Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM ORDER BUA, District Judge. Before the Court is the defendants’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. For the reasons stated herein, the motion for a judgment n.o.v. is granted, and the motion for a new trial is denied. I. INTRODUCTION Unity Ventures, LaSalle National Bank, and William Alter brought this suit for damages and injunctive relief against Lake County, Illinois, The Village of Grayslake, Illinois, the members of the Lake County Board, individually and as board members, Edwin M. Schroeder, as mayor of Grays-lake, and the trustees of the Village of Grayslake. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants conspired to prevent the development of Alter’s land by a series of wrongful acts, including denying access to sanitary sewer service, in violation of plaintiffs’ rights under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. § 1983. All claims, except for those based on procedural due process, were tried to a jury. On January 12, 1984, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs and against the defendants for $9,500,000 on the antitrust claim and on the civil rights claim. The verdict on the antitrust claim was trebled and the Court entered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $28,500,000. Thereafter, the defendants filed a timely motion for j.n.o.v. or, in the alternative, for a new trial. II. FACTS In 1972, plaintiffs obtained an option to purchase approximately 585 acres of farmland (“the Unity property”) in a then unincorporated portion of Lake County. The Unity property is located directly south of Grayslake and southeast of the then existing boundaries of Round Lake Park. On August 15, 1976, Alter entered into an annexation agreement with Round Lake Park providing for the development of Unity. By the terms of the agreement, Round Lake Park adopted an ordinance annexing the Unity property and in return received contributions of land and money for municipal facilities. On October 21, 1976, Alter exercised his option to purchase and acquired title to the property. At the time that Alter and Round Lake Park were engaged in plans for annexation and development of Unity, Lake County was preparing to replace the existing sewage systems by constructing a cóuntywide sanitary sewer system with a network of “interceptors” (large trunk or main sewer lines). Central Lake County was to be served by two principal interceptors. One, known as the Northeast Central Interceptor, was to provide service from Grayslake and communities along its path to a new treatment plant in Gurnee, Illinois. The other, known as the Northwest Central Interceptor, was to provide trunk service to Round Lake Park and communities along its path to a new treatment plant in Fox Lake, Illinois. Under grants approved by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), and by the terms of the revenue bond issue and regional plans for the construction of the Interceptor, Unity was in an area designated to be served by the Northeast Interceptor. On April 20,1976, Grayslake entered into an agreement with Lake County for sewage disposal whereby the County was to provide service to Grayslake through the Northeast Interceptor. Pursuant to this agreement, Grayslake was granted a “sphere of influence” that included areas of Lake County outside the boundaries of Grayslake, over which Grayslake had the right to approve all connections to Lake County’s Northeast Interceptor. The pertinent part of the agreement provided: The County shall preserve the function of County interceptors located within the sphere of influence of the Village (as delineated in Exhibit “A” attached hereto and made a part hereof) by not permitting any direct connection hereto by any person, firm, corporation or municipality unless the Village consents in writing to such direct connection. (Pl.Ex. 30, p. 8.) The 1976 agreement contained two changes over the previous sewage disposal agreement executed in 1973 between Grayslake and the County: the addition of the Unity property and Heartland property to Grayslake’s sphere of influence and the addition of the word “municipality” in the paragraph cited above. These changes brought the Unity property and development within Grayslake’s sphere of influence and, thus, Grayslake had control over any connection of sanitary sewer service from Unity to the Northeast Interceptor. Neither plaintiffs nor the officials of Round Lake Park knew of the sphere of influence agreement between Grayslake and Lake County until October 1978. In August 1978, Alter prepared and submitted to the Lake County Public Works Department two plans for the proposed construction of a connection between Unity and the Northeast Interceptor. The first plan provided for the construction of a connection which would serve only Unity, the cost of which would be borne by Alter. The second plan provided for the construction of a connection which would serve not only Unity but also an area lying between Unity and Grayslake, known as the Heartland development, which Grayslake was contemplating annexing. On August 23, 1978, these plans were submitted to Martin Galantha, Director of the Lake County Public Works Department. In a letter dated September 25,1978 to Mayor Schroeder, Galantha described the plans: [Although most of Round Lake Park is to be provided sewer service as part of the Northwest regional system, the Unity Venture development lies within the Des Plaines River basin and therefore, should be tributory to the County’s Northeast Central interceptor system. (Pl.Ex. 50, p. 1.) Galantha approved of the plans and sent them to Mayor Schroeder for Grayslake’s approval pursuant to the sphere of influence agreement. On October 31, 1978, plaintiffs met with Mayor Schroeder, Galantha, Walter Bengson, Mayor of Round Lake Park, and others to discuss the proposed sewer connection to the Northeast Interceptor. At this meeting, Alter learned of the sphere of influence agreement. Mayor Schroeder told Alter that Grayslake would not consent to Unity connecting to the Northeast Interceptor at that time. On March 16, 1979, the Public Service Committee of the Lake County Board obtained a legal opinion from the law firm of Chapman & Cutler about the propriety of Grayslake’s veto power under the sphere of influence agreement. (Pl.Exs. 147 and 148). In particular, Chapman & Cutler advised the Board: Due process of law requires that intelligible standards be provided to guide the recipient of a delegation of power____ However, the Agreement vests the Village with entirely arbitrary authority and therefore, could be held void in whole or in part____ (PLEx. 113, p. 2). Chapman & Cutler also suggested that Grayslake’s veto might violate the antitrust laws insofar as the veto power was not per se immune under the state action doctrine as applied to the antitrust laws. Defendants Geary, Schroeder and Bell objected to the Public Service Committee after it asked the State’s Attorney what it should do about the veto and the sphere of influence agreement. (Pl.Exs. 112, 111 and 149, respectively.) Finally, the Public Service Committee agreed to drop any further inquiry into the legality of Grayslake’s veto and directed that “the County should take whatever action may be required to support the validity of this contract.” (Pl.Ex. 130.) Since it appeared that the County would not provide sewer service to the Unity property via the Northeast Central Interceptor, plaintiffs and Round Lake Park prepared plans for construction of a sewage treatment plant for Unity. In November 1979, they obtained a needed variance from the Illinois Pollution Control Board without objection after a recommendation from the IEPA. This order was not appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court. In December 1979, Round Lake Park and a sewer company created for this purpose executed an agreement for construction of the facility. Meanwhile, the Heartland property had been the subject of a proposed development and annexation by Grayslake for several years. In November 1980, because Grays-lake had not proceeded with the annexation, the developer of Heartland sought annexation by Round Lake Park. On December 22, 1980, the Grayslake Board of Trustees passed and tendered to Round Lake Park a resolution providing that Grayslake would agree to the sewer connection of Unity to the Northeast Interceptor if Round Lake Park would agree to engage in the mutual planning of Heartland and to refrain from annexing Heartland without the approval of Grayslake. On January 3, 1981, Round Lake Park rejected the Grayslake resolution and on January 14, it passed a resolution authorizing the annexation of Heartland. Thereupon, the trustees of Grayslake unanimously rescinded their resolution which provided for the conditional connection of Unity with the Northeast Interceptor. After Heartland requested annexation to Round Lake Park, Lake County and Grays-lake filed with the IEPA objections to the construction of the sewage treatment plant for Unity. On June 3,1981, the defendants filed an action in the Circuit Court of Lake County challenging the validity of Heartland’s zoning and annexation by Round Lake Park. On May 15, 1981, this action was filed. On January 22, 1982, this Court denied defendants’ motion to have it abstain from ruling in this action. On March 22, 1982, defendants amended their action in the Circuit Court of Lake County to add allegations that Round Lake Park’s zoning of plaintiffs’ property was invalid. III. DISCUSSION The defendants in this case are requesting this Court to grant their motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict based on their allegation that the jury’s verdict was not supported by substantial evidence. The Seventh Circuit recently articulated the standard for determining whether a judgment n.o.v. should be granted: “whether the evidence presented, combined with all reasonable inferences permissibly drawn therefrom, is sufficient to support the verdict when viewed in a light most favorable to the party against whom the motion is directed.” Tice v. Lampert Yards, Inc., 761 F.2d 1210, 1213 (7th Cir.1985). In reviewing the record, this Court must resolve all conflicts in the evidence in favor of the plaintiff, and may not judge the credibility of the witnesses. LaMontagne v. American Convenience Products, Inc., 750 F.2d 1405, 1410 (7th Cir.1984). A. ANTITRUST IMMUNITY 1. The Local Government Antitrust Act of 1984 The Local Government Antitrust Act of 1984, P.L. No. 98-544, 130 Cong. Rec. H11850-51 (daily ed. Oct. 10, 1984) (“the Act”) prohibits damages from being entered against local governments for violations of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 15, 15a or 15c). The Act, which became effective September 10, 1984, is not retroactive unless specific conditions are met. Defendants claim that this case meets the conditions necessary to trigger retroactive application of the Act, even though a jury verdict had been rendered prior to the passage of the Act. The plaintiffs contend that the Act does not apply retroactively to this case; an argument which, if successful, might enable the $28.5 million verdict to stand. (a) Language of the Act The language of the Act and the Conference Report is plain. Section 3(a) of the Act creates an immunity from damages: No damages, interest on damages, costs, or attorneys’ fees may be recovered under Section 4, 4A, or 4C of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 15, 15a, or 15c) from any local government, or official or employee thereof acting in an official capacity. But under Section 3(b), this immunity is not retroactive: “Subsection (a) shall not apply to cases commenced before the effective date of this Act” — unless stringent conditions are met: [Ujnless the defendant establishes and the court determines, in light of all the circumstances, including the stage of litigation and the availability of alternative relief under the Clayton Act, that it would be inequitable not to apply this subsection to a pending case. In consideration of this section, existence of a jury verdict, district court judgment, or any stage of litigation subsequent thereto, shall be deemed to be prima facie evidence that [the immunity] shall not apply- The October 10, 1984 Conference Report explains this language as follows: The application to pending cases of ... section 3 will be based upon a case-by-case determination by the district court. The local government has the burden of proof to establish to the court’s satisfaction that it would be inequitable not to apply [immunityl to the pending case. The court is to consider all relevant circumstances. The statute mentions two of the factors that the court should consider — stage of the litigation and the availability of alternative relief under the Clayton Act. Where a pending case is in an early stage of litigation and where injunctive relief can remedy the problem, the defendant local government may be able more easily to sustain its burden. Where a case is in more advanced stages of litigation or where injunctive relief is unavailable or incomplete, the burden would become more difficult. If a case has progressed to or beyond a jury verdict or district court judgment, a local government defendant would need compelling equities on its side to justify the application of [immunity] to the pending case. (Emphasis added). (b) Application of the Act In this case, which has progressed beyond a jury verdict, Congress has placed the burden of proof on the defendants to show “compelling equities.” The defendants must rebut the prima facie evidence that the Act shall not apply. They have failed to meet this burden. Defendants cite four cases which discuss the retroactive application of the Act. TCI Cablevision, Inc. v. Jefferson City, 604 F.Supp. 845 (W.D.Mo.1984); Jefferson Disposal Co. v. Parish of Jefferson, 603 F.Supp. 1125 (E.D.La.1985); Bates v. City of Kansas City, No. 83-1331-CV-W-3, slip op. (W.D.Mo., Feb. 7, 1985); Town of St. Cloud v. City of St. Cloud, No. 6-84-164, slip op. (D.Minn., Dec. 16, 1984). However, none of these cases considers the application of the Act to a case in which a jury verdict had already been rendered. The defendants, in fact, present no evidence to rebut the statutorily-created prima facie evidence of a jury verdict. They cite no persuasive authority on which this Court should deviate from a straight-forward interpretation of the language of the Act. Under that language, this case clearly does not necessitate the retroactive application of the Act. The jury verdict for this case was rendered in January 1984, long before this Act was passed. The verdict will stand because the defendants have failed to meet their burden of proving that compelling equities necessitate the retroactive application of the Act. Since the retroactive application of the Act is being decided on the basis of the stage of litigation, it is not necessary to consider whether or not alternative relief is available under the Clayton Act. 2. State Action Doctrine of Immunity Defendants allege that the plaintiffs have failed to state a claim on the ground that the defendants’ governmental activities were immune from antitrust challenge under the state action doctrine. Accordingly, defendants assert that they are entitled to judgment n.o.v. or, in the alternative, a new trial. Exemption for anticompetitive actions by state governments was established by the Supreme Court in Parker v. Brown, 317 U.S. 341, 63 S.Ct. 307, 87 L.Ed. 315 (1943). The Supreme Court in City of Lafayette v. Louisiana Power & Light Co., 435 U.S. 389, 413, 98 S.Ct. 1123, 1137, 55 L.Ed.2d 364 (1978) extended the Parker exemption to local government units acting “pursuant to state policy to displace competition with regulation or monopoly public service.” Before it will be exempt from antitrust challenge, the activity must be supported by state policy which is “clearly articulated and affirmatively expressed.” City of Lafayette, 435 U.S. at 410, 98 S.Ct. at 1135; Community Communications Company v. City of Boulder, 455 U.S. 40, 51, 102 S.Ct. 835, 840, 70 L.Ed.2d 810 (1982). Most recently, the Supreme Court has upheld the “clearly articulated state policy” test in Town of Hallie v. City of Eau Claire, — U.S. -, 105 S.Ct. 1713, 85 L.Ed.2d 24 (1985). This decision fully considers how clearly articulated a state policy must be in order for a municipality to establish that its anticompetitive conduct constitutes state action. Id. 105 S.Ct. at 1717. Furthermore, Town of Hallie provides this Court with a standard for analyzing the Illinois statutes at issue in the present case. In Town of Hallie, four towns surrounding the City of Eau Claire alleged that the City conditioned the provision of sewage treatment, over which it had a monopoly, upon a property owner’s agreement to annex his property to the City. The towns alleged that this condition constituted a tying arrangement in violation of the Sherman Act. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the towns’ claim, holding that the City of Eau Claire’s actions reflected a “clearly articulated and affirmatively expressed” state policy to permit municipalities to condition the provision of sewage treatment upon an agreement to annex. Town of Hallie established that, to pass the “clear articulation” test, a state statute must “clearly contemplate that a city may engage in anticompetitive conduct.” Id. at 1718. The legislature, however, need not expressly have stated in either a statute or its legislative history that it intended for the action to have anticompetitive effects. Id. at 1719. The Wisconsin statutes in Hallie provided that a city may: 1) define the area to be served by its sewer system [Wis.Stat. § 62.18(1)(1982) ]; 2) fix the limits of such service in unincorporated areas [Wis.Stat. Ann. § 66.069(2c)(Supp.l984); and 3) refuse to serve an area which refuses to annex to the city [Wis.Stat.Ann. § 144.-07(1m)(Supp.1984) ]. Thus, the Wisconsin statutes specifically authorized the City of Eau Claire to use its monopoly power over sewage treatment to force property owners to annex to the City as a condition of obtaining sewage service. Town of Hallie, 105 S.Ct. at 1718. In analyzing the plain meaning of the statutes, the Supreme Court held that “the statutes clearly contemplate that a city may engage in anticompetitive conduct. Such conduct is a foreseeable result of empowering the City to refuse to serve unannexed areas.” Id. Recently, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the issue of state action immunity in a case involving similar, if not identical, facts to the present case. LaSalle National Bank v. County of DuPage, 777 F.2d 377 (7th Cir.1985). In LaSalle National Bank, plaintiffs’ complaint alleged that the County and the Villages of Woodridge and Lisle violated antitrust laws by agreeing to a formula for allocating new sewage connections among themselves in response to IEPA (Illinois Environmental Protection Agency) charges that the consolidated County treatment plants were processing too much waste. The formula was apparently first contained in the two agreements which effected the consolidation of the ownership and management of all sewage treatment facilities in the County. As a part of the consideration for turning over ownership of their own treatment plants to the County, the Villages each reserved the right to a certain number of new connections in the event sewage treatment supply in the County became scarce. The Seventh Circuit also noted that “[ajmong the provisions in the sales agreements was one reserving for each Village the right to determine which users outside the Village would receive sewage treatment service from the sewage treatment plant the Village was selling to the County.” Id. at 379. The Seventh Circuit then discussed the applicable Illinois statutes to “first determine whether any state legislative act(s) authorizes the challenged conduct and then determine whether anticompetitive effects are a foreseeable result of the authorization.” Id. at 381. In light of the succinct analysis by the Seventh Circuit, this Court will excerpt the relevant portions thereof: The State of Illinois authorizes counties and municipalities to contract together and combine resources for the provision of sewage treatment. Ill.Ann.Stat. ch. 34, 113111 (Smith-Hurd 1985 pocket part) (counties “may furnish ... sewerage service ... to municipal corporations ... [and] may enter into and perform contracts ... with any municipality], ... for the furnishing ... of ... sewerage service”); Ill.Ann.Stat. ch. 24, 1111-147-4 (Smith-Hurd 1962) (“Any municipality lying wholly or partly within the boundaries of any county which accepts the provisions of ‘An Act in relation to water supply, drainage, sewage, pollution and flood control in certain counties,’ [111. Ann.Stat. ch. 34, ¶ 3101-3123] may contract with such county for water supply or sewerage service to or for the benefit of the inhabitants of the municipality”); Ill.Ann.Stat. ch. UFA, 111046(b) (SmithHurd 1977) (“in order to be eligible for federal grants for construction of sewage works pursuant to Section 201(g) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendment of 1972 (P.L. 92-500), any municipality, county, special district or other unit of local government ... that owns or operates sewage works may adopt ... ordinances or regulations to provide for systems of proportionate cost sharing for operation and maintenance by recipients of such unit’s waste treatment services.”).[ ] The legislature has also expressly authorized the IEPA “to engage in planning processes and activities and to develop plans in cooperation with units of local government ... in connection with the jurisdiction or duties of each such unit____” Ill.Ann.Stat. ch. UFA, H 1004(n) (Smith-Hurd 1977). Id. at 381-82. The defendants cite to this Court the exact same Illinois statutes and the Court can only conclude that they apply here, as in LaSalle National Bank, to authorize the type of agreement entered into between Lake County and the Village of Grayslake. As in LaSalle National Bank, the agreement here was entered into for the prupose of allocating sewage connections between individual municipalities in Lake County and the County itself. The municipalities stopped using their individual treatment plants and agreed to have all of their sewage treated by the County through a series of Interceptors to be built by the County. The goal of these agreements was to provide uniform sewage treatment for the entire County. In exchange, the municipalities received a right to determine which users outside of their boundaries would receive sewage treatment service under the new County-wide system. The Court concludes that, as in LaSalle National Bank, the relevant Illinois statutes authorize counties and municipalities to contract together and combine resources for the provision of sewage treatment. Id. at 381. The Court further concludes that the agreement between Lake County and Grayslake, including the “sphere of influence” provision for determining which users outside Grayslake’s boundaries would receive sewage treatment, fell within the authorized cooperation between municipalities and counties found in the Illinois statutes in LaSalle National Bank. Turning to the second part of the Seventh Circuit’s analysis, the Court again excerpts the relevant portions of LaSalle National Bank: We think it clear that the Illinois statutory scheme which encourages local units of government to cooperate among themselves and with the IEPA in the provision of sewage treatment evinces legislative appreciation of the tension between intergovernmental competition for economic development and pollution control goals, and implicitly sanctions reduced intergovernmental competition. In sum, free competition and competitive pricing are not the policies underlying the Illinois scheme for sewage treatment. Rather the scheme is one in which local governmental units are encouraged to cooperate in providing sewage service to residences within their boundaries for the common good of the communities they serve. These local and regional decisions regarding sewage treatment are guided by political forces, minimal judicial review, see Krol v. County of Will, 38 Ill.2d 587, 590 [233 N.E.2d 417] (1968), and state and national environmental protection laws. Under such a scheme anticompetitive effects are clearly foreseeable and contemplated. Id. at 382. Finally, in LaSalle National Bank, the Seventh Circuit concluded that “the defendants’ agreement allocating sewage treatment capacity was authorized and that the Illinois legislature intended that such cooperative agreements not be the subject of federal antitrust suits.” Id. In the present case, the Court finds the analysis and result in LaSalle National Bank controlling. As it noted above, the Court has already found that the agreement between Grayslake and Lake County was authorized by the same Illinois statutes present in LaSalle National Bank. Therefore, it follows that the Court reaches the same conclusion as the Seventh Circuit did in LaSalle National Bank: that the Illinois legislature intended that the cooperative agreement between Grayslake and Lake County not be the subject of federal antitrust suits since anticompetitive effects are clearly foreseeable under the legislative scheme for sewage treatment. Accordingly, the Court holds that the doctrine of state action immunity under the antitrust laws applies here to the local government’s alleged violative conduct. Since the state action doctrine under Parker v. Brown, 317 U.S. 341, 63 S.Ct. 307, 87 L.Ed. 315 (1943) applies, the jury’s verdict and award for the federal antitrust action must be vacated and the action dismissed. B. ANTITRUST LIABILITY Even if the state action doctrine does not apply in this case, the Court finds that the jury verdict and award was not supported by the evidence produced at trial. The plaintiff alleged and the jury found that defendants had violated § 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1, through their participation in a contractual agreement which restrained trade within a specific relevant market. Unity Ventures v. County of Lake, No. 81 C 2745 (N.D.Ill. January 12, 1984). The Court must now analyze the jury’s findings in light of the elements necessary to support the antitrust verdict. The Sherman Act was designed to protect competition within specific markets. See M.C. Mfg. Co., Inc. v. Texas Foundries, Inc., 517 F.2d 1059, 1064 (5th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 968, 96 S.Ct. 1466, 47 L.Ed.2d 736 (1976). Section 1 states: “Every contract, combination ... or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States ... is declared illegal____” 15 U.S.C. § 1. A violation of the Sherman Act is proven by a “showing that the agreement in question results in a substantial foreclosure of competition in ... a relevant market.” Dos Santos v. Columbus-Cuneo-Cabrini Medical Center, 684 F.2d 1346, 1350 (7th Cir.1982); U.S. Trotting Association v. Chicago Downs Association, Inc., 665 F.2d 781, 790 (7th Cir.1981) (en banc). Furthermore, the burden of proof for the elements of a violation is on the plaintiff. Dos Santos, 684 F.2d at 1350. 1. Contract, Combination or Conspiracy The plaintiff alleges that defendants participated in a contract, combination or conspiracy which resulted in anticompetitive effects. To prove this allegation, plaintiff entered into evidence a written contract executed by Grayslake and Lake County. (Pl.Ex. 30). The contract, which was reviewed by the jury, conferred upon Grays-lake the exclusive right to provide or withhold sewage disposal services within a specified geographic area. This area included the plaintiffs property. The existence of the contract establishes beyond dispute that defendants intended to, and in fact did, participate in a contractual agreement which gave Grays-lake the right to restrain plaintiffs access to sewage disposal services. The Sherman Act, however, does not in and of itself forbid or restrain the power of parties to enter into contracts. U.S. v. Reading Co., 226 U.S. 324, 33 S.Ct. 90, 57 L.Ed. 243 (1912). It is only when the contract results in injury to competition in a relevant market that a violation occurs. Tampa Electric Co. v. Nashville Coal Co., 365 U.S. 320, 81 S.Ct. 623, 5 L.Ed.2d 580 (1961); U.S. Trotting Association, 665 F.2d at 790. 2. Relevant Market The determination of a relevant market establishes the scope of competition within which the effect of an alleged restraint is to be evaluated. The importance of accurately establishing a relevant market is important because any violation of the federal antitrust laws must be appraised in light of a relevant market. U.S. v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 353 U.S. 586, 593, 77 S.Ct. 872, 877, 1 L.Ed.2d 1057 (1957); Gough v. Rossmoor Corp., 585 F.2d 381, 385 (9th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 936, 99 S.Ct. 1280, 59 L.Ed.2d 494 (1979). A relevant market consists of both a product market and a geographic market. Brown Shoe Co. v. U.S., 370 U.S. 294, 324, 82 S.Ct. 1502, 1523, 8 L.Ed.2d 510 (1962); U.S. v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 351 U.S. 377, 395, 76 S.Ct. 994, 1007, 100 L.Ed. 1264 (1956). A relevant product market includes products which are interchangeable, as determined by whether or not the products can be functionally substituted and by how small a price increase would cause a consumer to switch to a substitute product, du Pont, 351 U.S. at 404, 76 S.Ct. at 1012. A relevant geographic market consists of the area in which the parties compete for the sale of the products that form the relevant product market. Heatransfer Corp. v. Volkswagenwerk, A.G., 553 F.2d 964, (5th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1087, 98 S.Ct. 1282, 55 L.Ed.2d 792 (1978). Thus, a plaintiff must present evidence of the substitutability of products and the area of competition in order to prove relevant product and geographic markets. In the instant case, plaintiff attempted to establish two relevant markets: one involving competition among developers for the sale or lease of residential, light industrial and commercial properties in Western Lake County; and one involving competition among municipalities for the annexation of developable land in Central Lake County. Each will be analyzed to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding that a relevant market existed. (a) Residential, Light Industrial and Commercial Property The plaintiff alleged that the relevant product markets are 1) residential properties and 2) light industrial and commercial properties. Specifically, the plaintiff testified that he intended to build detached single-family homes, attached manor homes and townhouses, and multiple unit apartment buildings. (Tr. 739-44, 996). The homes, manor homes and townhouses would range in price from $40,000 to $60,-000 each. The plaintiff also intended to sell residential lots for between $9,000 and $10,500 apiece. (Tr. 745-46, 997, 1121). Evidence was also heard that the plaintiff expected to compete with sellers of new as well as used homes. (Tr. 1130). To establish the existence of a relevant market for these products, the plaintiff would have to present sufficient evidence for the jury to be able to determine the scope of competition within the market as well as the functional substitutability of the products, du Pont, 351 U.S. at 395, 76 S.Ct. at 1007. The plaintiff has failed in this duty. The plaintiff did not offer sufficient evidence on the volume of new or used home sales in the applicable price range and time frame in Western Lake County. There was evidence on the volume of used home sales, for example, but the data didn’t cover Western Lake County, as defined by plaintiff. There was testimony on the number of residential building permits granted, but no indication of how many of these permits resulted in a new home actually being built, or of what type of residential building was being built. Nor did plaintiff offer sufficient evidence on apartment leases in the relevant area. Thus, the jury would not have been able to determine which residential properties could have been functional substitutes for the plaintiff’s planned properties. Similarly, plaintiff did not present sufficient evidence regarding the scope of the light industrial or commercial properties market in Western Lake County. The plaintiff’s booklet of data on industrial developments in Lake County as a whole (Pl.Ex. 120-B) did not address itself to which developments were located in Western Lake County, or which developments would have competed with the plaintiff’s proposed developments, with regard to either use or price. There was also no evidence on the number of already existing light industrial buildings which would compete with plaintiff's proposed buildings. Therefore, the booklet did not prove the scope of the light industrial properties market, and it supplied no evidence whatever about the relevant commercial properties market. Plaintiff has also failed to establish Western Lake County as the relevant geographic market for residential, light industrial and commercial property. The boundaries of a relevant geographic market must be drawn to include the area to which potential buyers could turn to obtain the product, which in this case is residential, light industrial and commercial property. Tampa Electric, 365 U.S. at 327, 81 S.Ct. at 628. In determining the appropriate geographic market, plaintiff should employ “a pragmatic, factual approach ... and not a formal, legalistic one.” Brown Shoe, 370 U.S. at 337, 82 S.Ct. at 1530. Therefore, the criteria to be used in defining the relevant geographic market are “essentially similar to those used to determine the relevant product market.” Id. As we have discussed above, plaintiff has produced insufficient evidence of the volume of new and used homes sold in Western Lake County in any price range during any time period. Moreover, there is no evidence that Western Lake County, defined by plaintiff as the portion of Lake County which lies west of the Tollway, is the area in which potential home buyers would shop for homes. Trial testimony indicated that plaintiff expected potential home buyers to be drawn from throughout Lake County, Northern and Northwestern Cook County and perhaps DuPage County, as well as from other states. (Tr. 772, 1138). Surely, many of these potential customers would be looking for competing homes in areas other than Western Lake County. It is also unreasonable to assume that corporations seeking light industrial or commercial property would limit their search to Western Lake County. There is no evidence that Western Lake County is a separate market. In fact, trial testimony indicated that plaintiff’s proposed light industrial development would directly compete with similar space on the east side of the Tollway. The Court concludes that Western Lake County as an area does not conform to the commercial realities of shopping for residential, light industrial and commercial property. As such, it is an economically insignificant geographic area and is, therefore, inaccurately defined. (b) Annexation of Developable Land Plaintiff also alleged that a relevant market existed among municipalities for annex-able, developable land in Central Lake County. Plaintiff’s argument is that the annexation of developable land is a market transaction whereby both parties benefit. Through annexation, a municipality gains the exclusive right to provide certain services to a development’s residents in exchange for a right to levy fees and taxes. In return, a developer receives favorable zoning and an assurance that essential services will be provided by the municipality. While the annexation of developable land is perhaps not typical, similar markets for services have been recognized by the courts as product markets. In City of Lafayette v. Louisiana Power & Light Co., for example, a municipality was charged with improperly attempting to tie the sale of water to the sale of electricity. 435 U.S. 389, 98 S.Ct. 1123, 55 L.Ed.2d 364 (1978). The relevant product market in the case was the provision of municipal services. Similarly, in U.S. v. Philadelphia National Bank, the Court determined that the relevant product market within which to review allegedly anticompetitive bank mergers was the provision of commercial banking services. 374 U.S. 321, 356, 83 S.Ct. 1715, 1737, 10 L.Ed.2d 915 (1963). The Court agrees with plaintiff’s contention that annexable, developable land could constitute a relevant product market. In asserting that annexable, developable land is the relevant product market in this case, however, plaintiff must still produce evidence regarding the functional interchangeability of developable land, du Pont, 351 U.S. at 395, 76 S.Ct. at 1007. In other words, plaintiff must prove that a market exists whereby municipalities compete to annex reasonably interchangeable parcels of developable land. The Court finds that the plaintiff has failed in this proof. The record contains no substantial evidence or thorough analysis of factors essential to establishing a relevant market such as the number of municipalities competing within the alleged market, total volume of the product in the market area (i.e. how many other parcels were available at that time and were these parcels “reasonably interchangeable”), or the portion of the market that was affected by the defendants’ agreement. Without evidence on these factors, the jury could not have reasonably determined the existence of a relevant market under the du Pont test of “commodities reasonably interchangeable by consumers.” 351 U.S. at 395, 76 S.Ct. at 1007. Plaintiff has also failed to establish a relevant geographic market to which municipalities could reasonably turn to annex developable land. A relevant geographic market should conform to the areas of effective competition and to the realities of competitive practice. F.T.C. v. Rhinechem Corp., 459 F.Supp. 785, 788 (N.D.Ill.1978). In this case, the realities of competitive practice would dictate that the municipality be very near, if not contiguous with, the annexable property so that it could conveniently and effectively render municipal services. The plaintiff’s assertion of Central Lake County as the relevant geographic market could be hypothetically accurate, but, once again, there was insufficient evidence for the jury to have reached such a conclusion. Plaintiff failed to identify even approximate geographic boundaries of Central Lake County. The jury, therefore, did not know which municipalities are located within it, its size, the amount of annexable, developable property it contains or how much, if any, of the land was allegedly foreclosed from competition by the defendants’ contractural agreement. In short, there was insufficient evidence to establish a relevant market for either residential, light industrial or commercial property in Western Lake County or annexable, developable land in Central Lake County. 3. Injury to Competition The antitrust laws were enacted for the protection of competition, not for the protection of individual competitors. Brunswick Corp. v. Pueblo Bowl-O-Mat, Inc., 429 U.S. 477, 488, 97 S.Ct. 690, 697, 50 L.Ed.2d 701 (1977). Therefore, plaintiff must demonstrate that the alleged conduct of defendants had some market impact, and not just an adverse effect on his business. Sutliff Inc. v. Donovan Cos., Inc., 727 F.2d 648, 655 (7th Cir.1984); Havoco of America, Ltd. v. Shell Oil Co., 626 F.2d 549, 558-59 (7th Cir.1980); DeVoto v. Pa cific Fidelity Life Insurance Co., 618 F.2d 1340, 1344 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 869, 101 S.Ct. 206, 66 L.Ed.2d 89 (1980). Even if a reasonable inference could be made that there is a relevant market for residential, light industrial and commercial property in Western Lake County, there is no evidence that competition within that market has been injured by defendants’ conduct. Plaintiff claims that he made such a showing, arguing that defendants’ conduct affected not only the plaintiff’s proposed developments but also the proposed Heartland development. Plaintiff, however, presented no evidence that defendants’ conduct prevented the owners of Heartland from developing their property. Nor did he offer proof that the owners of Heartland ever requested sewer service, that any of the defendants ever denied the Heartland developers sewer service, or that the defendants’ conduct caused any injury to the Heartland developers. Moreover, plaintiff did not show whether the Heartland owners intended to build the same type of residential, light industrial and commercial properties included in the plaintiff’s alleged relevant product market, or how many of what type of properties the Heartland owners proposed to build. Without this information, the jury could not measure what portion of the relevant market proposed Heartland properties constituted. Further, the jury could not judge whether that portion, when added to the plaintiff’s undefined portion, was a significant and substantial percentage of the alleged relevant market. DeVoto, 618 F.2d at 1345. The jury could not reasonably have found that defendants’ conduct injured competition without knowing that percentage of the relevant market defendants’ conduct affected. Id. Even when the evidence is viewed in a light most favorable to plaintiff, the most plaintiff is able to show is that he has been injured. This is very different from a showing that competition within a relevant market has been injured. Plaintiff has, therefore, failed to meet the market impact standard set forth by the Seventh and Ninth Circuits. Sutliff 727 F.2d at 655; Havoco, 626 F.2d at 558-59; DeVoto, 618 F.2d at 1344. Similarly, even if a reasonable inference could be made that there is a relevant market for annexable, developable land in Central Lake County, there is no evidence to support plaintiff’s contention that there was any competition among municipalities within that market. There was no evidence that municipalities act any way but independently when they make annexation decisions. Therefore, it cannot be said that injury to competition exists when no competition at all is evident. Indiana Federation of Dentists v. F.T.C., 745 F.2d 1124, 1141 (7th Cir.1984). As discussed above, an alleged restraint is not illegal if it affects only a small percentage of the competition for the particular product within the relevant market. DeVoto, 618 F.2d at 1345. Plaintiff’s assertion that there is injury to competition among developers to annex developable land in Central Lake County would, therefore, fail even if he could prove that a competitive market exists because he provided no proof as to what percentage of the market was foreclosed from competition by defendants’ conduct. Furthermore, there was insufficient evidence to show that the alleged market for annexable, developable land in Central Lake County is any less efficient or that defendants' conduct altered the structure of the market in any way. Id. at 1346. Plaintiff has failed to prove the requisite effect on competition in a relevant market. The jury’s antitrust verdict, therefore, cannot be supported. 4. Conclusion In applying the judgment n.o.v. standard set forth in Tice v. Lampert Yards, Inc. to the above findings, this Court is compelled to conclude that “the evidence presented, combined with all reasonable inferences permissibly drawn therefrom,” is insufficient to support the verdict. 761 F.2d at 1213. The plaintiff’s failure to establish either one of two alleged relevant markets or injury to competition within those markets could have formed a sufficient basis for granting defendants’ motion for judgment n.o.v. Lack of proof of either a relevant market or injury to competition within that market is sufficient grounds for defeating an antitrust claim. Gough, 585 F.2d at 389; Mercantile National Bank v. Quest Inc., 303 F.Supp. 926, 934-35 (N.D.Ind.1969). Similarly, the assertion of an inaccurate or incorrect relevant market also defeats an antitrust claim. Madsen v. Chrysler Corp., 261 F.Supp. 488, 506 (N.D.Ill.1966). In the instant case, the jury was faced with insufficient or inaccurate evidence and, therefore, could not reasonably have concluded that plaintiff established a relevant market in which trade was restrained. Insufficient evidence regarding relevant market and injury to competition was cited as grounds for deciding a motion for judgment n.o.v. in R.S.E., Inc. v. Pennsy Supply, Inc., 523 F.Supp. 954 (M.D.Pa.1981). The plaintiff in R.S.E. was denied judgment n.o.v. because he presented insufficient evidence to prove that a relevant market was unreasonably affected by an alleged price-fixing technique. Similarly, in the instant case, defendants motion for judgment n.o.v. is granted because the plaintiff presented insufficient evidence of the existence of a relevant product or geographic market, or of injury to competition within those markets. C. NOERR-PENNINGTON IMMUNITY Defendants argue that their efforts to oppose the Unity property’s zoning and package plant permit are shielded from antitrust liability by the Noerr-Pennington doctrine of antitrust immunity. Plaintiffs counter that the Noerr-Pennington doctrine does not apply because the lawsuit challenging plaintiffs’ zoning and the objections filed with the IEPA challenging the Illinois Pollution Control Board permit for the Unity package plant are “sham” proceedings intended only to delay and injure the plaintiffs’ development. Plaintiffs assert that such intent to delay is evidenced by defendants’ failure to vigorously pursue the zoning lawsuit. The Supreme Court has held that bona fide attempts to influence actions of a legislative body are immune from antitrust scrutiny regardless of any anticompetitive motives behind those attempts. Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc., 365 U.S. 127, 81 S.Ct. 523, 5 L.Ed.2d 464 (1961); United Mine Workers v. Pennington, 381 U.S. 657, 85 S.Ct. 1585, 14 L.Ed.2d 626 (1961). The Supreme Court extended Noerr-Pennington immunity to good faith attempts to secure legitimate goals through use of the courts in California Motor Transport v. Trucking Unlimited, 404 U.S. 508, 92 S.Ct. 609, 30 L.Ed.2d 642 (1972). The immunity from antitrust liability conferred by Noerr-Pennington does not extend, however, to litigation which is merely a “sham.” Id. at 512-13, 92 S.Ct. at 612-13. In analogizing “sham” litigation to the tort of abuse of process, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has stated: “The line [between protected and unprotected litigation] is crossed when [the defendant’s] purpose is not to win a favorable judgment against a competitor but to harass him, and deter others, by the process itself — regardless of outcome — of litigating.” Grip-Pak, Inc. v. Illinois Tool Works, Inc., 694 F.2d 466, 472 (7th Cir.1982). In a more recent case, the Seventh Circuit further defined sham litigation: Without a doubt, the intention to harm a competitor is not sufficient to make litigation ... a sham. That anticompetitive motive is the very matter protected under Noerr-Pennington. Rather, the prerequisite motive for the sham exception is the intent to harm one’s competitors not by the result of the litigation but by the simple fact of the institution of the litigation. Winterland Concessions Co. v. Trela, 735 F.2d 257, 263-64 (7th Cir.1984) (quoting from Gainesville v. Florida Power & Light Co., 488 F.Supp. 1258, 1265-66 (S.D.Fla.1980) (emphasis in original)). In the present ease, the facts are very similar to those presented in LaSalle National Bank v. County of DuPage, 777 F.2d 377 (7th Cir.1985). In LaSalle National Bank, two villages were charged with violating the antitrust laws by associating together in an attempt to persuade the County Board to deny the special permit and that they did so for anticompetitive purposes. The complaint contained no intimation that the villages abused the political process in seeking to convince the county to deny the special zoning permit. Id. at 384 n. 6. While it decided that it did not have to reach the issue, the Seventh Circuit commented that “[t]his sort of association for purposes of influencing governmental action would appear to be exempt from antitrust challenge under Noerr-Pennington.” Id. In this case, the plaintiffs admit that the clearest evidence of the sham litigation is the fact that the defendants waited until after this Court rejected their abstention motion to institute the state court zoning challenge, and then, took absolutely no steps to prosecute that action. If this evidence is the clearest showing sham litigation to which the plaintiffs can point, the Court finds overwhelming evidence presented by the defendants that legitimate concerns underlie the zoning lawsuit and the objections filed with the IEPA challenging the Unity package plant. Both Lee and Kendig testified about public concern over where the Unity development would get sewer. Lee also testified that she told Alter that the IEPA was not favorable to package plants. Finally, the zoning lawsuit has withstood plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss and there is no evidence that the defendants do not intend to pursue that lawsuit, along with numerous other villages surrounding Round Lake Park which joined in filing that action. Therefore, the Court holds that, absent any evidence that they instituted sham litigation against the plaintiffs, defendants’ actions challenging the Unity property’s zoning and package plant are exempt from antitrust liability under the Noerr-Pennington doctrine. D. CIVIL RIGHTS LIABILITY Defendants argue that the evidence produced at trial fails to support the jury’s verdict on the plaintiffs’ equal protection and due process claims. In support of their argument, defendants assert that a violation of equal protection and due process can be found only when the challenged government action is not rationally related to a legitimate governmental objective. Defendants conclude that the denial of sewer services to Unity Ventures was rationally related to legitimate concerns about both the capacity of the Northeast Central Interceptor and the planning of the Unity Ventures and Heartland developments. Plaintiffs argue that the jury rejected both concerns when it returned a verdict of $9.5 million in plaintiffs’ favor. 1. Equal Protection/Due Process Analysis Under a substantive due process analysis, the general rule is that, in the absence of legislative direction, a municipality is the sole judge of the desirability and allocation of sewer services. Wincamp Partnership v. Anne Arundel County, 458 F.Supp. 1009, 1025 (D.Md.1978); 11 E. McQuillin, Municipal Corporations § 31.17; 13 id. §§ 37.25-37.32. However, the general rule is limited by the due process clause: a county or municipal corporation must not exercise its police power in an arbitrary, unreasonable, or capricious manner. Wincamp Partnership, 458 F.Supp. at 1025-26. See Moore v. East Cleveland, 431 U.S. 494, 97 S.Ct. 1932, 52 L.Ed.2d 531 (1977) (plurality opinion); id. at 513, 97 S.Ct. at 1942 (Stevens, J., concurring); Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, 47 S.Ct. 114, 71 L.Ed. 303 (1926); Smoke Rise, Inc. v. WSSC, 400 F.Supp. 1369, 1383 (D.Md.1975); 1 Antieau, Local Government Law § 5.18. Any exercise of that power must be substantially related to the public welfare. Wincamp Partnership, 458 F.Supp. at 1026. This public welfare/police power analysis as applied to sewer services is consistent with substantive due process and equal protection analysis as applied to government regulation of economic rights. Absent an infringement of a “fundamental right” or the use of a “suspect classification,” the rational basis test is the proper standard of review for both substantive due process and equal protection challenges to governmental action. Chesapeake Bay Village, Inc. v. Costle, 502 F.Supp. 213, 226 (D.Md.1980) (alleged purposeful delay of sewer services). Under the rational basis test, the state and county defendants may not exercise their authority in an arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable manner. Id. To be sustained, their exercise of authority must be shown to bear a rational relationship to a legitimate governmental objective. Id. See Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia, 427 U.S. 307, 96 S.Ct. 2562, 49 L.Ed.2d 520 (1976) (equal protection); Goldblatt v. Town of Hempstead, 369 U.S. 590, 82 S.Ct. 987, 8 L.Ed.2d 130 (1962) (substantive due process). (a) Legitimate Government Purpose In determining whether any conceivable legitimate government purpose or concern supports the denial of sewer services, the Court first examines the only three federal cases which involve the denial of sewer services alleged to violate due process and equal protection. In Chesapeake Bay Village, Inc. v. Costle, 502 F.Supp. 213 (D.Md.1980), the plaintiff alleged that the state and county defendants used grossly inaccurate population projections in connection with proposals submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA subsequently denied the County a grant for a sewage treatment plant large enough to meet the anticipated needs of the plaintiffs development. The alleged purpose behind the inaccurate population submissions was to deny the plaintiff access to adequate sewage facilities for its proposed development. Plaintiff also alleged that the state and county defendants planned to condemn plaintiffs land for a public park, and purposefully delayed the building of sewage treatment facilities in order to lower the value of plaintiffs land. Applying the rational basis test set forth above and assuming all well-pleaded facts as true, the court in Chesapeake Bay denied a motion to dismiss plaintiffs substantive due process and equal protection claims. In Wincamp Partnership v. Anne Arundel County, 458 F.Supp. 1009 (D.Md.1978), the plaintiffs alleged that the combined actions of Anne Arundel County and the State of Maryland resulted in an unreasonable de facto moratorium on growth in the county. The moratorium was allegedly due to the conjunction of a state statute and a county budgeting decision. The state statute forbid the issuance of building permits in localities in which sewage treatment facilities would be inadequate to service the new structures. The plaintiffs did not attack the validity of the state statute. However, they did attack the county’s delay in attempting to expand the Patuxent plant which, in light of state environmental law, had hindered plaintiffs’ ability to exploit the development potential of their landholdings. In response to these allegations, the court in Wincamp found that the County’s actions appeared reasonably related to the public welfare in terms of geographical extent, duration and purpose. In addition, the court found that the County had not stopped issuing building permits in areas other than the area of plaintiffs’ development. The court noted that the County was about to appropriate funds to expand various facilities in order to alleviate the sewage treatment shortage. The court also found it important that the County had developed and was acting, albeit slowly, pursuant to a plan for attacking water and sewage problems occasioned by the County’s rapid growth. Id. at 1029. The plan was enacted pursuant to state statute. The court in Wincamp concluded, with some hedging, the following: To a large extent, given recent state environmental legislation, the issuance of building permits in areas such as Odenton Town Center is beyond the County’s control without the expenditure of large sums to upgrade simultaneously sewage treatment facilities in various parts of the County. If the County is attempting to meet its sewerage problems in good faith and with reasonable speed and efficiency, then the order in which it deals with affected areas appears to be a matter within the County’s discretion, so long as there is no improper motive underlying its priorities [] and a rational, nonarbitrary basis for the assignment of priorities____ If the County fails to carry through in good faith and with reasonable speed and efficiency its announced purpose to provide increased capacity at the Patuxent plant or if the County indefinitely postpones that expansion with no interim or long-term blueprint to solve plaintiffs’ dilemma as developers, plaintiffs will of course be free to commence a new action to enforce their federal constitutional rights. Id. at 1029-30. The Wincamp court held that the County was entitled to prevail on the record presented regarding plaintiffs’ substantive due process claims. Finally, in Smoke Rise, Inc. v. WSSC, 400 F.Supp. 1369 (D.Md.1975), plaintiff homebuilders challenged the validity of sewer hook-up moratoria promulgated by the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene for certain areas of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. In 1970 the Secretary had found that inadequate sewerage treatment facilities of the Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission (WSSC) constituted a nuisance and menace to public health. Besides imposing the moratoria, the Secretary also ordered the WSSC to undertake certain remedial measures. Thereafter, the WSSC, Montgomery County, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene engaged in a complex series of transactions to alleviate the sewerage crisis, but apparently made little tangible progress over the following three years. The homebuilders asserted that the Secretary’s orders deprived them of their property without due process of law. The court in Smoke Rise examined the reasonableness of the moratoria orders in terms of their purpose and duration. As to the purpose, the court held that the avoidance of unsanitary conditions was clearly a proper purpose. Id. at 1383-84. However, the court also examined the orders to determine whether local officials had prolonged the moratoria in order to implement a tacit no-growth policy. The court concluded that the comprehensive plans to improve waste water facilities belied any hidden purpose to hinder growth. The court also noted the complex interjurisdictional nature of the problem. Id. at 1390. In summarizing the three above cases, the Court concludes that the regulation of sewage treatment facilities pursuant to state statute and to a comprehensive plan is clearly a legitimate government purpose and concern. The further concern served by such regulation is adequate provision of sewage treatment for new developments, so that real estate development and population growth does not outrun proper and adequate waste treatment facilities. Therefore, it is clear that the regulation of adequate sewage treatment facilities in relation to new developments is clearly a legitimate government purpose. In addition, it is clear that innocent delay in provision of or a mere denial of sewer services does not, without more, constitute a violation of due process or equal protection. In order to prevail on such a claim, a plaintiff must either set forth an improper motive, i.e., forced condemnation in Chesapeake Bay, supra, or negate every conceivable legitimate government purpose or concern, as attempted in Wincamp Partnership, supra, and Smoke Rise, supra, and thereby leave the inference that the denial of sewer services was arbitrary. In the present case, defendants set forth two main reasons for the denial of sewer services: (1) regulating or controlling development immediately outside of Grays-lake’s borders; and (2) protecting and preserving the capacity of the Northeast Central Interceptor. Plaintiffs counter that defendants were never really concerned about