In the case of Beasley et al. v. Food Fair of North Carolina, Inc., et al., 1973, the plaintiffs were African-American customers who alleged racial discrimination by a supermarket chain in violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The defendant was accused to have denied them full and equal enjoyment services due to their race by maintaining segregated checkout lines at its stores in Greensboro, North Carolina. However, it was found that there was no policy or practice on part of Food Fair which mandated segregation; rather it resulted from individual actions taken by store employees without any directive from management. Therefore, while acknowledging that such incidents had occurred and were wrong under federal law prohibiting racial discrimination in public accommodations (Title II), the court ruled against imposing liability on Food Fair for these isolated instances as they did not constitute a pattern or practice endorsed by company policies.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Beasley et al. v. Food Fair of North Carolina, Inc., et al., argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling dismissing a complaint against Food Fair was incorrect. The dissent believed that there were sufficient allegations made by Beasley and others to warrant further investigation into whether or not Food Fair had violated antitrust laws through its pricing practices. They contended that the plaintiffs should have been given an opportunity to prove their claims in court rather than having them dismissed outright based on what they saw as an overly narrow interpretation of those laws by both the district and appellate courts.