Flom Disposal, Inc. v. Goodhue County, Minnesota, et al.
Antitrust
Are disposing of garbage by depositing it in a landfill and disposing of garbage—the same garbage from the same sources—by incinerating it, competitor businesses for purposes of the dormant Commerce Clause's antidiscrimination doctrine?
QUESTION PRESENTED This Court has recognized a narrow exception from the dormant Commerce Clause’s almost “‘per se rule of invalidity,” Gen. Motors Corp. v. Tracy, 519 U.S. 278, 298 (1997) (quoting Associated Industries of Mo. v. Lohman, 511 U.S. 641, 647 (1994)), against laws that discriminate against out-of-state commerce: the rule does not apply if the allegedly burdened and the allegedly favored businesses are not in “actual or prospective competition,” id. at 300. The question presented is: Are disposing of garbage by depositing it in a landfill and disposing of garbage—the same garbage from the same sources—by incinerating it, competitor businesses for purposes of the dormant Commerce Clause’s antidiscrimination doctrine?