American Agricultural Movements, Inc. v. Board of Trade of City of Chicago

977 F.2d 1147 (1992)

From our private database of 46,200+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

American Agricultural Movements, Inc. v. Board of Trade of City of Chicago

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
977 F.2d 1147 (1992)

  • Written by Brett Stavin, JD

Facts

Ferruzzi Finanziaria S.p.A. and certain others (collectively, Ferruzzi) traded futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) (defendant). In the summer of 1989, Ferruzzi held large positions in the soybean futures market. CBOT became concerned that Ferruzzi was attempting to squeeze the market. In late June and early July, CBOT attempted to have Ferruzzi liquidate its position so as to avoid instability in the soybean futures and cash markets. Ferruzzi resisted, informing CBOT that they intended to maintain their position. In response, on July 10, CBOT’s Business Conduct Committee recommended that CBOT’s governing board take emergency action. The next day, the governing board voted to enact an emergency resolution (the resolution) declaring a market emergency. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was made aware of the resolution but took no action in response. The resolution ordered any persons or groups holding positions in excess of three million bushels to liquidate their positions by 20 percent daily. No person or group would be permitted to hold positions in excess of three million bushels by July 18. By July 20, the last trading day for the July 1989 futures, no persons or groups would be allowed to hold positions in excess of one million bushels. Publication of the resolution caused a price decline in the July 1989 soybean futures market. The American Agriculture Movement (AAM) (plaintiff), a trade organization representing farmers, filed a lawsuit in federal district court against CBOT under the Commodity Exchange Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and state common law. [Ed’s note: The full name of AAM is given incorrectly in the casebook excerpt.] The district court granted CBOT’s motion for summary judgment on the antitrust count, holding that the Commodity Exchange Act granted CBOT implied antitrust immunity. AAM appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Flaum, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 797,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials
  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 797,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 797,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,200 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership