Opinion ID: 1231500
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Propriety of Partial Summary Judgment

Text: Having found that Appellants' allegations of per se restraints of trade must be analyzed in reference to definitions and tests developed under federal law, the Circuit Court of Monongalia County's order granting Appellees' motion for partial summary judgment is easily affirmed. Relying exclusively upon their position that federal antitrust law is irrelevant to their claims, Appellants have not explained how their claims constitute price-fixing, market allocation and refusal to deal. However, as we have found, federal law is relevant to give meaning to our antitrust law. According to Appellants, the contracts between Monongalia General, PAS and BAC constitute per se violations of W. Va. Code § 47-18-3(b)(1)(A) because they contain terms setting prices and a market analysis is not required. The price provisions of the contracts at issue, quoted above, do not set forth specific prices, but simply required PAS and BAC to set reasonable prices in light of the prevailing and competitive market rates. Illegal price-fixing requires more. It requires a power to control the market and fix arbitrary prices, including an interference with the setting of prices by market forces. See, Socony-Vacuum, 310 U.S. at 223, 60 S.Ct. at 844; Maricopa County Medical Society, 457 U.S. at 345, 102 S.Ct. at 2473; and Container Corp., 393 U.S. at 337, 89 S.Ct. at 512. Simply requiring a contractor to set reasonable prices in accordance with prevailing market rates is insufficient as a matter of West Virginia law to establish a violation of our antitrust law. Accordingly, to the extent Appellants rely upon a theory of per se price-fixing to establish their claims, their claims were properly dismissed by the circuit court. Similarly, Appellants' market allocation theory fails as a matter of law. Appellants argue that the relevant market is the hospital itself. According to Appellants, the contracts allocate the provision of anesthesia services at the hospital, thus constituting per se violations of W. Va.Code § 47-18-3(b)(1)(C). However, such a narrow definition of market was rejected by the United States Supreme Court in Jefferson Parish, supra . Additionally, federal antitrust law clearly defines illegal market allocation as the division of territories by competitors at the same level of the market structure to minimize competition. See Topco, 405 U.S. at 608, 92 S.Ct. at 1133. Because there is no agreement by competitors to allocate a market, Appellants' claims based upon a theory of market allocation fail as a matter of law. Finally, because their price-fixing and market allocation claims fail as a matter of law, Appellants' refusal to deal claims likewise also fail. An illegal refusal to deal under W. Va.Code § 47-18-3(b)(3), is statutorily defined by reference to activities violating W. Va.Code § 47-18-3(b)(1) or (2). Because we have found that Appellants' claims under W. Va.Code § 47-18-3(b)(1) fail as a matter of law and that no claims have been properly asserted under W. Va.Code § 47-18-3(b)(2), Appellants' claims for violation of W. Va.Code § 47-18-3(b)(3) must also fail. Accordingly, summary judgment as to all of Appellants' antitrust claims was appropriate.