By Brian Reisinger

Nashville Business Journal

Gibson Guitar Corp. is embroiled in a series of lawsuits accusing the Nashville manufacturer and various other organizations of rigging prices across the country.

Gibson is a defendant in at least five lawsuits filed in California and Washington D.C., part of a spate of legal action dating back to last year that targets industry groups, according to court records.

The suits, listed under various defendants who bought guitars in recent years, allege that the National Association of Music Merchants, an industry group, held discussions at meetings of manufacturers and retailers encouraging cooperation among competitors to artificially boost prices. Plaintiffs' attorneys say that's a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

"The Sherman Act was enacted to promote competition (in) the U.S. market, because competition provides consumers with the best price possible," said Hollis Salzman, a partner at New York City law firm Labaton Sucharow, which is representing plaintiff Craig Kennedy.

The suits focus largely on national instrument retailer Guitar Center as well as the association, but Gibson and fellow manufacturers Fender and Yamaha appear as co-defendants. Caroline Galloway, a spokeswoman for Gibson, could not be reached for comment.

The industry association, however, denies violating the Sherman Act or other laws, according to attorney Paul Cuomo of the Washington D.C. law firm Howrey LLP. He said the association was unable to comment further because of the pending litigation, including on whether it hosted discussions as described in the lawsuits.

Statements by the association since September, however, have said the suits are without merit and contain misinformation about the association and its members.

"They are a detriment to the music industry, to music makers and to music lovers everywhere," the association said in a September prepared statement.

The lawsuits are widespread, whether legitimate or frivolous. Scott Robertson, a spokesman with the trade group, said he was aware of nearly 30 lawsuits making similar allegations.

Some stem from a Federal Trade Commission investigation that ended with a 2009 agreement between the government and the trade group. The group agreed not to in any way encourage the sharing of price information or other cooperation on such matters, according to the agreement, which stipulates that it is not an admission of guilt.

Authorities are in the process of consolidating the various allegations into one class-action lawsuit for pretrial proceedings in California, attorneys said.