Mobile County Water, Sewer & Fire Protection Authority, Inc. v. Mobile Area Water & Sewer System, Inc.

[PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________ FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
No. 08-14855 ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
APRIL 8, 2009
Non-Argument Calendar
THOMAS K. KAHN
________________________
CLERK
D. C. Docket No. 07-00357-CV-WS
MOBILE COUNTY WATER, SEWER
AND FIRE PROTECTION AUTHORITY, INC.,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
MOBILE AREA WATER AND SEWER
SYSTEM, INC.,
Defendant-Appellee.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Alabama
_________________________
(April 8, 2009)
Before BLACK, MARCUS and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Mobile County Water, Sewer and Fire Protection Authority, Inc. (MoCo)
appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Mobile Area Water and
Sewer System, Inc. (MAWSS). MoCo brought suit against MAWSS seeking
injunctive relief under federal and Alabama state antitrust laws. MAWSS moved
for summary judgment, arguing it was immune from liability under the doctrine of
state action immunity. MoCo filed a cross-motion for summary judgment on its
antitrust claims and contended MAWSS was not entitled to state action immunity.
On July 23, 2008, the district court granted MAWSS’s motion for summary
judgment and denied MoCo’s motion for summary judgment. The court
concluded the principles of state action immunity barred MoCo’s antitrust claims
against MAWSS because MAWSS’s challenged conduct followed a clearly
articulated and affirmatively expressed state policy. Specifically, the court found
MAWSS’s conduct was authorized by the Alabama legislature and its
anticompetitive effect was a foreseeable result of this authorization. After
reviewing the record and the parties’ briefs, we agree MAWSS is entitled to state
action immunity and affirm for the reasons stated in the district court’s well-
reasoned order, which is published at 567 F. Supp. 2d 1342 (S.D. Ala. 2008).
AFFIRMED.
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