Cite as: 540 U. S. 736 (2004)
Opinion of the Court
circumstances subject to judicial review. §§ 3625, 3628. In making rate recommendations the Commission must consider factors including making each class of mail bear the costs attributable to it, and the effect of rate increases on the mail-using public and on competitors in the parcel delivery business. § 3622(b).
Under the PRA, the Postal Service retains its monopoly over the carriage of letters, and the power to authorize postal inspectors to search for, seize, and forfeit mail matter transported in violation of the monopoly. See §§ 601-606. It also retains the obligation to provide universal service to all parts of the country. §§ 101, 403. The Postal Service has the power of eminent domain, the power to make postal regulations, and the power to enter international postal agreements subject to the supervision of the Secretary of State. §§ 401, 407. It has, in addition, powers to contract, to acquire property, and to settle claims. § 401. As this brief summary indicates, the Postal Service has significant governmental powers, consistent with its status as an independent establishment of the Executive Branch. It was exempted from many, though not all, statutes governing federal agencies, and specifically subjected to some others. §§ 409-410. With respect to antitrust liability, however, the PRA neither exempts the Postal Service nor subjects it to liability by express mention. It is silent on the point.
The PRA waives the immunity of the Postal Service from suit by giving it the power "to sue and be sued in its official name." § 401. The first question we address is whether that waiver suffices by its own terms to subject the Postal Service to liability under the Sherman Act, ch. 647, 26 Stat. 209, as amended, 15 U. S. C. § 1 et seq. We begin with a discussion of our precedents bearing on the inquiry.
This Court has held that when Congress passes enabling legislation allowing an agency or other entity of the Federal Government to be sued the waiver should be given a liberal—that is to say, expansive—construction. Federal
741
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007