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A California company that designs and builds skateboard parks has agreed to settle an antitrust lawsuit alleging the company tried to unfairly win a city contract to build a skate park at Hansen Dam in the San Fernando Valley, the District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday.
California Skateparks, a California corporation located in Upland, agreed to a stipulated judgment signed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Meiers ordering them to pay $20,000 in civil penalties and $45,000 in legal and investigative costs. The defendants entered into the agreement without admitting wrongdoing.
Joseph M. Ciaglia, Jr. is the president of the company.
The complaint alleges the company pursued a strategy of “calling around” to its competitors preceding a bid to find out who was competing. The complaint alleges the company urged competitors to bid high so that California Skateparks would win the job from the Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks Department.
In a negotiated civil settlement, California Skateparks agreed to an injunction forbidding it from communicating in any way with competitors, and submitting below cost bids for anti-competitive purposes.
“When a company attempts to restrain trade, as here, it chills competition, harms honest businesses, and inevitably forces cities to pay higher prices,” said Kathleen Tuttle, Deputy-in-Charge of the Antitrust Section.
