US: Contact lens makers ask court to block price-fixing law

The nation’s largest contact lens manufacturers are claiming that a a Utah law banning price fixing is an overreach that gives discounts seller in the state an illegal upper hand.

Alcon Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson and Bausch & Lomb asked a federal appeals court in Denver to solidify an injunction blocking the law in court documents filed Tuesday. They say the measure would violate interstate commerce rules by allowing discount sellers like the Utah-based giant 1-800 Contacts to ignore minimum prices on sales to customers all over the country.

“The brazen overreach of the Utah legislature and its Attorney General is unconstitutional,” attorneys wrote. “Any national retailer that maintains operations in Utah can play the same game as 1-800-Contacts.”

The Utah Attorney General contends that the companies are inflating contact lens prices and the law is a legitimate antitrust measure designed to make the marketplace more competitive and benefit customers.

Full content: The Wall Street Journal

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.