Today the 4th Circuit affirmed a lower court decision involving a claim by an ambulance company that the city violated anti-trust laws in denying it a permit to operate in the city. The VA sought to bid out ambulance services and the successful bidder was awarded a contract on the condition that it obtain a permit from the city. The city operated its ambulance service under a public utility model which meant that it needed to operate as the exclusive provider of services within the city. The Virginia Code authorized the city to grant permits for ambulance services and to operate the ambulance service. The Court concluded that the statute provided a sufficient basis of state authorization to immunize the city's actions from anti-trust law. The Court also concluded that by requiring the successful bidder to obtain the city permit, the federal agency made doing so an element of the contract and was not preempting the city's authority to require the successful bidder to comply with the state law and get a permit. https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/191977.P.pdf Western Star Hospital Authority vs. City of Richmond, VA Charles W. Thompson, Jr. General Counsel & Executive Director D: 202-742-1016 P: (202) 466-5424 x7110 M: (240)-876-6790 [facebook icon]<https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation/>[twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/imlalegal>[linkedin icon]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./> [logo]<https://imla.org/> 51 Monroe St. Suite 404 Rockville, MD, 20850 www.imla.org<http://www.imla.org/> Plan Ahead! IMLA's 2021 Mid-Year Seminar<https://imla.org/seminars/>, April 23-26, 2021 in Washington, DC! IMLA's 86th Annual Conference<https://imla.org/annual-conference/>, Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2021 in Minneapolis, MN!