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California Court Reporters, Restricting Competition, California 2023
Grimy Times has obtained exclusive information on a potential threat to free market competition in California’s court reporting industry.
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has submitted a statement warning the California State Assembly about the potential anticompetitive effects of legislative proposals that could ban or limit third-party court-reporting contracts. The proposals in question would restrict local California court reporters or service firms from entering into contracts with third parties, such as insurance companies, for more than one deposition at a time.
According to the statement, such regulation of court-reporting services can raise barriers to entry, restrict competition, and limit potentially cost-saving options available to consumers. The division has urged the California State Assembly to carefully weigh the potential competitive costs of any proposals to restrict competition in court-reporting services against any demonstrated risk these contracts could pose to the integrity of court reporting.
“Consumers benefit when a competitive marketplace presents them with a wider variety of services,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse. “When analyzing legislation that could result in a ban or limitation of third-party court-reporting contracts, the California State Legislature should consider a company’s ability to realize significant savings under a third-party court-reporting contract and pass savings on to its customers.”
The statement is in response to a request from California Assemblyman Scott Wilk. The request asked for views on potential legislative proposals that would subject out-of-state court reporter service provider firms to the jurisdiction of the California Court Reporters Board, which could have the effect of banning or limiting the use of multi-case third-party contracts.
The Antitrust Division has recommended that any restrictions on the ability of court reporters to enter third-party contracts should be imposed only where there is credible evidence of a significant risk of harm to the judicial process. Any restrictions should be narrowly tailored to address the harm and not discourage innovative contract terms to deliver court-reporting services for the benefit of consumers.
The fate of these proposals remains uncertain, and it is unclear what actions the California State Assembly will take in response to the Antitrust Division’s statement. One thing is certain, however, and that is the potential impact on consumers if competition is restricted in the court reporting industry.
Grimy Times will continue to monitor this developing story and provide updates as more information becomes available.
Defendant: California court reporters
Criminal Charges: Restricting competition
City and State: California
Date: 2023
Sentence or Outcome: Ongoing
Dollar Amounts: NA
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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