Cite as: 504 U. S. 621 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
The Commission issued an administrative complaint in 1985. Horizontal price fixing was alleged in these terms:
" 'Respondents have agreed on the prices to be charged for title search and examination services or settlement services through rating bureaus in various states. Examples of states in which one or more of the respondents have fixed prices with other respondents or other competitors for all or part of their search and examination services or settlement services are Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Wyoming.' " 112 F. T. C., at 346.
The Commission did not challenge the insurers' practice of setting uniform rates for insurance against the risk of loss from defective titles, but only the practice of setting uniform rates for the title search, examination, and settlement, aspects of the business which, the Commission alleges, do not involve insurance.
Before the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), respondents defended against liability on three related grounds. First, they maintained that the challenged conduct is exempt from antitrust scrutiny under the McCarran-Ferguson Act, 59 Stat. 34, 15 U. S. C. § 1012(b), which confers antitrust immunity over the "business of insurance" to the extent regulated by state law. Second, they argued that their collective ratemaking activities are exempt under the Noerr-Pennington doctrine, which places certain "[j]oint efforts to influence public officials" beyond the reach of the antitrust laws. Mine Workers v. Pennington, 381 U. S. 657, 670 (1965); Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc., 365 U. S. 127, 136 (1961). Third, respondents contended their activities are entitled to state-action immunity, which permits anticompetitive conduct if authorized and supervised by state officials. See California Retail Liquor Dealers Assn. v. Midcal Aluminum, Inc., 445
627
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