Western Waste Service Systems v. Universal Waste Control and Waste Management, Inc.

The narrow issue in this case is whether a garbage collection business in Phoenix, Arizona sufficiently affects interstate commerce to fall within the protection of section 1 of the Sherman Act. Finding this court’s previous decision in Sun Valley Disposal Co. v. Silver State Disposal Co., 420 F.2d 341 (9th Cir. 1969), to be controlling, the district court granted a pretrial motion to dismiss the action, holding “there is no sufficient nexus with interstate commerce to support Sherman Act jurisdiction.” The plaintiff brought this appeal. We conclude that Sun Valley is distinguishable from the case before us, and that the standards announced in intervening Supreme Court opinions establish that there is jurisdiction here. We vacate the judgment of the trial court and remand the cause for further proceedings.

Appellant Western Waste Service Systems (Western Waste), the plaintiff below, is an Arizona corporation engaged in the waste disposal business in the Phoenix metropolitan and adjoining areas. Universal Waste Control (Universal) is a California corporation engaged in the waste disposal business in the same area. Universal is a wholly-owned subsidiary of defendant Waste…

Sitting by Designation (dissenting):

This case demonstrates perfectly the “Hobson’s choice” which a United States District Judge sometimes faces in attempting to render a decision. The Court below, in dismissing the complaint on the grounds of want of subject matter jurisdiction on a motion for summary judgment, held that the case of Sun Valley Disposal Co. v. Silver State Disposal Co., 420 F.2d 341 (9th Cir. 1969) was so indistinguishable as to be controlling. The Court was correct. The problem Judge Craig faced was that the Sun Valley opinion, arguably, is incorrect as a matter of law. As a District Court Judge in the Ninth Circuit, I recognize the dilemma which the lower Court faced; my brother Craig acted as I would have, which is to follow controlling Ninth Circuit authority which, however questionable, has not been explicitly overruled.

The fact that the two cases are indistinguishable is readily apparent. Sun Valley involved a Sherman Act complaint as between two garbage disposal and container leasing services in Clark County, Nevada, and an affirmance of a granting of a motion for summary judgment in favor of the defendants on the grounds of want of subject matter…

616 F.2d 1094 1980-1 Trade Cases 63,213 WESTERN WASTE SERVICE SYSTEMS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNIVERSAL WASTE CONTROL and Waste Management, Inc., Defendants-Appellees. No. 77-3131. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. March 4, 1980. Rehearing Denied April 28, 1980. P. Richard Meyer, Meyer, Vucichevich & Cimala, Phoenix, Ariz., for plaintiff-appellant. Joseph V. Giffin, Chicago, Ill., argued, for defendants-appellees; Paul G. Ulrich, Lewis & Roca, Phoenix, Ariz., Joseph V. Giffin, Chadwell, Kayser, Ruggles, McGee & Hastings, Chicago, Ill., on brief. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Before KENNEDY and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges, and CLAIBORNE, * District Judge. KENNEDY, Circuit Judge: 1 The narrow issue in this case is whether a garbage collection business in Phoenix, Arizona sufficiently affects interstate commerce to fall within the protection of section 1 of the Sherman Act. Finding this court's previous decision in Sun Valley Disposal Co. v. Silver State Disposal Co., 420 F.2d 341 (9th Cir. 1969), to be controlling, the district court granted a pretrial motion to dismiss the action, holding "there is no sufficient…