the time the data for that study were collected a substantial portion of the cases included in the study were pending. In the present article the author reassesses the findings of his earlier study on the basis of newly collected data on the cases that were then pending. Among the issues discussed are the comparative burdensomeness of class and nonclass cases, the alleged in terrorem effect of the class action on antitrust defendants, and the results achieved through the use of the class action.