FTC v. Ticor Title Ins. Co., 504 U.S. 621, 23 (1992)

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Cite as: 504 U. S. 621 (1992)

Rehnquist, C. J., dissenting

by the private actors facing antitrust liability.2 Our most recent formulation of the "active supervision" requirement was announced in Patrick v. Burget, 486 U. S. 94 (1988), where we concluded that to satisfy the "active supervision" requirement, "state officials [must] have and exercise power to review particular anticompetitive acts of private parties and disapprove those that fail to accord with state policy." Id., at 101. Until today, therefore, we have never had occasion to determine whether a state regulatory program which gave state officials authority—"power"—to review and regulate prices or conduct, might still fail to meet the requirement for active state supervision because the State's regulation was not sufficiently detailed or rigorous.

Addressing this question, the Court of Appeals in this case used the following analysis:

" 'Where, as here, the state's program is in place, is staffed and funded, grants to the state officials ample power and the duty to regulate pursuant to declared standards of state policy, is enforceable in the state's courts, and demonstrates some basic level of activity directed towards seeing that the private actors carry out the state's policy and not simply their own policy, more need not be established.' " 922 F. 2d 1122, 1136 (CA3 1991), quoting New England Motor Rate Bureau, Inc. v. FTC, 908 F. 2d 1064, 1071 (CA1 1990).

The Court likens this test to doing away all together with the active supervision requirement for immunity based on state action. But the test used by the Court of Appeals is

2 In 324 Liquor Corp. v. Duffy, 479 U. S. 335 (1987), we held that a New York statute failed to shelter private actors from antitrust liability because the state legislation required retailers to charge 112% of the price "posted" by wholesalers. The New York statute, like the California statute at issue in California Retail Liquor Dealers Assn. v. Midcal Aluminum, Inc., 445 U. S. 97 (1980), gave no power to the state agency to review or establish the reasonableness of the price schedules "posted" by the wholesalers. 324 Liquor, supra, at 345.

643

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