A good chance you overpaid for PoolCorp supplies Have you or your business purchased pool supplies and equipment from Pool Corporation, Inc. (PoolCorp)? If so, there is a good chance you overpaid for PoolCorp supplies, equipment and products. In November 2011, PoolCorp settled charges brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that it had engaged in illegal price-fixing to drive up the prices of the pool products it sells. Since the FTC settlement was announced, numerous companies, including swimming pool builders, pool product distributors and retailers, have filed PoolCorp antitrust lawsuits alleging that because of the company’s alleged illegal price-fixing, they purchased pool products from Pool Corp at artificially inflated prices.
Lawyers at Parker Waichman LLP who litigate antitrust lawsuits are currently offering free legal evaluations to customers of PoolCorp, including swimming pool builders, pool product distributors and retailers, who purchased pool supplies and equipment from the company at any time from 2003 to the present. When companies like PoolCorp illegally engage in price-fixing in an attempt to rig markets for their own benefit, antitrust laws allow customers to stand up and take action. If you overpaid for pool products, filing a PoolCorp price-fixing lawsuit could enable you to obtain refunds for the amounts you overpaid. To learn more about your legal rights, we urge you to contact our PoolCorp price-fixing lawyers today.
Pool Corp. Price Fixing Lawyers
Based in Louisiana, PoolCorp is the world’s largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products. PoolCorp sells swimming pool equipment, parts and supplies and other backyard related products to approximately 70,000 wholesale customers around the world.
In November 2011, the FTC announced it had reached a settlement with PoolCorp by which the company had agreed to stop anticompetitive tactics that it allegedly has been using to keep out new competitors in local markets around the nation. The FTC charged that PoolCorp used its monopoly power to thwart entry by new competitors by blocking them from buying pool products directly from manufacturers. The strategy significantly raised the costs incurred by its rivals, thereby lowering sales, increasing prices, and reducing the number of choices available to consumers, the agency alleged. Specifically, the FTC said that PoolCorp threatened manufacturers of pool products that PoolCorp would not sell their products at any of its 200 distribution centers if manufacturers also sold their products to new distributor rivals.
PoolCorp’s threats were significant because the loss of PoolCorp sales could be catastrophic to even the largest pool products manufacturer, the FTC said. As a result, the agency alleged, these threats were effective, and manufacturers representing more than 70 percent of all pool products sales refused to sell to new distributors. According to the FTC, PoolCorp’s conduct impeded new distributors from entering the market, raised the costs of new distributors, and likely resulted in higher prices. As part of the FTC settlement, PoolCorp did not admit wrongdoing or pay any penalty.
Need Legal Help Regarding PoolCorp Price-Fixing?
The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. For more information, fill out our online contact form or call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).
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