WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has dealt a setback to a deal between two private companies that left one as the owner of the only two hospitals in a southwestern Georgia city.

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The justices ruled unanimously Tuesday that lower courts improperly dismissed complaints that the merger, aided by a public hospital authority, created a monopoly in hospital services in Albany, Ga.

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The Federal Trade Commission tried to block the deal by arguing that it violated federal antitrust law.

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Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her opinion for the court that an exception in antitrust law for actions taken by a state or its agencies — in this case, the hospital authority — did not shield the transaction from federal antitrust concerns.

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