Legal Definitions - predatory intent

Predatory intent refers to a specific, malicious purpose behind an action, typically aimed at harming, eliminating, or exploiting another party for one's own gain. This intent is not merely competitive or self-interested; it involves a deliberate strategy to cause detriment to others, often by leveraging a position of power or exploiting vulnerability, with the ultimate goal of securing an unfair advantage or monopoly.

Here are some examples illustrating predatory intent:

• Antitrust Law (Pricing): Imagine a large, established telecommunications company that operates in a market where a smaller, newer competitor is starting to gain traction by offering slightly lower prices. The dominant company then drastically drops its prices for a specific service in that region to a level far below its own cost of production, making it impossible for the smaller competitor to match without incurring unsustainable losses. After the smaller competitor is forced out of business, the dominant company raises its prices significantly above previous levels.

  This illustrates predatory intent because the dominant company's primary goal was not simply to compete fairly on price, but to deliberately inflict financial harm on its rival to eliminate competition. The intent was to create a monopoly, allowing it to charge higher prices later, rather than to offer consumers genuine long-term value.

• Consumer Protection (Lending): Consider a mortgage lender that specifically targets elderly homeowners with limited financial literacy, offering them complex loan products with hidden fees, escalating interest rates, and terms that are highly unfavorable. The lender knows these individuals are unlikely to fully understand the terms or be able to repay the loan, leading to foreclosure and the lender acquiring their property at a fraction of its market value.

  This demonstrates predatory intent because the lender is not merely offering a financial product; it is actively designing and marketing a loan to exploit the specific vulnerabilities (age, financial literacy, desire to stay in their home) of a particular group of consumers. The intent is to profit unfairly from their distress, rather than to provide a legitimate and fair financial service.