Colorado § 6-4-112 - Enforcement by the attorney general.

§ 6-4-112. Enforcement by the attorney general.

(1) The attorney general may institute actions or proceedings to prevent or restrain violations of this article 4, including actions to prevent or restrain unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce.

(2) The attorney general may bring a civil action on behalf of the state or any governmental or public entity injured, either directly or indirectly, in its business or property by reason of any violation of this article 4 and, if successful, shall recover any actual damages sustained by the entity. If the violation alleged and proved is determined by the court to be a per se violation of this article 4, the attorney general, on behalf of the entity, may recover three times the actual damages that the entity sustains.

(3) (a) The attorney general may bring a civil action as parens patriae on behalf of any individual residing within the state who is injured, either directly or indirectly, in the individual's business or property by reason of any violation of this article 4 and, if successful, shall recover any actual damages sustained by the individual. If the violation alleged and proved is determined by the court to be a per se violation of this article 4, the attorney general, on behalf of the individual, may recover three times the actual damages that the individual sustains.

(b) In any parens patriae action in which actual or treble damages are recovered, the court, in its discretion, may determine that the amount of damages recovered is too small to make any refund to parens group members practicable. In that event, the court may direct the damages to be paid to the general fund of the state or to some other governmental or public entity as the court deems appropriate or may require that damages be paid as rebates or price reductions to future consumers.

(4) In addition to any other remedies provided in this article 4, the attorney general may request, and a court may make, orders or judgments as may be necessary to:

(a) Fully compensate or make whole any person injured, either directly or indirectly, by means of any restraint of trade in violation of this article 4; or

(b) Prevent any unjust enrichment by any person through any restraint of trade in violation of this article 4.

(5) In any action brought pursuant to this article 4, the attorney general, if successful, is entitled to recover the costs of investigation, expert fees, costs of the action, and reasonable attorney fees.

Source: L. 2023: Entire article R&RE, (HB 23-1192), ch. 427, p. 2515, § 2, effective June 7.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 6-4-111 as it existed prior to 2023.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Colorado Antitrust Law Seven Years Later", see 13 Colo. Law. 1808 (1984).