Tatkin

Frederick O. Field, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Leslie G. Turner, John J. Hanson, O'Melveny & Myers, Warren M. Christopher, Norbert A. Schlei, Overton, Lyman & Prince and Carl J. Schuck for Real Parties in Interest.

Petitioner, plaintiff in an action pending in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, seeks a writ of mandate directing the respondent court to set aside an order sustaining defendants' refusal to answer certain questions in a pretrial deposition and to enter an order compelling defendants to answer these questions.

Demurrers having been overruled, a third amended complaint was filed and the defendants, American Medical Association, Los Angeles County Medical Association, and certain named individuals, have filed their answers thereto.

The third amended complaint of plaintiff contains three causes of action and alleges generally that since August 1, 1953, plaintiff has been and is a duly licensed doctor of medicine authorized to practice medicine in the State of California; that on September 21, 1954, plaintiff was notified that his application for membership in the defendant Los Angeles Medical Association had been refused; that since then…

I dissent. The majority opinion strongly argues, and apparently holds, that the practice of medicine in California constitutes “trade or commerce” within the meaning of the Cartwright Act. The uncertainty as to what the majority opinion actually holds in this regard stems from the following described aspects thereof:

*766 Does this quoted sentence mean that there exists in California law another basis, apart from the Cartwright Act, upon which to premise liability for the acts of defendants allegedly done pursuant to a purpose “to restrain competition” by plaintiff? Does this reference to unspecified “common law principles” mean that the common law of California reaches further than the Cartwright Act in denouncing combinations entered into for the purpose of restraining competition ? Does the majority opinion mean that under the common law of California any association of practitioners is guilty of an unlawful combination if its policies or practices tend in any substantial way to restrict or limit competition or to fix fees to be charged in the practice of any of the learned professions? Or does the opinion here have reference only to some of those more recently developed…

Petitioner, plaintiff in an action pending in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, seeks a writ of mandate directing the respondent court to set aside an order sustaining defendants’ refusal to answer certain questions in a pretrial deposition and to enter an order compelling defendants to answer these questions.

Demurrers having been overruled, a third amended complaint was filed and the defendants, American Medical Association, Los Angeles County Medical Association, and certain named individuals, have filed their answers thereto.

*748 The third amended complaint of plaintiff contains three causes of action and alleges generally that since August 1, 1953, plaintiff has been and is a duly licensed doctor of medicine authorized to practice medicine in the State of California; that on September 21, 1954, plaintiff was notified that his application for membership in the defendant Los Angeles Medical Association had been refused; that since then he has suffered damages as a result of the acts and conduct of defendants. The plaintiff has affirmatively alleged that the defendants have conspired and combined to dominate and control the practice of medicine in Los Angeles County…