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Wis. bars who banned drink specials win price-fixing case

By ASSOCIATED PRESS Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - 9:15 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The state Supreme Court says Madison bars who agreed to eliminate drink specials are not guilty of an illegal price-fixing conspiracy.

The court refused to reinstate a lawsuit brought by drinkers claiming they were overcharged as a result of the 2002 agreement by bars to stop serving drink specials on weekend nights.

More than 20 bars adopted the voluntary ban to thwart a stricter one the city was considering at the time.

In a 3-1 decision, the court says the bars' actions are immune from state antitrust law since they acted under pressure from city regulators who wanted to crack down on binge drinking.

Three of the court's seven members did not participate in the decision for undisclosed reasons.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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(6)

cocktail848
May 7, 2008 at 9:18 a.m.
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So I guess $1.00 Pabst night won't be coming back to the campus bars anytime soon. Poor UW kids. I remember those days.

JCK
May 6, 2008 at 2:41 p.m.
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Exactly, and that is what the court determined. Until they did the matter was unresolved in the minds of those who brought the litigation forward. Now it's clear that this type of scenario is not price fixing.

raceresq
May 6, 2008 at 1:34 p.m.
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There was no "price fixing" in this case. The City of Madison was considering banning all drink specials ( two for Tuesdays, ladies night etc) These bars got together and agreed to limit the weekly or sometimes nightly ( happy hour) drink specials. They did not decide how much they would charge for a beer.

JCK
May 6, 2008 at 10:44 a.m.
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Price fixing is a significant issue to consumers and it's important that there be clarification as to what is and what isn't price fixing. In the final analysis that can only come from the court. While this may have seemed a trivial matter in actuality it was anything but.

garyprimer
May 6, 2008 at 10:17 a.m.
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I guess this lets OPEC off the hook.

jviers77
May 6, 2008 at 10:15 a.m.
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I can't believe this lawsuit was allowed to take up time in the state's highest court.

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