The US Supreme Court took a big step on Monday towards limiting private anti-trust lawsuits in America, when it threw out a case against Verizon and other regional Bell companies.

By a 7-2 vote, the justices reversed a ruling by a federal appeals court that allowed a class action antitrust lawsuit to go forward based on a general allegation that Verizon’s predecessor Bell Atlantic and other Bell companies had conspired not to compete in one another’s territories.