Deer Valley did not violate antitrust laws in telling Christy Sports that, after 15 years of operation, it could no longer rent skis from a store in the resort's mid-mountain village, a federal appeals court said Wednesday.
A three-judge tribunal in the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2007 district court ruling rejecting Christy Sports' contention that Deer Valley's actions hurt consumers in violation of antitrust laws.
"Having created a resort destination, antitrust [rules] will not force a resort developer to share its internal profit-making opportunities with competitors," the judges wrote. "It is not anticompetitive to refuse to grant access to competitors."
The ruling, said Deer Valley President Bob Wheaton, "reaffirms decisions made a while ago. It's nice to have confirmation but, quite honestly, it's what we hoped for and expected."
Tom McMahon, attorney for Christy Sports, said the company may appeal the decision to the full 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
He contended the ruling "ignores the impact on consumers in favor of focusing on what Deer Valley ought, or ought not, to be able to do as a landowner. But U.S. Supreme Court rulings are legion in saying the entire focus of antitrust law is on consumer welfare."
In its original complaint, Christy Sports maintained Deer Valley had allowed an independent rental shop to operate in a mid-mountain building built by a couple on land they bought from the resort.
While the purchase agreement contained a restrictive covenant prohibiting a ski-rental business from operating there without authorization, Deer Valley allowed Christy Stores and a predecessor to do so, for a 15 percent royalty, from 1990 to 2005.
But then Deer Valley opened its own rental store in the mid-mountain area and told Christy Sports the 2005-06 season would be its last within the resort.
The store has continued to operate while the courts have addressed Christy Sports' subsequent lawsuit. It alleged Deer Valley was trying to monopolize the mid-mountain rental options of destination skiers, resulting in higher prices and fewer choices in the brands available.
Deer Valley Resort
Founded in 1981 by the late Edgar Stern, the Park City-area resort encompasses more than 1,800 acres and has been deemed North America's No. 1 resort by Ski magazine for the past two years. It was an Olympic venue in 2002.
Christy Sports
Celebrating its 50th anniversary this winter, Christy Sports is based in the Denver suburb of Lakewood. Along with nearly 40 stores in Colorado, it has three in Utah -- at Deer Valley, Snowbird and 3955 S. Wasatch Blvd. in Salt Lake County.
