Federal Judge Dismisses Antitrust Suit Against City of Richland

Tuesday's Tri-City Herald reported on a Monday ruling by Judge Robert Whaley that dismisses an antitrust suit brought by a public utility district in Benton against the City of Richland.  The lawsuit, resulting from failed negotiations between the PUD and the City over the provision of utility service, alleged that the City was engaging in anti-competitive behavior by bundling power services with other water and sewer service and by requiring businesses and howeowners to obtain power from the City as a condition of annexation.   The judge ruled that these types of conditions were not anti-competitive as they were a reasonable foreseeable result of annexation.  For more details on the argument, follow this link to the Tri-City Herald site.