Labor agreements are statutorily exempt from the antitrust laws, but are investment banks and institutional investors during initial public offerings? In this case, investors sued 16 investment banks and institutional investors claiming that they conspired to require investors to pay certain "anticompetitive charges". The challenged practices include claims that underwriters and institutional investors were bribed, that purchasers had to buy unrelated securities, and others. The district court dismissed the complaint, finding that the securities laws permit much of the challenged conduct, and that the defendants have implied immunity. The SEC and Solicitor General agreed, but the Second Circuit did not. The Supreme Court ruled 6/18/07 that the securities laws implicitly preclude the use of the antitrust laws for such conduct. The SEC already regulates the conduct at issue, and private parties can bring suit under the securities laws. Applying antitrust laws to this conduct is simply incompatible with the regulation of securities by the SEC. Any other ruling would interfere with the process of capital formation.