West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy (1993)
- Docket
- 93-141
- Decided
- 1993-01-01
Summary
Question: Is the Massachusetts pricing order a breach of the Commerce Clause? Conclusion: Yes. In a majority decision authored by Justice John Paul Stevens, the Court determined that the pricing order violated the Commerce Clause because it discriminated against interstate commerce. The majority found that while the pricing order taxed all dealers, the benefit of the tax was reserved exclusively for in-state dairy farmers and outweighed the tax they were required to pay. Thus, the Court concluded that, in effect, the pricing order functioned like a tariff, and was clearly unconstitutional. The decision of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts was reversed.