This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Yarn shop owner Vonnie Wildfoerster says all she wanted to do was get even with a competitor.
Little did she know she would get tangled in an antitrust lawsuit.
Wildfoerster, of Black Sheep Wool Co. in Salt Lake City, told supplier Cascade Yarns Inc. she would no longer buy its yarns if it continued to supply competing shop Sherri's Lace Place.
"I said, 'Fine, if you want to sell to them, sell to them. But then don't sell to me,' " she said. "Now that I know the law I wouldn't have said that."
Cascade's decision to stop supplying Sherri's Lace Place, which sold yarn at discounted prices, prompted Utah to file a civil antitrust lawsuit against Cascade accusing the Washington company of conspiring with two of its Utah distributors to keep retail prices in the Salt Lake City area high.
The complaint, filed in 3rd District Court, alleges that specialty yarn shop Black Sheep Wool Co., with the help of Wool Cabin, convinced Cascade to boycott Sherri's Lace Place.
As a result of that boycott, "A low-price seller of Cascade yarn was eliminated in this market, resulting in higher retail prices for consumers and enabling Wool Cabin and Black Sheep to continue charging higher retail prices for yarn," the lawsuit said.
According to the complaint, yarn retailers typically sell yarn at a 100 percent markup from wholesale prices. Sherri's Lace Place ran an advertisement in newspapers touting a 20 percent discount on all purchases, including yarn.
Representatives from the Utah Attorney General's Office did not immediately return calls Friday seeking comment about the suit, which seeks as much as $500,000 in fines to be paid by Cascade. But experts in antitrust law say it is no surprise Utah took action even if the players are relatively small.
"The biggest no-no in antitrust law is getting together with a competitor to fix prices," said Thomas Greaney, a law professor at Saint Louis University in Missouri.
He said the case sends a strong message to small businesses in all industries.
"You cannot fix prices and you cannot cooperate with one rival to boycott another rival," he said.
Black Sheep and Wool Cabin, which have agreed to avoid such conduct in the future, face no fines or charges.
According to the complaint, Wool Cabin and Black Sheep complained last summer to Cascade Yarns about Sherri Hauert's discounting at Sherri's Lace Place. Black Sheep allegedly told Cascade it would stop buying the company's yarn unless it stopped doing business with Hauert.
Jean Dunbabin of Cascade did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Neither did representatives of Wool Cabin.
Hauert contacted the state Attorney General's Office late last year after placing an order for Cascade yarn and being told she could no longer buy it.
"I don't understand why it had to happen, because there are enough customers to go around," Hauert said. "Competition is healthy."
Wildfoerster said she remains baffled that her actions led to an antitrust lawsuit. "It's amazing what you can and can't do," she said. "I never would have thought this would happen. We're knitters, for heaven's sake."