Antitrust Fairness Amendments of 1983

Antitrust Fairness Amendments of 1983 - Amends the Clayton Act to authorize any State, any political subdivision thereof, or the United States to bring a civil action to recover damages under the antitrust laws for an injury not arising from a sales transaction between the plaintiff and the defendant.

Prohibits a plaintiff from recovering the amount of any overcharge or underpayment that another plaintiff has recovered based on the same conduct of the defendant.

Requires the amount of monetary relief awarded under an antitrust action to be reduced or allocated among liable defendants if the court or, in specified circumstances, the jury determines that such amount would be substantially unjust to a defendant. Prohibits such a reduction or allocation from diminishing a defendant's liability to an amount less than: (1) the plaintiff's unrecovered actual damages, unless the plaintiff's conduct of the action significantly contributed to the substantial injustice; or (2) threefold the damages fairly attributable to the conduct of the defendant, or the defendant's sales to, or purchases from, the plaintiff.

Revises procedures for consensually resolving civil antitrust actions bought by the United States. Prohibits any proposed stipulation submitted by the United States to terminate such an action or to modify any stipulation, order, or judgement entered to terminate such an action from being entered for 60 days after it is filed with the appropriate district court, except under specified circumstances. Directs the Government, on the date such a stipulation is filed, to: (1) publish a copy of the stipulation in the Federal Register; (2) file a statement describing the nature and purpose of the action and the reasons in support of the agreement underlying the stipulation; and (3) notify persons who have requested notification of the filing of such a proposed stipulation. Repeals provisions requiring: (1) the filing and publication in the Federal Register of a competitive statement on the proposed stipulation; and (2) the publication in area newspapers of summaries of the proposed stipulation and such statement.

Permits a court, after determining that a proposed stipulation is in the public interest, to order that: (1) the Government file and provide to the public a copy of certain documents that influenced the Government to agree to the stipulation, excluding information which is exempt from disclosure; and (2) each defendant file a description of each communication made on its behalf with any Government officer or employee relating to such stipulation, with specified exceptions. (Currently defendants are required to file such descriptions within ten days after a stipulation is filed.) Allows the Government to file a summary in lieu of the text of any portion of a document the disclosure of which would impair the negotiation of other stipulations or the enforcement of any law.

Continues current requirements for the filing of the comments received on a proposed stipulation and the Government's responses to such comments, but permits, rather than requires the Government to respond to such comments.

Directs a district court to consider a stipulation on the basis of the record of the proceeding, including filed comments and responses. Directs the court to enter any stipulation that would terminate an antitrust action without imposing express limitations on the future conduct of the defendant involved, unless the court determines, by order, that there is substantial reason to believe that the Government would prevail on the merits of any of the claims in the action. Permits a court to enter a stipulation that would terminate an action with express limitations on the future conduct of the defendant or that would terminate or modify a stipulation, order, or judgment entered in the action, if the court determines that such stipulation would: (1) represent a fair compromise of the dispute; (2) advance the purposes of the antitrust laws; or (3) otherwise serve the public interest.

Directs the court, upon determining that either such stipulation should not be entered, to: (1) notify the Attorney General; and (2) take specified actions to obtain additional information needed to verify such determination. Directs the court, after verifying such determination, to order the Attorney General to reevaluate the substance of the stipulation and to file a statement describing the results of the reevaluation.

Requires the court to enter a stipulation if the Attorney General determines that the Government will not request its withdrawal. Declares that nothing in this Act requires a court to enter a stipulation if the court finds reason to believe the stipulation was procured by fraud.