Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society

Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society

Argued November 4, 1981
Decided June 18, 1982
Full case name Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society
Citations

457 U.S. 332 (more)

S.Ct.
Prior history Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Holding
The maximum fee agreements, as price-fixing agreements, are per se unlawful under § 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Court membership
Case opinions
Majority Stevens, joined by Brennan, White, Marshall
Dissent Powell, joined by Burger, Rehnquist
Blackmun, O'Connor took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890

Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society, 457 U.S. 332 (1982), is a case by the United States Supreme Court involving antitrust law.

Facts

Maricopa County Medical Society, by agreement of their member doctors, established the maximum fees the doctors may claim in full payment for health services provided to policyholders of specified insurance plans. Arizona filed a complaint against MCMS in Federal District Court, alleging that they were engaged in an illegal price-fixing conspiracy in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Judgment

In a 4–3 decision, the court held that the maximum fee agreements, as price-fixing agreements, are per se unlawful under § 1 of the Sherman Act.

Significance

In Maricopa, the Burger court deviated from the antitrust methodology based on the writings of Chicago School scholars Robert Bork and Richard Posner. In doing so, the court made "antitrust analysis once again confused and haphazard".[1]

See also

Notes

  1. Gerhart, Peter M. (1982), "The Supreme Court and Antitrust Analysis: The (Near) Triumph of the Chicago School", The Supreme Court Review 1982: 319–349, JSTOR 3109560.

References


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