4550-4554
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 4550-4554
4550. As used in this chapter: (a) "Public purchase" means a purchase by means of competitive bids of goods, services, or materials by the state or any of its political subdivisions or public agencies on whose behalf the Attorney General may bring an action pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 16750 of the Business and Professions Code. (b) "Public purchasing body" means the state or the subdivision or agency making a public purchase. 4552. In submitting a bid to a public purchasing body, the bidder offers and agrees that if the bid is accepted, it will assign to the purchasing body all rights, title, and interest in and to all causes of action it may have under Section 4 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 15) or under the Cartwright Act (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 16700) of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code), arising from purchases of goods, materials, or services by the bidder for sale to the purchasing body pursuant to the bid. Such assignment shall be made and become effective at the time the purchasing body tenders final payment to the bidder. The preceding provisions of this section shall be included in full in any specifications for the public purchase and shall be included in full in the bid agreement or general provisions incorporated into the bid agreement. 4553. If an awarding body or public purchasing body receives, either through judgment or settlement, a monetary recovery for a cause of action assigned under this chapter, the assignor shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for actual legal costs incurred and may, upon demand, recover from the public body any portion of the recovery, including treble damages, attributable to overcharges that were paid by the assignor but were not paid by the public body as part of the bid price, less the expenses incurred in obtaining that portion of the recovery. In state contracts, the preceding provisions of this section shall be included in full in any specifications for the public purchase and shall be included in full in the bid agreement or general provisions incorporated into the bid agreement. 4554. Upon demand in writing by the assignor, the assignee shall, within one year from such demand, reassign the cause of action assigned under this part if the assignor has been or may have been injured by the violation of law for which the cause of action arose and (a) the assignee has not been injured thereby, or (b) the assignee declines to file a court action for the cause of action. In state contracts, the preceding provisions of this section shall be included in full in any specifications for the public purchase and shall be included in full in the bid agreement or general provisions incorporated into the bid agreement.