Fisichelli v. Town of Methuen

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Plaintiffs Alfred Fisichelli and Salvatore Ambra seek monetary damages from Defendants the Town of Methuen, the Methuen Industrial Finance Authority, and certain individual members of the Town Council for violations which allegedly occurred when, in October, 1982, the Defendant Town Councillors voted to deny plaintiffs’ application for an industrial revenue bond to build a shopping mall.

On February 23,1987, United States District Court Judge Wolf granted, in part, the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, Fisichelli, et al. v. Town of Methuen, et al., 653 F.Supp. 1494 (D.Mass.1987), but the Court refused to dismiss plaintiffs’ federal and state antitrust claims against the individual Town Councillors insofar as plaintiffs’ complaint contained an allegation of conspiracy.1 Id. at 1500-02. The alleged conspiracy, Judge Wolf reasoned, if proven, would render the state action exemption to the federal antitrust laws inapplicable to this case. Id. at 1499. Defendants now move for summary judgment on these antitrust claims on the ground that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Columbia v. Omni Outdoor Advertising, Inc., — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 1344, 113 L.Ed.2d 382 (1991), definitively disavows the so-called “conspiracy exception” to the state action exemption doctrine. See id. at-, 111 S.Ct. at 1351. After a review of the memoranda filed in this case, and after a hearing, this Court hereby grants defendants’ motion.

The Supreme Court clearly stated that the Sherman Act “condemns trade restraints, not political activity,” id. at-, 111 S.Ct. at 1353 (citation omitted), and, therefore, the Court held that “any action that qualifies as state action is ‘ipso facto ... exempt from the operation of the antitrust laws.’ ” Id. at-, 111 S.Ct. at 1353. (emphasis in original). The Court squarely rejected “any interpretation of the Sherman Act that would allow plaintiffs to look behind the actions of state sovereigns to base their claims on ‘perceived conspiracies to restrain trade.’ ” Id. Plaintiffs here challenge the official actions2 of individual Town Councillors, claiming that these individuals “conspired” to use their office in pursuit of personal interests.3 In wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Columbia, however, the official actions of these Town Councillors — regardless of the Councillors’ particular motivations — are im-*4muñe from the federal antitrust laws.4 If the vote by the Councillors is erroneous or improper, it should be challenged through the state administrative process or under the state corruption laws. See id. at-, -, 111 S.Ct. at 1348, 1353. Federal judicial oversight of municipal action under the guise of promoting the federal policy against restraint of trade would tend to inhibit a vigorous participation in the political process that lies at the vital center of a robust democracy.

Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment on Counts II and III is granted.

SO ORDERED.