''United States v. Trans-Missouri Freight Association'', 166 U.S. 290 (1897), was a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case holding that the
Sherman Act (which was an
antitrust measure that prohibited anticompetitive behavior in commerce) applied to the
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
industry, even though the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
had enacted a comprehensive regime of regulations for that industry.
[''United States v. Trans-Missouri Freight Ass'n'', .]
Background
Various railroad companies had formed an organization to regulate prices charged for transportation. The federal government charged these companies with violating the Sherman Act, and the railroad companies replied that they were not in violation of the act because their organization was designed to keep prices low, not to push them higher. The companies also contended that Congress had not intended the Sherman Act to apply to them, because there were already a wide array of laws governing the railroads.
Opinion of the Court
The Supreme Court held that the Sherman Act prohibited all such combinations, irrespective of the purpose. The railroad association was price fixing under the per se approach. Competition should determine the reasonable rate, not agreements between companies.
See also
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US antitrust law
In the United States, antitrust law is a collection of mostly federal laws that regulate the conduct and organization of businesses to promote competition and prevent unjustified monopolies. The three main U.S. antitrust statutes are the Sherma ...
*
List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 166
This is a list of cases reported in volume 166 of ''United States Reports'', decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1897.
Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 166 U.S.
The Supreme Court is established by A ...
References
External links
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1897 in United States case law
United States antitrust case law
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Fuller Court
Freight transport
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