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In re: Fretted Instrument Products Antitrust Litigation

MDL Docket No. 2121

Wexler Wallace LLP, with co-counsel, recently filed this nationwide antitrust class action in the United States District Court, Southern District of California, alleging competitors in the musical instrument product industry, facilitated by their trade association - the National Association of Music Merchants, Inc. ("NAMM") - conspired to fix prices of their products through unlawful information exchanges.

In March 2009, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") issued a cease and desist order to NAMM who settled the FTC's charges that it had "permitted and encouraged" acts constituting violations of the FTC Act. Specifically, the FTC, after an investigation, alleged that between 2005 and 2007, NAMM organized various meetings and programs for its members, such as Guitar Center, Inc., at which these competing retailers of musical instruments were permitted and encouraged to exchange competitively sensitive information, strategies for implementing minimum advertised pricing and restrictions of retail price competition.

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