Antitrust

Guide to National Soc. of Professional Engineers v. U. S., 435 U.S. 679 (1978)

What is the National Society of Professional Engineers?

What is the alleged illegal behavior?

What did they ban?

What is the traditional method of selecting an engineer?

Does this ring any health care bells?

Do they bounce members out of the society for violating the ban?

What does the client do if he/she does not like the fee after the engineer has been selected?

What did the government ask for in its complaint against the society?

What was the only defense that is at issue in this case?

What did they claim engineers would do if forced to compete on price?

What does this tell you about their views of engineers?

Why did the district court fail to make any findings on whether the voluminous record supported the Defendant's case?

What was at issue in the Goldfarb case?

What slack did Goldfarb cut the professions?

Why is the Sherman act "unreasonable" on its face?

How did the courts limit the unreasonability of the Sherman Act?

What do you look at in applying the Rule of Reason?

How was this applied in Mitchel v. Reynolds?

Does the rule of reason apply to the prices charged?

Does the Rule of Reason allow the courts to decide that some industries are better as monopolies?

What major industries got an exemption from antitrust?

What is the two part test from Standard Oil?

What is the inquiry confined to?

Try to figure out what the court means by vertical restraint.

What are "illegal per se" agreements?

What does the court do in the second category of agreements?

How does the Defendant's defense of its ban on bidding undermine its claim that it is reasonable?

What was the "When-in-Rome" clause?

If the Defendant is worried that bidding by engineers will lead to cheating on safety, what should it do?

What was the first amendment argument?

What possible medical society rule does the concurrence use as an example of a permissible restraint of competition?