Affirmative Acts and Antitrust: The Need for a Consistent Tolling Standard in Cases of Fraudulent Concealment
2011
by Amber Davis-Tanner |
“It is axiomatic that ‘no man may take advantage of his own wrong.’ It is also a fundamental principle of the American justice system that an exception should not swallow a rule. The doctrine of fraudulent concealment reflects the first principle: It is intended to ensure that a defendant does not ‘take advantage of [its] . . . wrong’ by permitting the statute of limitation to be tolled when a party has concealed a wrong. Various courts have established standards to determine when a statute of limitations will be tolled by fraudulent concealment in antitrust litigation. The ‘self-concealing’ standard that some courts have adopted threatens to swallow the rule established by the doctrine. The ‘affirmative-acts’ standard is a more moderate approach that avoids the breadth of the self-concealing approach while still ensuring that wrongdoers will be punished for their unlawful acts.”
Note: The above is an excerpt from the article in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review. Click the link below to read the actual publication.