# United States v. Alcoa (1945) **Decided:** March 12, 1945 · Second Circuit sitting as the court of last resort · Judge [[Learned Hand]] Filed by [[Thurman Arnold]]'s [[Antitrust Division]] in 1937. By the time it reached the Supreme Court, so many Justices had to recuse for prior government service that the Court could not muster a quorum of six — so Congress amended the statute to make the **Second Circuit** the final court for the case. Hand's opinion is the structural high-water mark of American antitrust. On market definition he offered the most-quoted line in monopolization law: ninety percent "is enough to constitute a monopoly; it is doubtful whether sixty or sixty-four percent would be enough; and certainly thirty-three per cent is not." On intent he allowed that monopoly may be "thrust upon" a firm — but found [[Alcoa]] had *maintained* its position by consistently anticipating demand and building capacity ahead of it. And on purpose he rejected the good-trust/bad-trust distinction outright: Congress "did not condone 'good trusts' and condemn 'bad' ones; it forbad all." The decision repudiated the unexerted-power rule of [[United States v. U.S. Steel]] (1920). Then the remedy phase (1950) ordered **no divestiture at all** — postwar entry by Reynolds and Kaiser, aided by government disposal of wartime plants, was held to have restored competition. The gap between a landmark holding and no structural relief is the recurring shape of American antitrust. > Stub — fill out. See [[US Antitrust and Monopoly Timeline]].