The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a claim that exclusive contracts by physicians were automatically ("per se") illegal under antitrust laws. ''Jefferson Parish Hospital Dist. No. 2 v. Hyde'', 466 U.S. 2 (1984). In that case now-Judge Frank Easterbook successfully argued that a showing of a negative impact on the market is required before declaring an exclusive contract to be per se illegal. In that case 70 percent of the local patients entered different hospitals, making it doubtful that Jefferson Parish Hospital hurt the overall local market by having an exclusive contract with anesthesiologists. | The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a claim that exclusive contracts by physicians were automatically ("per se") illegal under antitrust laws. ''Jefferson Parish Hospital Dist. No. 2 v. Hyde'', 466 U.S. 2 (1984). In that case now-Judge Frank Easterbook successfully argued that a showing of a negative impact on the market is required before declaring an exclusive contract to be per se illegal. In that case 70 percent of the local patients entered different hospitals, making it doubtful that Jefferson Parish Hospital hurt the overall local market by having an exclusive contract with anesthesiologists. |