Title 15, Commerce and TradeRelease 119-110
§35 Recovery of Damages, Etc., for Antitrust Violations From Any Local Government, or Official or Employee Thereof Acting in an Official Capacity
Title 15 › CHAPTER 1 — MONOPOLIES AND COMBINATIONS IN RESTRAINT OF TRADE › § 35
Summary
Money awards, related costs, and lawyers’ fees under sections 4, 4A, and 4C of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 15, 15a, 15c) cannot be recovered from a local government or its officials. For suits started before this law took effect, the defendant must prove—and the court must find—that applying the ban would be unfair; a verdict or judgment counts as initial proof it should not apply.
Full Legal Text
Title 15, §35
Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Prohibition in general
No damages, interest on damages, costs, or attorney’s fees may be recovered under section 4, 4A, or 4C of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 15, 15a, or 15c) from any local government, or official or employee thereof acting in an official capacity.
(b)Preconditions for attachment of prohibition; prima facie evidence for nonapplication of prohibition
Subsection (a) shall not apply to cases commenced before the effective date of this Act unless the defendant establishes and the court determines, in light of all the circumstances, including the stage of litigation and the availability of alternative relief under the Clayton Act, that it would be inequitable not to apply this subsection to a pending case. In consideration of this section, existence of a jury verdict, district court judgment, or any stage of litigation subsequent thereto, shall be deemed to be prima facie evidence that subsection (a) shall not apply.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
For the
Effective Date
of this Act, referred to in subsec. (b), see
Effective Date
note below. The Clayton Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b), is act Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, 38 Stat. 730, which is classified generally to section 12, 13, 14 to 19, 21, and 22 to 27 of this title and to section 52 and 53 of Title 29, Labor. For further details and complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
References in Text
note set out under section 12 of this title and Tables.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective thirty days before Oct. 24, 1984, see section 6 of Pub. L. 98–544, set out as a note under section 34 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
15 U.S.C. § 35
Title 15, Commerce and Trade
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110