Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. California, 509 U.S. 764, 28 (1993)

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Cite as: 509 U. S. 764 (1993)

Souter, J., concurring in judgment

The majority concludes that, so long as the reinsurers' role in this course of action was limited to "a concerted agreement to seek particular terms in particular transactions," post, at 801-802, the course of action could never constitute a § 3(b) boycott. The majority's emphasis on this conclusion assumes an artificial segmentation of the course of action, and a false perception of the unimportance of the elements of that course of action other than the reinsurers' agreement. The majority concedes that the complaints allege, not just implementation of a horizontal agreement, but refusals to deal that occurred "at the behest of," or were "solicited by," the four primary insurers, who were "competitors of the tarof the primary insurer defendants. I express no opinion as to whether those acts, if they were indeed taken independently, could amount to § 3(b) boycotts; but I note that they lack the key element on which I rely in this litigation to find a sufficient allegation of boycott.

The Seventh Claim for Relief in the California Complaint, and the virtually identical Sixth Claim for Relief in the Connecticut Complaint, allege a conspiracy among a group of domestic primary insurers, foreign rein-surers, and the ISO to draft restrictive model forms and policy language for "umbrella" and "excess" insurance. On these claims, the Court of Appeals reversed the District Court's order of dismissal as to the domestic defendants solely because those defendants "act[ed] in concert" with non-exempt foreign defendants, 938 F. 2d, at 931, relying on reasoning that the Court has found to be in error, see supra, at 781-784. The Court of Appeals found that "[n]o boycotts [were] alleged as the defendants' modus operandi in respect to [excess and umbrella] insurance." 938 F. 2d, at 930. I agree; even under a liberal construction of the complaints in favor of plaintiffs, I can find no allegation of any refusal to deal in connection with the drafting of the excess and umbrella insurance language. Therefore I conclude that neither the participation of unregulated parties nor the application of § 3(b) furnished a basis to reverse the District Court's dismissal of these claims as against the domestic insurers, and I would reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals in this respect. The Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Claims for Relief in the California Complaint and the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Claims for Relief in the Connecticut Complaint also allege concerted refusals to deal; but because they do not name any of the petitioners in No. 91-1111, the Court has no occasion to consider whether they allege § 3(b) boycotts.

791

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