Opinion ID: 3015187
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Illegal Tying

Text: In Count II, Gordon asserted that the Hospital illegally tied its outpatient cataract facility services to the purchase of emergency ophthalmologic services from a Geisinger physician, Nancollas, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Tying is selling one good (the tying product) on the condition that the buyer also purchase another, separate good (the tied product). See Town Sound & Custom Tops, Inc. v. Chrysler Motors Corp., 959 F.2d 468, 475 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 868 (1992). The essential characteristic of a tying arrangement lies in the seller’s exploitation of its control over the tying product to force the buyer into the purchase of a tied product that the buyer either did not want at all, or might have preferred to purchase elsewhere on different terms. Jefferson Parish Hosp. Dist. No. 2 v. Hyde, 466 U.S. 2, 11 (1984). Under the per se analysis, a plaintiff must prove that (1) the defendant sells two distinct products, (2) the seller possesses market share in the tying product market, and (3) a substantial amount of interstate commerce is affected. Brokerage Concepts, Inc. v. U.S. Healthcare, Inc., 140 F.3d 494, 51213 (3d Cir. 1998). Applying the per se analysis, the District Court determined that Gordon failed to prove an essential element of his claim – that the tie impacted a substantial amount of interstate commerce. Because Gordon failed to present any evidence regarding either the patient volume effect or the dollar volume business that has been affected by the tied market of emergency eye surgery physician services, we conclude that the District Court’s determination that the when utilizing the traditional rule of reason and that the Hospital failed to sustain its burden of proving that there was a procompetitive benefit from the Conditions. However, we need not reach this issue given our conclusion that the District Court’s findings in this regard were not clearly erroneous. 44 Hospital’s alleged tie did not affect a substantial amount of interstate commerce was not clearly erroneous.20