The U.S. Supreme Court case Aspen Skiing Co. v. Aspen Highlands Skiing Corp., 1984, revolved around a dispute between two ski resort companies in Aspen, Colorado - the plaintiff being Aspen Highlands and the defendant being Aspen Skiing Company. The conflict arose when the latter refused to continue a joint marketing agreement that allowed skiers to purchase all-inclusive lift tickets valid at any of four mountains owned by both parties. Instead, it offered only its own three-mountain ticket forcing customers who wanted to ski on all four mountains to pay an additional fee for access to Highland's mountain separately. Highlands claimed this was an attempt by Ski Co., which held monopoly power over skiing services in the area due to owning three out of four local resorts, to force them out of business through anti-competitive practices violating Section 2 of Sherman Antitrust Act. The court ruled in favor of Highlands stating that while monopolies are not illegal per se under US law; however, their behavior can be if they use their dominant position unfairly against competitors or consumers without legitimate business reasons.

The dissenting opinion in the Aspen Skiing Co. v. Aspen Highlands Skiing Corp case argued that the majority's decision to find Aspen Skiing Co. guilty of monopolistic practices was based on a misinterpretation of antitrust laws and precedent cases, which could have far-reaching implications for future business competition cases. The dissenters believed that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Aspen Skiing Co.'s refusal to continue offering a joint lift ticket with its competitor, Aspen Highlands, had actually harmed competition or consumer welfare overall - two key elements required for an antitrust violation under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. They also disagreed with the majority's view that this behavior constituted predatory conduct aimed at driving out competitors from the market; instead they saw it as a legitimate competitive strategy within their rights as businesses operating in a free-market economy.