Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—W.D. La.: Waste hauler’s claims based on landfill operator’s disposal rates dumped, (Dec 9, 2014)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

A waste disposal company failed to adequately allege claims under the Louisiana Antitrust Law against a competing waste disposal company and landfill operator for charging itself lower rates for waste disposal at the landfill than it charged other waste haulers, the federal district court in Lake Charles, Louisiana has ruled (Parish Disposal Industries, LLC v. BFI Waste Services, LLC, December 5, 2014, Minaldi, P.).

Parish Disposal Industries (PDI) is in the business of transporting and disposal of solid waste. PDI provides businesses with various sizes of dumpsters and roll-off containers and transports and disposes the waste in either municipal or construction debris landfills. BFI Waste Services, a competitor of PDI, operates a sanitary landfill in addition to waste hauling. Since BFI operates the landfill and sets the rates at which waste haulers will pay to dispose of their waste, BFI charges itself a lower rate at the landfill than it charges other waste haulers.

PDI filed suit against BFI, alleging an illegal restraint on trade and illegal creation of a monopoly in violation of the Louisiana Antitrust Law. PDI asserted that BFI consistently wins the larger waste disposal contracts over PDI because PDI is forced to pay higher rates at the landfill. BFI moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim.

Restraint on trade. The court found that the plaintiff failed to sufficiently state a claim for an illegal restraint of trade. A single firm’s anticompetitive conduct, short of threatened monopolization, is not actionable, according to the court. PDI did not allege that BFI acted in concert with any other entity in setting the prices at the landfill. The fact that BFI charged itself less than third parties to dispose waste at the landfill was insufficient to state a cause of action.

Monopolization. PDI also failed to sufficiently state a claim for the creation of a monopoly. The state antitrust statute provides that no person shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or conspire with any other person to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce within the state. To establish a violation premised on the attempt to monopolize, the plaintiff must define the relevant market, the court explained. In this case, PDI made no allegations as to any relevant geographic market in the complaint. PDI’s allegation that the landfill was located in Jefferson Davis Parish was insufficient to identify the relevant geographic market, the court concluded.

The case is No. 2:13-cv-3068.

Attorneys: James F. DeRosier (DeRosier Law Firm) for Parish Disposal Industries LLC. G. Trippe Hawthorne (Kean Miller) for BFI Waste Services LLC, BFI Waste Systems of Louisiana LLC, and BFI Waste Systems of North America LLC.

Companies: Parish Disposal Industries, LLC; BFI Waste Services, LLC; BFI Waste Systems of Louisiana LLC; BFI Waste Systems of North America LLC

Cases: Antitrust LouisianaNews