Washington – The U.S. Supreme Court put new limits on class actions and other lawsuits, throwing out an antitrust case that accused Qwest and other telephone companies of agreeing not to compete in each other’s home territories.
The justices, voting 7-2, on Monday said the lawyers pres sing the case had no evidence of collusion when they filed their complaint against Denver-based Qwest, Verizon and AT&T Inc. An appeals court had let the case go forward.
“There is no reason to infer that the companies had agreed among themselves to do what was only natural anyway,” Justice David Souter wrote for the court.
The ruling may shield companies in a variety of industries from antitrust claims. DuPont Co., MasterCard International Inc., Visa USA Inc., Northwest Airlines Corp., UAL Corp. and Louisiana-Pacific Corp. all urged the court to restrict lawsuits.
“We’re pleased that the Supreme Court has made clear that more than vague, conclusory allegations are needed before a plaintiff can embark on a massive, expensive and ultimately wasteful fishing expedition,” Qwest spokesman Bob Toevs said.
