§ 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.

Legislative History

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