Legal Definitions - concerted action

Concerted action describes a situation where two or more individuals or entities plan, agree upon, and work together to achieve a shared objective or carry out a specific course of conduct.

When parties engage in concerted action, they are typically considered jointly responsible for the actions taken by any one of them in pursuit of that common goal. This means that if one person commits an act as part of the agreed-upon plan, all those involved in the concerted action can be held accountable for that act, even if they did not directly perform it themselves.

• Example 1: Business Price-Fixing

  Imagine three major electronics manufacturers secretly meet and agree to sell their new smartphone models at the exact same inflated price, rather than competing with each other. They coordinate their marketing and release dates to maintain this artificial price. Even if only one company's executive formally signs the price agreement, all three manufacturers are engaging in concerted action to fix prices, which is illegal under antitrust laws. Each company would be held responsible for the collective scheme to manipulate the market, not just the one who signed the document.

• Example 2: Coordinated Vandalism

  Consider a group of teenagers who decide to spray-paint graffiti on a public monument. One teenager brings the spray cans, another stands lookout to warn of approaching police, and a third actually applies the paint. Although only one person physically defaces the monument, all three are involved in concerted action. They planned and agreed to the act, and each played a role in its execution. Therefore, all three could be held legally responsible for the vandalism, including any fines or restitution, even if they didn't personally hold a spray can.

• Example 3: Environmental Violation

  Suppose a construction company and a waste disposal company agree to illegally dump hazardous waste into a local river to save costs. The construction company transports the waste to a remote riverbank, and the waste disposal company provides the equipment and personnel to push the barrels into the water. Both companies are engaged in concerted action. Even if the construction company only handled transportation and didn't physically dump the waste, it would still be held jointly liable with the waste disposal company for the environmental damage and legal penalties, because they acted together to achieve the illegal dumping.