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Hillside Dairy, Inc. v. Lyons and Ponderosa Diary v. Lyons April 22, 2003 (01-950) return to case listing Case Summary California regulates the dairy market in the form of pricing and pooling. In 1997, California amended these regulations in response to out-of-state dairy competition. The new regulations mandated that in-state processors contribute to a pooling system of revenues even when they bought out-of-state milk. As a result, out-of-state dairy farmers experienced decreased profits and did not receive any shared revenues from the pool. Petitioners filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the new dairy regulations. The court found that the regulations were immunized by the 1996 Farm Bill. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed and held that the 1996 Farm Bill provided an exception to the Commerce Clause that allowed California to modify its dairy regulations. The Court found that even if a cause of action could be made, Petitioners failed to show that the dairy regulations were arbitrary or unrelated to legitimate state interests. The opinion of the Ninth Circuit is found at 259 F.3d 1148. To see the opinion of the lower court, click here. PREDICTED OUTCOME ACTUAL OUTCOME Forecasting Model Expert One Expert Two Expert Three 5-4 to Reverse 9-0 to Reverse 9-0 to Affirm n/a 9-0 to Reverse VOTING TO REVERSE Stevens O'Connor Souter Ginsburg Breyer Rehnquist Stevens O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Souter Thomas Ginsburg Breyer Rehnquist Stevens O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Souter Thomas Ginsburg Breyer VOTING TO AFFIRM Rehnquist Scalia Kennedy Thomas Rehnquist Stevens O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Souter Thomas Ginsburg Breyer   return to case listing