Antitrust and Statutes of Limitations

Summary

This practice note provides an overview of antitrust statutes of limitations and their application and exceptions. Statutes of limitations establish the deadline by which a claimant must initiate legal action, promoting timely dispute resolution, and avoiding wasting time and money to litigate stale claims. In the antitrust context, the statute of limitations plays a particularly important role, given that anticompetitive conduct can often remain hidden or appear benign until effects on the market materialize much later. If a claim is time-barred under the relevant statute of limitations, it is grounds for dismissal of the claim and a plaintiff's opportunity to seek legal recourse disappears entirely. As a result, statutes of limitations can be a helpful tool in the defense toolbelt that can kick out a case for good before it reaches the merits, thus allowing the defendant(s) to avoid costly litigation.