Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society

Supreme Court of the United States

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

Chief Justice Warren E. Burger

Associate Justices William J. Brennan, Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell, Jr. · William Rehnquist John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor

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]

Sources on rule of reason

US v. Trans-Missouri Freight Asn, 166 U.S. 290 (1897)

US v. Joint Traffic Association, 171 U.S. 505 (1898)

Addyston Pipe and Steel Co. v. US, 175 U.S. 211 (1899)

Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. US, 221 U.S. 1 (1911)

Chicago Board of Trade v. US 246 U.S. 231 (1918)

United States v. Topco Assocs., Inc., 405 U.S. 596 (1972)

National Soc. of Prof. Engineers v. US, 435 U.S. 679 (1978)

Broadcast Music v. Columbia Broadcast, 441 U.S. 1 (1979)

Broadcast Music, Inc. v. CBS, Inc., 441 U.S. 1 (1979)

Arizona v. Maricopa County Med Soc, 457 U.S. 332 (1982)

NCAA v. University of Oklahoma, 468 U.S. 85 (1984)

FTC v. Indiana Fed'n of Dentists, 476 U.S. 447 (1986)

Palmer v. BRG of Georgia, Inc., 498 U.S. 46 (1990)

California Dental Assn. v. FTC, 526 U.S. 756 (1999)

See US antitrust law and rule of reason

Notes

↑ 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

Leffler, Keith B. (1983), "Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society: Maximum-Price Agreements in Markets with Insured Buyers", Supreme Court Economic Review, 2: 187–211, doi:10.2307/1147125 .
Cohen, Harry Philip (1981), "IPAs and Per Se Rules: Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society", Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 9 (5): 8–12, doi:10.1111/j.1748-720X.1981.tb00286.x .

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