Major League Baseball Immune From Minor League Antitrust Suit

Three minor league teams won’t be able to bring an antitrust suit against Major League Baseball, the Second Circuit decided Tuesday, affirming the lower court’s decision that MLB is exempt from the Sherman Act.

The Staten Island Yankees, the Norwich Sea Unicorns and the Tri-City ValleyCats sued MLB in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York for eliminating its major league affiliations with the minor league teams. In doing so, the teams said MLB violated the Sherman Act.

The district court granted MLB’s motion to dismiss, finding that an antitrust exemption for MLB shields it from ...