Dist. Ct. did not err in dismissing Sherman Act action by plaintiffs-rooftop businesses adjacent to Wrigley Field alleging that: (1) defendant Chicago Cubs improperly attempted to monopolize ticket prices by forcing plaintiffs to sell their businesses at below market prices under threat to expand Wrigley Field in manner that would block plaintiffs’ view into Wrigley Field; and (2) defendants breached licensing agreement not to obstruct plaintiffs’ view of Wrigley Field by erecting video board. Cubs were entitled to baseball’s antitrust exemption so as to preclude plaintiffs from proceeding on their antitrust claim, since plaintiffs’ allegations regarding setting of minimum price of tickets, purchasing of rooftop businesses and threatening to block views into Wrigley Field is part and parcel of business of providing public baseball games for profit. Fact that Cubs’ owner, as opposed to Cubs, engaged in anticompetitive conduct did not require different result. Also, defendants did not breach licensing agreement by erecting video board since licensing agreement allowed defendants to make instant expansion of Wrigley Field that had been prevciously approved by City. Too, statement by Cub’s owner analogizing instant dispute to neighbors watching homeowner’s television from outside homeowner’s house did not violate licensing agreement’s non-disparagement provision, since said statement was mere opinion and not factual assertion whose veracity could be proven.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Sherman Act