NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James won her case against Intermountain Management (Intermountain) when a judge ruled the ski resort owner illegally stifled competition after it purchased and shut down Toggenburg Mountain, its main competitor. In October 2022, Attorney General James sued Intermountain, alleging it illegally created a monopoly in the Syracuse market, causing skiers to suffer higher prices and more crowded mountains and facilities due to the lack of competition. In addition, Attorney General James alleged that Intermountain’s “no-poach” provision, which prevented Toggenburg’s owners from hiring Intermountain employees, was anticompetitive and illegal. In a ruling granting the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) motion for summary judgment, the court found both of Intermountain’s anticompetitive tactics violated New York’s antitrust law.
“Syracuse skiing families and workers long benefited from fierce competition among their local ski mountains, but this experience went downhill fast after Intermountain bought Toggenburg,” said Attorney General James. “Intermountain paid a premium price to destroy competition because its owners knew they could raise prices and profit more with a monopoly. Now Intermountain’s anticompetitive scheme is put on ice. I will always take action to protect consumers and workers from corporate monopolies who try to profit by shutting down the competition.”
In 2021, Intermountain, which owns and operates two ski resorts in the Syracuse area, Labrador and Song Mountains, purchased and immediately shut down its only competitor, Toggenburg Mountain. Intermountain then publicly announced that it would insert a deed restriction barring future buyers from using Toggenburg as a ski resort ever again, ensuring it would be the only ski operator in the Syracuse area. At the same time, Intermountain paid the sellers of Toggenburg to sign a non-competition agreement, prohibiting them from competing within a 30-mile radius for five years. The agreement even prevented the sellers from attempting to hire Intermountain employees…