(2) Any person directly injured in business or property by a violation of subsection (1) of this section may sue whoever knowingly practices, or conspires to practice, activities prohibited by subsection (1) of this section, and shall recover threefold the damages sustained. The court shall award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing plaintiff in an action under this section. The court may award reasonable attorney fees and expert witness fees incurred by a defendant who prevails in the action if the court determines that the plaintiff had no objectively reasonable basis for asserting a claim or no objectively reasonable basis for appealing an adverse decision of a trial court. [1977 c.395 §§1,2; 1981 c.897 §9; 1995 c.618 §28; 2007 c.100 §15; 2021 c.367 §4]