Federal Trade Commission v. Ticor Title Insurance Company, et al. (504 U.S. 621)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 12, 1992 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 504 U.S. 621 · 112 S. Ct. 2169
- Decided
- June 12, 1992
- Term
- October Term 1991
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Kennedy
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court. The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint against six of the Nation’s largest title insurance companies, alleging horizontal price fixing in their fees for title searches and title examinations. One company settled by consent decree, while five other firms continue to contest the matter. The Commission charged the title companies with violating § 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 38 Stat. 719, 15 U. S. C. § 45(a)(1), which prohibits “[u]nfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce.” One of the principal defenses the companies assert is state-action immunity from antitrust prosecution, as contemplated in the line of cases beginning with Parker v. Brown, 317 U. S. 341 (1943). The Commission rejected this defense, In re Ticor Title Ins. Co., 112 F. T. C. 344 (1989), and the firms sought review in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Ruling that state-action immunity was available under the state regulatory schemes in question, the Court of Appeals reversed. 922 F. 2d 1122 (1991). We granted certiorari. 502 U. S. 806 (1991). J-H Title insurance is the business of insuring the record title of real property for persons with some interest in the estate, including owners, occupiers, and lenders. A title insurance policy insures against certain losses or damages sustained…
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