Nev. Recycling & Salvage, Ltd. v. Reno Disposal Co.

423 P.3d 605
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 2, 2018
DocketNo. 71467
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 423 P.3d 605 (Nev. Recycling & Salvage, Ltd. v. Reno Disposal Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nev. Recycling & Salvage, Ltd. v. Reno Disposal Co., 423 P.3d 605 (Neb. 2018).

Opinion

By the Court, DOUGLAS, C.J.:

*606This case arises out of an alleged violation of the Nevada Unfair Trade Practice Act (UTPA). Appellants claim that respondents conspired with a third party to obtain exclusive franchise agreements with the City of Reno for the collection of waste and recyclable materials. According to appellants, this conspiracy precluded them from receiving a franchise agreement with the City of Reno. The question presented in this appeal is whether appellants have been injured in their business and therefore have standing to assert their claim under the UTPA.

We conclude that appellants lack standing to bring an antitrust claim because they were unable to show that they suffered any injuries (i.e., damages).1 Accordingly, we affirm the district court's order granting summary judgment in favor of respondents.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Appellants Nevada Recycling and Salvage, Ltd. (Nevada Recycling) and AMCB, LLC, d/b/a Rubbish Runners (Rubbish Runners), brought this suit in district court under the Nevada Unfair Trade Practice Act for injunctive relief and treble damages. Nevada Recycling operates a facility that accepts, processes, recycles, and disposes of waste and recyclable materials. Rubbish Runners collects, hauls, and disposes of waste and recyclables for commercial accounts within the City of Reno. The gist of the complaint is that respondents Reno Disposal Company, Inc. (Reno Disposal), Refuse, Inc. (Refuse), and Waste Management of Nevada, Inc. (Waste Management), who are also collectors, haulers, and disposers of waste and recyclables for commercial accounts within the City of Reno, entered into a conspiracy with nonparty Castaway Trash Hauling (Castaway) for the explicit purpose of monopolizing the waste and recyclables market in the City of Reno.

The City of Reno was looking to implement a single-stream recycling service. Reno Disposal proposed that the City of Reno create exclusive service areas whereby waste haulers would have an exclusive privilege to collect and dispose of waste and recyclable materials within their assigned area. The City of Reno agreed, and it was determined that Reno Disposal and Castaway would each receive exclusive commercial franchise agreements, servicing all of Reno.

Proposed ordinances representing the franchise agreements were drafted and the Reno City Council conducted three public hearings in which the terms and conditions of the ordinances were discussed. At the first reading of the ordinances, Rubbish Runners spoke in opposition to the proposed ordinance, concerned that the ordinances would put it out of business. In addressing Rubbish Runners' concerns, carve-outs and exemptions were included in the ordinances that allowed Rubbish Runners to keep its existing customers upon verification of its customers' contracts. Under the proposed ordinances, Rubbish Runners would not be allowed to expand to new customers and it was not allowed to haul certain types of materials. The ordinances were subsequently approved.

Thereafter, Waste Management purchased Castaway and acquired all of Castaway's rights and duties held under the ordinance. Pursuant to authority granted under the ordinance, Waste Management then assigned its rights and duties held under the ordinance to Reno Disposal. As a result, Reno Disposal had exclusive rights to collect waste and recyclables in the City of Reno subject to the exemptions made for Rubbish Runners under the ordinance.

Before the district court, appellants argued that respondents conspired with Castaway to create an illegal monopoly for Reno Disposal. Reno Disposal and Refuse moved for summary judgment, and Waste Management filed a joinder to the motions for summary judgment. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of respondents, concluding that the Noerr - Pennington doctrine applied because respondents' conduct involved political and not business conduct. See Eastern R.R. Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc. , 365 U.S. 127, 81 S.Ct. 523, 5 L.Ed.2d 464 (1961) ;

*607United Mine Workers of Am. v. Pennington, 381 U.S. 657, 85 S.Ct. 1585, 14 L.Ed.2d 626 (1965). In addition, the district court concluded that, in terms of damages, appellants lacked standing to assert an UTPA claim because they were not qualified to service a franchise zone, they never sought to be considered for a franchise zone, and the City of Reno determined that they were not qualified waste haulers. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

"Antitrust standing is a question of law reviewed de novo." Am. Ad Mgmt., Inc. v. Gen . Tel. Co. Cal., 190 F.3d 1051, 1054 (9th Cir. 1999). Likewise, a district court's order granting summary judgment is reviewed de novo. Wood v. Safeway, Inc., 121 Nev. 724, 729, 121 P.3d 1026, 1029 (2005). Summary judgment is proper if the pleadings and all other evidence on file demonstrate that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. When deciding a summary judgment motion, all evidence must be viewed in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. General allegations and conclusory statements do not create genuine issues of fact. Id . at 731, 121 P.3d at 1030-31.

Appellants argue that the district court erred in concluding that they lack antitrust standing. We disagree.

The UTPA, codified in NRS Chapter 598A, provides, in relevant part:

Any person injured or damaged directly or indirectly in his or her business or property by reason of a violation of the provision of this chapter may institute a civil action and shall recover treble damages....

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Bluebook (online)
423 P.3d 605, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nev-recycling-salvage-ltd-v-reno-disposal-co-nev-2018.