The defendants are claiming bi-lateral agreements are legal, and only bi-lateral agreements existed rather than a 3+ party conspiracy. Whether either claim is true, I have no idea.

which law are they breaking? i thought discrimination only covers specific things such as race/age/pregnancy status.. and everything else is off limits. i.e the company may reject someone based on his music taste or propensity to wear green pants..

also, could there be a situation where there is some conflict of interest based on nature of business of both firms?