Hart v. B. F. Keith Vaudeville Exchange

Background

A booking agent and manager for vaudeville performers sued a combination of theatre owners and circuits (called the Keith Circuit and Orpheum Circuit) and related companies. He says they conspired to shut him and other managers out of the market by excluding performers and their representatives from a New York booking exchange and from many theatres unless they paid fees. The bill alleges many contracts required performers, scenery, costumes, and animals to travel from state to state and from abroad. He sought an injunction and large damages, but the District Court dismissed the case for lack of a federal cause of action.

Reasoning

The main question was whether the complaint’s allegations about interstate travel and exclusion fall under the national antitrust law so a federal court can hear the case. Justice Holmes explained that if a suit raises a federal matter it cannot be dismissed for lack of federal power simply because it seems weak. He acknowledged a prior case saying personal performances are often dominant, but held that transportation that is significant might independently bring the case under the law. The Court concluded the bill was not wholly frivolous and reversed the dismissal so the dispute can be decided on the merits.

Real world impact

This ruling lets the booking agent’s antitrust claim move forward in federal court rather than be blocked early. It affects traveling performers, their managers, and theatre owners by preserving the chance to prove interstate commerce and exclusion. The decision addresses only jurisdiction; it does not decide whether the defendants actually violated antitrust law.