Most of these claims were associated with violations of antitrust laws and more specifically the
Sherman Antitrust Act. This act was passed in 1890 by Congress and has two sections. The first has to do with the agreements between businesses that may restrict the “flow of trade.” The second has to with monopolistic behavior in a market environment. It prohibits actions to promote or maintain a monopoly in a specified environment while also preventing a business in one market to dominate another market with such monopolistic behavior.
The government claimed that