2004 Decisions

Opinions of the United

States Court of Appeals

for the Third Circuit

9-29-2004

In Re Flat Glass

Precedential or Non-Precedential: Precedential

Docket No. 03-2920

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Recommended Citation

"In Re Flat Glass " (2004). 2004 Decisions. Paper 265.

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1

PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF

APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

 

No. 03-2920

 

IN RE FLAT GLASS 

ANTITRUST LITIGATION

(MDL No. 1200)

BRIAN S. NELSON, d/b/a Jamestown

Glass Service; MEL’S AUTO GLASS,

INC.; A. WAXMAN & CO., on behalf of

itself, and all others similarly situated;

DESIGNER WINDOWS, INC., on behalf

of itself and all others similarly situated;

MOSES MOORE ALL GLASS

ASPECTS, INC., on behalf of itself and

all others similarlysituated; AAA GLASS,

INC., on behalf of itself and all others

similarly situated, d/b/a The Glass Doctor;

THE LURIE COMPANIES, INC.; VSTB

ENTERPRISES, INC., d/b/a Perfecto Auto

Glass & Upholstery and its successors;

PORT CITY GLASS & MIRROR, INC.,

on its own behalf and on behalf of all

others similarly situated; JOHN HEALY,

JR.; COUNTY AUTO GLASS, INC., on

behalf of themselves and all others

s im ilarly sit ua te d; GERARD J.

CLABBERS, on behalf of himself and all

others similarly situated; KIRSCHNER

CORPORATION, INC., t/a Berwyn Glass

Company, on behalf of itself and all others

similarly situated; HARTUNG AGALITE

GLASS CO., d/b/a Hartung Glass

Industries; ALL STAR GLASS, INC., on

behalf of itself and all others similarly

situated; SUPERIOR WINDSHIELD

INSTALLATION, INC., on behalf of

itself and all others similarly situated;

JOVI, INC., on behalf of itself and all

others similarly situated, t/a Easton Area

Glass; ENGINEERED GLASS WALLS,

INC., on behalf of itself and all others

similarly situated; BAILES GLASS CO.;

INTERSTATE GLASS DISTRIBUTORS,

INC., on behalf of itself and all others

similarly situated; ORLANDO AUTO

TOP, INC.; MAYFLOWER SALES CO.,

INC., on behalf of itself and all others

similarly situated; CARDINAL IG;

REED’S BODY SHOP, INC.; BELETZ

BROTHERS GLASS COMPANY, INC.;

COMPLAST, INC.; WESTERN STATES

GLASS, on behalf of itself and all others

similarly situated; GRIMES AUTO

GLASS, INC.; D&S GLASS SERVICES,

INC.;GEORGE BROWN & SON GLASS

WORKS, INC.; THERMAL CHEK, INC.;

MOBILE GLASS, INC., individually and

as a representative of a class; JELD-WEN,

INC., an Oregon Corporation;JELD-WEN

CANADA LIMITED, a Canadian

corporation; JELD-WEN ARIZONA,

INC., an Arizona corporation; AVANTI

INDUSTRIES, INC., an Arizona

corporation; LAKEWOOD CITY GLASS,

INC . ; CAROLI N A MIRROR ;

ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY;

ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY

v.
2

PILKINGTON PLC; PILKINGTON

LIBBEY-OWENS-FORD CO., INC.;

AFG INDUSTRIES, INC.; GUARDIAN

INDUSTRIES CORPORATION; PPG

INDUSTRIES, INC.; LIBBEY-OWENSFORD CO., INC.; ASAHI GLASS CO.,

L T D.; FORD M OTOR CO. ;

PILKINGTON HOLDINGS; ASAHI

GLASS AMERICA, INC. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Intervenor in D.C.)

(D.C. No. 97-mc-00550)

 Class Plaintiffs and Grimes Auto Glass,

 Appellants

 

On Appeal from the United States

District Court for the 

Western District of Pennsylvania

(Dist. Court No. 97-mc-00550)

District Judges: Hon. Donetta W. 

Ambrose and Hon. Donald E. Ziegler

 

Argued: June 22, 2004

Before: NYGAARD, MCKEE and

CHERTOFF, Circuit Judges

(Filed: September 29, 2004)

Samuel Issacharoff, Esq.

435 West 116 Street

New York, NY 10027

Daniel E. Bacine, Esq.

Barrack, Rodos & Bacine

2001 Market Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Eugene Spector, Esq.

Spector Roseman & Kodroff

1818 Market Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Robert N. Kaplan, Esq. (Argued)

Richard J. Kilsheimer, Esq.

Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer

805 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10022

Michael D. Hausfeld, Esq.

Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll

1100 New York Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005

Robert Skirnick, Esq.

Meredith Cohen Greenfogel & Skirnick

One Liberty Plaza, 35th Floor

New York, NY 10006

Counsel for Appellants

Paul M. Dodyk, Esq. (Argued)

Peter T. Barbur, Esq.

Lawrence E. Buterman, Esq.

Kelly A. Rocco, Esq.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Worldwide Plaza

825 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10019

David J. Armstrong, Esq.
3

Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote

Two PPG Place

Suite 400

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Counsel for Appellee PPG

Industries, Inc.

J. Michael Murray, Esq. (Argued) 

Berkman, Gordon, Murray & DeVan

55 Public Square, Suite 2121

Cleveland, OH 44113-1949

Counsel for Appellee 

 Edward Bryant

Michael S. Sommer, Esq.

McDermott, Will & Emery

50 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, NY 10020

Elliot Silverman, Esq. (Argued)

McDermott, Will & Emery

18191 Von Karman Avenue

Irvine, CA 92612

Counsel for Appellee 

 Ronald W. Skeddle

 

OPINION OF THE COURT

 

CHERTOFF, Circuit Judge.

This case addresses the recurring

question of what quantity and quality of

evidence suffices to create a genuine issue

of material fact as to one particular

element of a claim under Section 1 of the

Sherman Act: whether a defendant entered

into an unlawful agreement. Appellants

contend that appellee PPG Industries, Inc.

(“PPG”) conspired with its competitors to

fix the prices of flat glass and automotive

replacement glass in the early 1990s. The

District Court granted PPG’s motion for

summary judgment on the ground that

there was insufficient proof of an

agreement. We will reverse in part, affirm

in part, and remand for additional

proceedings. 

I. Background

A. The Flat Glass and Automotive

Replacement Glass Industries

PPG manufactures sheets of glass

through a method called the “float

process.” Molten glass is poured over a

bath of higher-density liquid, such as

molten tin. As the glass floats on top of the

bath, it is polished under controlled

temperatures. Finally, the glass is fed into

an “annealing oven” where it gradually

cools and hardens. See In re Flat Glass

Antitrust Litigation, 191 F.R.D. 472, 476

n.7 (W.D. Pa. 1999). The glass that PPG

produces through the float process—in
4

various sizes, thicknesses, and tints, see

Supp. App. 14 n.16; App. 634—is called

“flat glass.”

PPG and a handful of other

firms—Libbey-Owens-Ford Company

(“LOF,” a subsidiary of the British glass

producer Pilkington LLC); AFG

Industries, Inc. (“AFG,” a subsidiary of the

Japanese glass producer Asahi Glass Co.);1

Guardian Industries (“Guardian”); and

Ford Motor Co. (“Ford”)—manufacture

well over ninety percent of the flat glass

sold in the United States. In 1995, for

example, PPG acco unte d fo r

approximately 28% of domestic flat glass

shipments, LOF and AFG each accounted

for 19%, and Guardian and Ford each

accounted for 15%. Supp. App. 20.2

Flat glass produced through the

float process may be sold “as is,” in which

case it is used primarily in construction.

Supp. App. 16. Alternatively, many

different products may be “fabricated”

from flat glass by subjecting it to a variety

of processes. A substantial amount of flat

glass, for example, is fabricated for use in

automobiles. Flat glass may be molded and

combined with other parts to produce

windshields, for example, or side and rear

windows. Supp. App. 19. Some

products—called original equipment

manufacturer products (“OEM” glass

products)—are fabricated for sale to

vehicle manufacturers for use in new

vehicles. Other produ cts—called

auto motive replac eme nt gla ss

products—are fabricated for sale and use

as automotive replacement parts. Supp.

App. 25. These are two separate markets.3

1

 Asahi also owns a company called

Glaverbel, which was associated with

AFG, and a Canadian-based company

called Glaverbec.

2

 A company named Cardinal Glass

Industries (“Cardinal”) accounted for

approximately 3% of domestic flat glass

sales in 1995. Cardinal, which is not a

defendant in this suit, did not produce flat

glass until 1992, when it purchased a flat

glass manufacturing plant that AFG built

for it. Before that time, Cardinal fabricated

products from flat glass it purchased from

PPG and others. 

3

 The parties fail to adequately

explain the relationship between OEM

glass parts and automotive replacement

parts, which plaintiffs describe as

“identical in composition.” Plaintiffs’ Br.

4. We gather from the record that they

differ in two important respects. First,

generally (but not always) only one OEM

glass producer exists for any particular

product. Thus PPG alone might produce a

particular windshield that a car

manufacturer uses in a particular model

car. In contrast, multiple manufacturers

typically produce any one type of

automotive replacement part. So PPG,

Guardian, and LOF might produce the

automotive replacement part that would

replace the OEM product that only PPG

produced and sold to the car manufacturer.

Second, OEM glass products are sold to a

particular car manufacturer, whereas the
5

The automotive replacement glass

market has a four-tier vertical structure.

First, manufacturers—the handful of firms

mentioned above—produce flat glass.

Second, various companies fabricate the

flat glass into different types of automotive

replacement glass products. The major

United States fabricators of automotive

replacement glass products during the

class period were PPG, LOF, Ford,

Guardi an, Saf elite, Vir acon ,

Premier/Hordis, and Chrysler. App. 585.

Thus a number of firms, such as PPG, both

manufacture flat glass and fabricate it into

automotive replacement glass products.4

Third, the fabricators sell the parts

by the “truckload” to wholesale

distributors. The wholesale distributors

then sell the automotive replacement glass

products in less than truckload quantities

to the retail installers that sell the products

directly to car owners.

PPG operates at every level of the

automotive replacement glass market; that

is, PPG is “vertically integrated.” In

addition to manufacturing flat glass and

fabricating automotive replacement glass

products, PPG runs a wholesale

distribution operation that sells less than

truckload quantities to retail installers. Yet

PPG also sells its products to its

downstream competitors. It sells flat glass

to automotive repla cement glass

fabricators, and it sells truckload quantities

of automotive replacement glass products

to wholesale distributors. 

B. The Alleged Conspiracies

In 1993, LOF fired two of its

executives—Ronald Skeddle (LOF’s

President and Chief Executive Officer)

and Edward Bryant (LOF’s Executive

Vice President, the company’s secondhighest ranking officer)—and a grand jury

indicted them for conspiracy, mail and

wire fraud, and money laundering. A jury

eventually acquitted them of the charges,

but in the meantime Skeddle and Bryant

alleged that during the early 1990s LOF

had conspired with its competitors to fix

the price of the glass products it sold. See

In re Flat Glass Antitrust Litigation, 288

F.3d 83, 86 (3d Cir. 2002).

Skeddle and Bryant’s allegations

spurred plaintiffs to file several private

antitrust lawsuits against LOF and its

competitors (PPG, AFG, Ford, and

Guardian), and the Judicial Panel on

Multidistrict Litigation eve ntually

consolidated and transferred the actions to

the Western District of Pennsylvania. After

the District Court certified two subclasses

of plaintiffs, see In re Flat Glass Antitrust

Litigation, 191 F.R.D. 472, 475 (W.D. Pa.

corresponding identical automotive

replacement glass products are sold to

multiple wholesalers and retail installers.

4

 Automotive replacement glass

fabricators produced approximately

10,000 different automotive replacement

glass products. No one fabricator

produced all 10,000. PPG produced

approximately 6,000. App. 585.
6

1999), plaintiffs reached settlements with

all defendants except PPG. 

Plaintiffs allege that PPG and its

competitors conspired to “fix, raise, and

maintain” the prices of flat glass and

automotive replacement glass. The two

alleged conspiracies correspond with the

two subclasses that the District Court

certified. See In re Flat Glass Antitrust

Litigation, 191 F.R.D. at 475. One

subclass consists of individuals and

entities that purchased flat glass or

products fabricated from flat glass from

PPG, LOF, Guardian, Ford, or AFG. The

other subclass consists of individuals and

entities that purchased automotive

replacement glass products from any of

those same firms. Id.

Plaintiffs’ allegations regarding

price-fixing in the market for flat glass are

relatively straightforward. Several times

during the class period, PPG and the other

flat glass producers raised their “list

prices” for flat glass by the same amount

and within very close time frames. Within

a twelve-day period in the summer of

1991, for example, PPG and its

competitors all raised their list prices for

flat glass by the same amounts.5 Plaintiffs

simply contend that PPG and its

competitors agreed to raise their prices,

rather than doing so independently and

with no concerted coordination. 

5 The District Court catalogued

these price increases as follows:

July of 1991, all defendants

raised their prices within

days of each other by 7.5-

9%, with an effective date

of July 29 or August 1,

1991; September of 1992,

all defendants raised their

prices within days of each

other by 5-9% with an

effective date of October 1

or October 12; May of

1993, defendants raised

their prices within days of

each other by 5.5% with an

effective date of June 7 or

9; October of 1993,

defendants raised their

prices within days of each

other by 6.5% with an

effective date of October 30

or November 1, 1993; April

of 1994 all defendants

raised their prices by 5-9%

with an effective date of

May 1 or 2; August of 1994,

all defendants raised their

prices by 5-8% with an

effective date of September

19, 1994; March of 1995,

all defendants raised their

prices by 6% with an

effective date of April 3 or

11.

App. 16 n.4 (internal citations to District

Court record omitted).
7

Plaintiffs’ allegations regarding

price-fixing in the market for automotive

replacement glass are more complicated.

According to plaintiffs, PPG and other

automotive replacement glass fabricators

used a mechanism, called the “NAGS

Calculator,” to fix prices at supracompetitive levels. 

NAGS, which stands for “National

Auto Glass Specifications,” is a business

that produced a catalogue called the

“NAGS Calculator.” The NAGS

Calculator supplied an identifying number

for each type of automotive replacement

glass product and provided a

recommended price for an installer to

charge a car owner for the part. NAGS

came up with its recommended price for

any particular automotive replacement

glass product by taking a truckload

quantity price of that product and

multiplying it by a number (a “multiplier”)

specific to that product. Generally, NAGS

would use the truckload quantity price for

the OEM glass product that the automotive

replacement glass was intended to replace.

According to plaintiffs, PPG and

other automotive replacement glass

manufacturers knew the multipliers that

NAGS used to devise its recommended

prices. Thus PPG could, and plaintiffs

allege did, work backwards from the

recommended price to determine the

truckload price that NAGS used in its

calculation. “If the truckload price used by

NAGS was different from its own

truckload price,” plaintiffs argue, “PPG

then adjusted its truckload price to match

the truckload price used to create the

NAGS price, as did the other [automotive

replacement glass] manufacturers.”

Plaintiffs’ Br. 33. Thus plaintiffs contend

that PPG and its competitors “had an

understanding and acted in concert” to use

the NAGS Calculator to “align their

truckload price lists and stabilize pricing,

and as a benchmark for pricing of

[automotive replacement glass] at lessthan-truckload quantities.” Plaintiffs’ Br.

30.

C. The Present Appeal

The District Court granted PPG’s

motions for summary judgment on both of

plaintiffs’ price-fixing claims. Before

doing so, the Court circumscribed the

evidence it considered when deciding

PPG’s summary judgment motions

through a series of in limine motions. The

Court refused to order Skeddle and Bryant

to testify despite their invocation of their

Fifth Amendment privileges, for example,

and it also excluded many of Skeddle’s

handwritten notes that plaintiffs argue tend

to implicate PPG in a price-fixing

conspiracy.

Plaintiffs appeal from the District

Court’s summary judgment and certain of

its evidentiary decisions. After addressing

the applicable legal standards, we first

address whether summary judgment was

warranted based on the evidence the
8

District Court considered.6 We conclude

that the District Court should not have

granted summary judgment on plaintiffs’

flat glass price-fixing claim, and we

address the District Court’s evidentiary

rulings so that the Court can further

consider what evidence a jury may

consider on remand. We affirm summary

judgment on plaintiffs’ automotive

replacement glass conspiracy claim. 

II. Discussion

Section 1 of the Sherman Act

provides that “every contract, combination

in the form of trust or otherwise, or

conspiracy, in restraint of trade or

commerce . . . is declared to be illegal.” 15

U.S.C. § 1. Despite its broad language,

Section 1 only prohibits contracts,

combinations, or conspiracies that

unreasonably restrain trade. See InterVest

Inc. v. Bloomberg, L.P., 340 F.3d 144, 158

(3d Cir. 2003). Certain restraints of trade

are per se unreasonable, while others

require more searching analysis under the

“rule of reason.” Id. at 158-59. 

Restraints of trade are per se

unreasonable when they are “‘manifestly

anticompetitive’ or ‘would always or

almost always tend to restric t

competition.’” Rossi v. Standard Roofing,

Inc., 156 F.3d 452, 461 (3d Cir. 1998)

(quoting Business Elecs. Corp. v. Sharp

Elecs. Corp., 485 U.S. 717, 723 (1988)).

Because of their “pernicious effect on

competition and lack of any redeeming

virtue,” Northern Pac. Ry. v. United

States, 356 U.S. 1, 5 (1958), these

restraints of trade are “conclusively

presumed to unreasonably restrain

competition ‘without elaborate inquiry as

to the precise harm [it has] caused or the

business excuse for [its] use.” Rossi, 156

F.3d at 461 (internal citations and

quotations omitted). 

Here, plaintiffs allege that PPG

engaged in horizontal price-fixing—i.e.,

“where competitors at the same market

level agree to fix or control the prices they

will charge for their respective goods or

services.” United States v. Brown Univ., 5

F.3d 658, 670 (3d Cir. 1993). Since at

least United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil

Co., 310 U.S. 150 (1940), the Supreme

Court has held that such restraints of trade

are per se unreasonable. “Whatever

economic justification particular

price-fixing agreements may be thought to

have,” the Court explained, “the law does

not permit an inquiry into their

reasonableness. They are all banned

because of their actual or potential threat

to the central nervous system of the

economy.” 310 U.S. 150, 224 n.59 (1940);

see also Brown Univ., 5 F.3d at 670.

As a result, plaintiffs need only

prove that “the defendants conspired

among each other and that this conspiracy

was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s

6

 We exercise plenary review over

the District Court’s grant of summary

judgment. See, e.g., InterVest Inc. v.

Bloomberg, L.P., 340 F.3d 144, 158 (3d

Cir. 2003).
9

injury.” InterVest, 340 F.3d at 159. PPG

does not dispute proximate causation.

Rather, it argues that it did not agree with

its competitors to fix prices. 

The existence of an agreement is

“[t]he very essence of a section 1 claim.”

Alvord-Polk, Inc. v. Schumacher & Co.,

37 F.3d 996, 999 (3d Cir. 1994). The

Sherman Act speaks in terms of a

“contract,” “combination” or “conspiracy,”

but courts have interpreted this language to

require “some form of concerted action.”

Id. at 999 & n.1. In other words, there

must be a “‘unity of purpose or a common

design and understanding or a meeting of

minds’” or “‘a conscious commitment to

a common scheme.’” Monsanto Co. v.

Spray-Rite Service Corp., 465 U.S. 752,

764 (1984) (quoting Edward J. Sweeney &

Sons, Inc. v. Texaco, Inc., 637 F.2d 105,

111 (3d Cir. 1980)). 

When faced with whether a plaintiff

has offered sufficient proof of an

agreement to preclude summary judgment,

a court must generally apply the same

summary judgment standards that apply in

other contexts. See Intervest, 340 F.3d at

159-60. A court shall render summary

judgment when the evidence shows “that

there is no genuine issue as to any material

fact and that the moving party is entitled to

judgment as a matter of law.” Fed R. Civ.

P. 56(c). In making this determination, a

court must “view the facts and any

reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in

the light most favorable to the party

opposing summary judgment.” Intervest,

340 F.3d at 160. And a court “should not

tightly compartmentalize the evidence put

forward by the nonmovant, but instead

should analyze it as a whole to see if it

supports an inference of concerted action.”

Petruzzi's IGA v. Darling-Delaware, 998

F.2d 1224, 1230 (3d Cir.1993). 

Although these normal summary

judgment principles apply in antitrust

cases, an important distinction exists. As

the Supreme Court held in Matsushita

Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio

Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (1986), “antitrust law

limits the range of permissible inferences

from ambiguous evidence in a § 1 case.”

Id. at 588;see also Monsanto Co. v. SprayRite Service Corp., 465 U.S. 752, 763-64

(1984). In other words, certain “inferences

may not be drawn from circumstantial

evidence in an antitrust case.” Intervest,

340 F.3d at 160.7 This higher threshold is

imposed in antitrust cases to avoid

deterring innocent conduct that reflects

enhanced, rather than restrained,

competition. 

7

 The “strictures of Matsushita do

not apply” when a plaintiff provides direct

evidence of a conspiracy. Petruzzi’s, 998

F.2d at 1233. That is because “no

inferences are required from direct

evidence to establish a fact and thus a

court need not be concerned about the

reasonableness of the inferences to be

drawn from such evidence.” Id. In

addition, “the focus in Matsushita was on

ambiguous evidence, and what inferences

reasonably could be drawn from that

evidence.” Id. (internal citation omitted).
10

We explored “exactly what

inferences are circumscribed in a section 1

case” in our decision in Petruzzi's. There,

w e ide ntified “ two important

circumstances underlying the [Supreme]

Court’s decision in Matsushita”: (1) “the

plaintiffs’ theory of conspiracy was

implausible”; and (2) “permitting an

inference of antitrust conspiracy in the

circumstances ‘would have the effect of

deterring significant procompetitive

conduct.’” 998 F.2d at 1232 (quoting In re

Coordinated Pretrial Proceedings in

Petroleum Prods. Antitrust Litig., 906 F.2d

432, 439 (9th Cir. 1990)) (emphasis in

Petruzzi’s). In other words, “the Court

stated that the acceptable inferences which

can be drawn from circumstantial evidence

vary with the plausibility of the plaintiffs’

theory and the dangers associated with

such inferences.” Id.; see also Matsushita,

475 U.S. at 587 (“[I]f the factual context

renders [the plaintiff's] cla im

implausible—if the claim is one that

simply makes no economic sense—[a

plaintiff] must come forward with more

persuasive evidence to support [its] claim

than would otherwise be necessary.”)

(citations omitted). 

The plaintiffs in Matsushita alleged

that the defendants conspired to engage in

predatory pricing, the practice by which “a

firm sets its prices temporarily below

costs, with the hope that the low price will

drive a competitor out of business, after

which the ‘predatory’ firm will raise its

prices so high that it will recoup its

temporary losses and earn additional

profit, all before new firms, attracted by

the high prices, enter its market and force

prices down.” Clamp-All Corp., 851 F.2d

at 483. Courts and commentators alike

have come to regard predatory pricing as a

relatively speculative phenomenon,

particularly when its success requires

collusion among multiple firms. See

Brooke Group Ltd. v. Brown &

Williamson Tobacco Corp., 509 U.S. 209,

226-27 (1993). Inferences about predatory

pricing are also inherently weak because

the behavior of firms engaged in predatory

pricing would largely mirror how firms in

a competitive market act: by cutting prices.

See Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 594

(“[C]utting prices in order to increase

business often is the very essence of

competition.”). Thus inferring from

ambiguous evidence that firms are

engaging in predatory pricing would “chill

procompetitive behavior.” Petruzzi’s, 998

F.2d at 1232.

In Petruzzi’s, by contrast, the

plaintiff alleged that the defendants

conspired to alloc ate cu stomers.

“[P]laintiff’s theory of conspiracy is not

implausible,” we explained, rather it made

“perfect economic sense.” 998 F.2d at

1232. In addition, the challenged activities

could not reasonably be perceived as

procompetitive. Id. (“After all, refusing to

bid on accounts hardly can be labeled as

the ‘very essence of competition.’”)

(quoting Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 594). As

a result of those circumstances, we

concluded that “more liberal inferences

from the evidence should be permitted

than in Matsushita because the attendant

dangers from drawing inferences
11

recognized in Matsushita are not present.”

Id.; see also Intervest, 340 F.3d at 162;

Alvord-Polk, Inc., 37 F.3d at 1001 (“[T]he

meaning we ascribe to circumstantial

evidence will vary depending on the

challenged conduct.”).8

Here, like in Petruzzi’s, plaintiffs’

theory of conspiracy—an agreement

among oligopolists to fix prices at a

supracompetitive level—makes perfect

economic sense. In addition, absent

increases in marginal cost or demand,

raising prices generally does not

approximate—and cannot be mistaken

as—competitive conduct.

Yet despite the absence of the

Matsushita Court’s concerns, this Court

and others have been cautious in accepting

inferences from circumstantial evidence in

cases involving allegations of horizontal

price-fixing among oligopolists. See

Williamson Oil Co. v. Philip Morris USA,

R.J., 346 F.3d 1287, 1300-01 (11th Cir.

2003); Blomkest Fertilizer, Inc. v. Potash

Corp. of Saskatchewan, 203 F.3d 1028,

1042-43 (8th Cir. 2000); In re Baby Food

Antitrust Litigation, 166 F.3d 112, 121-22

(3d Cir. 1999); Clamp-All Corp. v. Cast

Iron Soil Pipe Institute, 851 F.2d 478, 484

(1st Cir. 1988); Apex Oil Co. v. DiMaurio,

822 F.2d 246, 253-54 (2d Cir. 1987); see

also Petruzzi’s, 998 F.3d at 1232-33.9 The

basis for this circumspect approach is the

theory of “interdependence.” See Donald

F. Turner, The Definition of Agreement

Under the Sherman Act: Conscious

Parallelism and Refusals to Deal, 75 Harv.

L. Rev. 655, 662-63 (1962).

8

 As one prominent antitrust

commentator has explained: 

Matsushita spoke in the

context of a highly

improbable twenty-yearlong predatory pricing

conspiracy and required

high-quality evidence to

permit such a conspiracy to

be presented to a jury. . . .

However, Matsushita itself

said little about proof

requirements in a case

where underlying structural

evidence indicates that the

offense is quite plausible

and would be profitable for

the defendants.

Herbert Hovenkamp, The Rationalization

of Antitrust, 116 Harv. L. Rev. 917, 925-

26 (2003) (reviewing Richard A. Posner,

Antitrust Law (2d ed. 2001)).

9

 A leading antitrust scholar, who

now authors the Areeda treatise, has

characterized these cases at least in part as

“an unfortunate misinterpretation” of

Matsushita. Herbert Hovenkamp, The

Rationalization of Antitrust, 116 Harv. L.

Rev. at 925 (“[U]nfortunately, many courts

have read Matsushita as requiring a certain

quantum evidence of verbal agreement

before summary judgment can be

avoided.”).
12

The theory of interdependence

posits the following: In a market with

many firms, the effects of any single firm’s

price and output decisions “would be so

diffused among its numerous competitors

that they would not be aware of any

change.” Phillip E. Areeda & Herbert

Hovenkamp, Antitrust Law ¶ 1429, at 206

(2nd ed. 2000). In a highly concentrated

market (i.e., a market dominated by few

firms), however, any single firm’s “price

and output decisions will have a noticeable

impact on the market and on its rivals.” Id.

Thus when a firm in a concentrated market

(i.e., an “oligopolist”) is deciding on a

course of action, “any rational decision

must take into account the anticipated

reaction of the other [] firms.” Id. at 207.10

The result, according to the theory

of interdependence, is that firms in a

concentrated market may maintain their

prices at supracompetitive levels, or even

raise them to those levels, without

engaging in any overt concerted action.

We quote the Areeda treatise at length:

The first firm in a five-firm

oligopoly, Alpha, may be

eager to lower its price

somewhat in order to

expand its sales. However, it

knows that the other four

firms would probably

respond to a price cut by

reducing their prices to

maintain their previous

market shares. Unless Alpha

believes that it can conceal

its price reduction for a time

or otherwise gain a

substantial advantage from

being the first to move, the

price reduction would

merely reduce Alpha’s

profits and the profits of the

other firms as well.

Such “oligopolisti c

rationality” cannot only

forestall rivalrous price

reductions, it can also

provide for price increases

through, for example, price

leadership. If the price had

for some reason been less

than X [the price a

monopolist would charge to

maximize profits], firm Beta

might announce its decision

to raise its price to X

effective immediately, or in

several days, or next season.

The other four firms may

10 “For example, in a market of one

hundred sellers of equal size, an expansion

in output of 20 percent by one of them

will result in an average fall in output of

only about .2 percent for each of the

others, so a seller need not worry in

making his pricing decisions about the

reactions of his rivals.” Richard A. Posner,

Antitrust Law 56 (2

nd ed. 2001). But if

“there are three sellers of equal size, a 20

percent expansion in the sales of one will

cause the sales of each of the others to fall

by an average of 10 percent—a sales loss

the victims can hardly overlook.” Id.
13

each choose to follow

Beta’s lead; if they do not

increase their prices to

Beta’s level, Beta may be

forced to reduce its price

to their level. Because

each of the other firms

knows this, each will

consider whether it is

better off when all are

charging the old price or

price X. They will

obviously choose X when

they believe that it will

m aximize indu str y

profits.

Id. at 207-08.

Despite the noncompetitive nature

of such conduct, which we have come to

call “conscious parallelism,” we have held

that the Sherman Act does not proscribe it.

See In re Baby Foods, 166 F.3d at 121-22.

There are two primary bases for this

approach, both embodied in a line of

scholarship that started with Donald

Turner in 1962 and continued in large part

in Phillip Areeda’s influential antitrust

treatise. First, there exists the notion that

interdependent behavior is not an

“agreement” within the term’s meaning

under the Sherman Act. See Turner, supra,

at 663-65; but see Posner, Antitrust Law,

supra, at 94-95. Second, Turner and

Areeda argued that judicial remedies are

incap able o f addressing t h e

anticompetitive effects of consciously

parallel pricing. Turner, supra, at 669-71,

Areeda, Antitrust Law, supra, ¶¶ 1432d5-

1432f, at 232-36; but see Posner, supra, at

98. Indeed, the Supreme Court has

described conscious parallelism in dicta as

“the process, not in itself unlawful, by

which firms in a concentrated market

might in effect share monopoly power,

setting their prices at a profit-maximizing,

supracompetitive level by recognizing

their shared economic interests and their

interdependence with respect to price and

output decisions.” Brooke Group Ltd. v.

Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 509

U.S. 209, 227 (1993) (emphasis added).

As a result, we have required that

plaintiffs basing a claim of collusion on

inferences from consciously parallel

behavior show that certain “plus factors”

also exist. See In re Baby Food, 166 F.3d

at 122; Petruzzi’s, 998 F.2d at 1243.11

Existence of these plus factors tends to

ensure that courts punish “concerted

action”—an actual agreement—instead of

the “unilateral, independent conduct of

competitors.” In re Baby Food, 166 F.3d at

11 Thus in order to establish illegal

concerted action based on “consciously

parallel behavior, a plaintiff must show (1)

that the defendants’ behavior was parallel;

(2) that the defendants were conscious of

each other’s conduct and that this

awareness was an element in their

decision-making process; and (3) certain

‘plus’ factors.” Petruzzi’s, 998 F.2d at

1242, quoted in Intervest, 340 F.3d at 165.

It is undisputed that the first two

circumstances exist here, and we therefore

concentrate on the third and final. 
14

122. In other words, the factors serve as

proxies for direct evidence of an

agreement.

The question then becomes, what

are “plus factors” that suffice to defeat

summary judgment? There is no finite set

of such criteria; no exhaustive list exists.

See Id.; Areeda, supra, ¶ 1434a, at 241-42.

We have identified, however, at least three

such plus factors: (1) evidence that the

defendant had a motive to enter into a

price fixing conspiracy; (2) evidence that

the defendant acted contrary to its

interests; and (3) “evidence implying a

traditional conspiracy.” Petruzzi’s, 998

F.2d at 1244. 

In the context of parallel pricing,

the first two factors largely restate the

phenomenon of interdependence. We

candidly acknowledged as much in In re

Baby Food, 166 F.3d at 122. See also

Areeda, supra, ¶ 1434c1, at 245

(“‘[C]onspiratorial motivation’ and ‘acts

against self-interest’ often do no more than

restate interdependence.”); Posner, supra,

at 100. Evidence that the defendant had a

motive to enter into a price fixing

conspiracy means evidence that the

industry is conducive to oligopolistic price

fixing, either interdependently or through

a more express form of collusion. In other

words, it is “evidence that the structure of

the market was such as to make secret

price fixing feasible.” In re High Fructose

Corn Syrup Antitrust Litigation, 295 F.3d

651, 655 (7th Cir. 2002). Evidence that the

defendant acted contrary to its interests

means evidence of conduct that would be

irrational assuming that the defendant

operated in a competitive market. In a

competitive industry, for example, a firm

would cut its price with the hope of

increasing its market share if its

competitors were setting prices above

marginal costs. Put differently, in

analyzing this factor a court looks to

“evidence that the market behaved in a

noncompetitive manner.” Id.

These two plus factors are

important to a court’s analysis, because

their existence tends to eliminate the

possibility of mistaking the workings of a

competitive market—where firms might

increase price when, for example, demand

increa s es— with interdependen t ,

supracompetitive pricing. But since these

factors often restate interdependence (at

least in the context of an alleged pricefixing conspiracy), they may not

suffice—by themselves—to defeat

summary judgment on a claim of

horizontal price-fixing amon g

oligopolists.

12 The most important

12 Neither factor is “strictly

necessary.” In re High Fructose Corn

Syrup Antitrust Litigation, 295 F.3d 651,

655 (7th Cir. 2002). Thus this type of

economic evidence is neither necessary

nor sufficient to conclude that sufficient

proof of an agreement exists to preclude

summary judgment, but it is relevant and

courts should as a general matter consider

it. 

We also observe that certain types
15

evidence will generally be non-economic

evidence “that there was an actual,

manifest agreement not to compete.” Id. at

661. That evidence may involve

“customary indications of traditional

conspiracy,”or “proof that the defendants

got together and exchanged assurances of

common action or otherwise adopted a

common plan even though no meetings,

conversations, or exchanged documents

are shown.” Areeda, supra, ¶ 1434b, at

243; see also Petruzzi’s, 998 F.2d at 1244.

We turn to whether plaintiffs here

have adduced sufficient evidence of plus

factors to preclude summary judgment on

their two separate antitrust claims.

A. Flat Glass

We first note that plaintiffs have

offered substantial evidence tending to

show that PPG had a motive to enter into

a price fixing conspiracy because

conditions existed in the flat glass industry

that were conducive to collusion. As we

have described, the flat glass market is

concentrated; there are a handful of sellers

and there is no “fringe market” of smaller

firms. Flat glass is sold primarily on the

basis of price, and although it may vary in

tint or thickness it is generally a

standardized product. Importantly, the

demand for flat glass was in decline during

the start of the 1990s and PPG and its

competitors had e xcess capacity.

Normally, reduced demand and excess

supply are economic conditions that favor

price cuts, rather than price increases.

There are also high fixed costs in the

industry. See App. 635. Suffice it to say,

the flat glass industry is in many respects a

text book example of an industry

susceptible to efforts to maintain

supracompetitive prices. See generally

Richard A. Posner, Antitrust Law 69-79

(2d ed. 2001). PPG concedes as much. See

Tr. of Oral Argument 21-22.

Similarly, there is evidence in the

record indicating that the price increases

PPG and its competitors implemented

were inconsistent with competition in the

industry. In other words, there is evidence

of anti-competitive behavior and that PPG

acted “contrary to its interests.” The entry

of Cardinal into the market, for example,

tends to indicate that flat glass producers

were charging supracompetitive prices.

See Posner, supra, at 89 (“The charging of

a monopoly price will attract new

competitors to a market who perceive

opportunities for unusual profits by reason

of the abnormally high price.”). More

important, no evidence suggests that the

increase in list prices was correlated with

any changes in costs or demand. Indeed, in

of “actions against self interest” may do

more th an restate econo m i c

interdependence. For example, non-price

acts against self-interest, such as

apparently unilateral exchanges of

confidential price information, cannot

simply be explained as a result of

oligopolostic interdependence. See

Blomkest Fertilizer, Inc., 203 F.3d at

1046-47 (Gibson, J., dissenting).
16

July of 1992 a PPG executive noted that

“[n]o one . . . believes that demand will be

robust enough to support a price increase

without significant discipline on the part of

all float producers.” App. 5841. After the

flat glass producers implemented a price

increase in September of 1992, the same

executive noted that “[b]asic supply and

demand do not support this [1992]

increase.” App. 5908. 

All the above indicates that the

price increases were collusive, but not

whether the collusion was merely

interdependent or the result of an actual

agreement. We therefore consider whether

sufficient “traditional” conspiracy

evidence exists from which a reasonably

jury could infer that an agreement existed.

Plaintiffs argue that evidence that PPG’s

competitors entered into an agreement—at

least amongst themselves—tends to show

that PPG too entered the same agreement.

They also argue that other circumstantial

evidence shows—or at least a finder of

fact could infer—that PPG agreed to raise

the price of flat glass three specific times:

June-July of 1991, September-October of

1992, and May-June of 1993.

As a preliminary matter, however,

we address an argument that pervades

PPG’s briefs, both before us and before the

District Court. PPG contends that

regardless of the flat glass producers’ list

prices, the actual transactional prices—that

is, the prices at which flat glass producers

actua lly sold their pro duct t o

customers—declined during the period of

the alleged conspiracy. Insofar as PPG

argues that plaintiffs cannot establish

liability as a matter of law for that reason,

it is simply wrong.13 “An agreement to fix

13 PPG argued before the District

Court, for example, that “controlling case

law precludes an antitrust plaintiff from

avoiding summary judgment by reliance

on evidence relating to list prices.” App.

667. PPG misstates the law. Declining

transaction prices will tend to support a

conclusion that competitors did not enter

into an agreement to fix prices where the

other record evidence also fails to

sufficiently prove an agreement. See, e.g.,

Clamp-All Corp., 851 F.2d at 484 (“[T]he

fact that [the defendants] often set prices

that deviated from their price lists helps

support the inference that the similarity of

price lists reflects individual decisions to

copy, rather than any more formal pricing

agreement.”). Our decision in In re Baby

Food is not to the contrary. In the specific

factual setting of that case—involving

“hundreds of products” and multiple

complicated discounts and price

promotions—we concluded that plaintiffs’

and their experts’ use of list price data was

insufficient to show that parallel pricing

had occurred. 166 F.3d at 128-29.

Significantly, the defendants made

“similar pricing decisions” 15.5% of the

time and priced their products differently

84.5% of the time. Id. at 128. The District

Court therefore concluded, in a portion of

its decision that we cited with approval,

that the plaintiffs were “unable to show

that defendants’ prices moved in a parallel

fashion. That is true both for list prices
17

prices is . . . a per se violation of the

Sherman Act even if most or for that

matter all transactions occurred at lower

prices.” In re High Fructose Corn Syrup,

295 F.3d at 656.

PPG does not—it cannot—seriously

contend that the flat glass producers

increased their list prices with no intention

of affecting transaction prices. “[S]ellers

would not bother to fix list prices if they

thought there would be no effect on

transaction prices.” Id. Thus declining

transaction prices despite an agreement to

fix list prices would constitute a failed

attempt to fix prices. But a horizontal

agreement to fix prices need not succeed

for sellers to be liable under the Sherman

Act; it is the attempt that the Sherman Act

proscribes. See Socony-Vacuum Oil Co.,

310 U.S. at 224 n.59.

1. Evidence of an Agreement 

Among PPG’s Competitors

The District Court concluded that

the record “undoubtedly evidences that

several of the settling defendants

conspired to fix prices.” App. 46. We

agree. The most compelling basis for this

conclusion is a document that LOF

submitted to the Department of Justice’s

Antitrust Division in 1995. 

The Antitrust Division had a

“Corporate Leniency Policy” in effect at

the time under which the DOJ accorded

“leniency to corporations reporting their

illegal antitrust activity at an early stage, if

they meet certain conditions.” App. 6459.

Among the policy’s requirements was that

the cooperating corporation “report[] the

wrongdoing with candor and completeness

and provide[] full, continuing and

complete cooperation that advances the

Division in its investigation.” App. 6460.

LOF sought leniency under the

policy in 1995, but the Antitrust Division

concluded that LOF had not been

sufficiently forthcoming with information

of its wrongdoing. “We are surprised that

you consider our proffer, which described

an agreed upon, across the board price

increase for the entire United States,” LOF

responded, “to be less than a ‘full and

complete disclosure.’” App. 5003. 

LOF’s response to the Antitrust

Division does not directly state that it

agreed with PPG to raise prices. But a

reasonable factfinder could infer such an

agreement from LOF’s reference to an

“across the board” price increase. Black’s

Law Dictionary defines “across-the-board”

as “[a]pplying to all classes, categories, or

groups.” Black’s Law Dictionary 24 (7th

ed. 1999). One reasonable interpretation of

LOF’s statement is that LOF agreed with

one or more competitor to increase the

price of all types of flat glass. Another is

that LOF agreed with all its competitors to

increase prices on one or more category of

flat glass. And yet another is that LOF

and transaction prices.” Id.
18

agreed with all its competitors to increase

the price of all types of flat glass.14

PPG argues that under our decision

in In re Baby Food, “the fact that some

other glass producers may have attempted

to fix prices in this case is irrelevant.” PPG

Brief 82. We disagree. Even if LOF’s

statement—and any other evidence—tends

to show that PPG’s competitors agreed

among themselves to raise prices but does

not directly implicate PPG, it is surely not

irrelevant to whether PPG entered an

agreement. If six firms act in parallel

fashion and there is evidence that five of

the firms entered into an agreement, for

example, it is reasonable to infer that the

sixth firm acted consistent with the other

five firms’ actions because it was also a

party to the agreement. That is especially

so if the sister firm’s behavior mirrored

that of the five conceded coconspirators.

In some circumstances, to be sure, such

evidence might not be sufficient alone to

defeat summary judgment. See In re Citric

Acid Litig., 191 F.3d 1090, 1106 (9th Cir.

1999). But we need not determine whether

it can be here, because plaintiffs argue that

additional evidence supports their

contention that PPG entered into an

agreement.

2. The June-July 1991 Increase

On June 7, 1991, AFG announced

that it was raising the price of its flat glass.

The price increase was to become effective

on July 15, 1991. App. 3552. Neither PPG

nor any of AFG’s other competitors raised

their prices in response.15

Also on June 7, 1991, top

executives from Pilkington’s various

businesses (including LOF) met in the

United Kingdom. Minutes from the

meeting state: “There were indications that

a price increase of approximately 8%

would hold” in the United States. App.

3868. 

A week later, on June 13, 1991, two

of LOF’s board members (Tomoaki Abe

and Mr. Matsumora) traveled to

Pennsylvania to play golf with Robert

Duncan, the Vice President of PPG’s Glass

Group. The night before they played golf,

Abe’s administrative assistant sent him a

fax relating a message from Glen

Nightingale, the Pilkington executive

based in London with responsibility for

LOF.16 The fax stated: “Mr. Nightingale

14 PPG does not argue that LOF’s

proffer is not admissible, and we therefore

assume that it is for purposes of this

decision. In any case, however, we would

reach the same result even if we did not

consider LOF’s proffer. 

15 AFG raised the price of its

“pattern glass” by 4%, its “thin glass

products” by 5%, its “gray and bronze

thicknesses” by 9%, and its “4mm-12mm”

also by 9%. App. 3552.

16 LOF’s proffer to the DOJ

identified Nightingale as an individual

“involved in the 1992 activities.” App.

5003. It also stated that Nightingale had
19

requests that you call him on Friday

morning [June 14] before you leave your

hotel room—it will only take two minutes.

He seemed rather firm. . .” App. 3890.

Two weeks later, on June 28, 1991,

PPG announced a 7.5-9% price

increase—an amount different than the

price increase AFG announced on June 7,

but notably approximately 8%—to be

effective July 29, 1991. App. 5833. PPG’s

competitors eventually followed suit with

virtually identical price increases, to be

effective either July 29 or August 1, 1991.

Ford announced its price increase on July

1, app. 3472; LOF announced its price

increase on July 8, app. 3474; Guardian

announced on July 9, app. 3482; and AFG

rescinded its June 7 increase and

announced a price increase in line with

PPG’s on July 10, app. 3551.

A copy of PPG’s June 28, 1991

announcement produced from the files of

John Frazier (manager of PPG’s

Knoxville, Tennessee branch) contains a

typewritten note on it stating: “ALL

OTHER MAJOR GLASS SUPPLIERS

ARE CONCURRENTLY RAISING

PRICES THE SAME PERCENTAGE.”

App. 5833. Evidence suggests that Frazier

received this document, together with the

typewritten notation, sometime before

PPG’s competitors had actually matched

PPG’s price increase.17

On July 2, 1991, a Ford executive

sent an email to his regional managers

stating that “[w]e must have total support

of this industry pricing action and focus

our attention on implementing the price

increase in an intelligent manner. The

actions being taken are important to the

industry and will improve the commercial

glass profitability.” App. 3553. As of that

day, however, neither LOF nor Guardian

had announced a price increase. They

announced increases on July 8 and July 9,

respectively.

A PPG internal document dated

September 6, 1991 stated that the “price

increase was implemented without any

problems.” App. 5831. A similar

document, dated September 3, 1991, stated

that “[t]he industry price increase was

implemented in August by all primary

“discussions with [an AFG executive] that

resulted in a price move.” App. 5004.

Nightingale invoked his Fifth Amendment

privilege against self incrimination when

plaintiffs sought to depose him. 

17 PPG on the other hand argues

that there is evidence suggesting that

someone typed the note on the June 28

announcement after its competitors

announced their price increases. PPG is

undoubtedly correct; this document’s time

frame is a disputed fact and a finder of fact

could reasonably reach the conclusion

PPG urges us to draw. But a fact finder

could also reasonably conclude the

opposite, and it is black letter law that we

must draw all reasonable inferences in

plaintiffs’ favor at this point in the

proceedings.
20

manufacturers, although varying degrees

of protection were offered by our

competition.” App. 5731. An internal LOF

document from November of 1991,

however, stated that the “[p]rice increase

of 8/19/91 is unraveling at several key

accounts due to AFG/Glaverbec/

Guardian’s failure to hold the line on

pricing and PPG’s price protected annual

contracts through the year end.” App.

1712.

To summarize: AFG raised its

prices, but no one followed suit. LOF

executives expressed their opinion at a

board meeting that an 8% increase in flat

glass prices would “hold.” Two board

members met with a PPG executive one

week later. Two weeks after the meeting,

PPG raised its flat glass prices by

essentially the same amount that LOF

executives thought would “hold.” An

internal PPG memorandum, which might

have been produced prior to any other firm

announcing an increase in its flat glass

prices, states that other flat glass producers

were “concurrently raising prices the same

percentage.” The flat glass manufacturers

initially felt that the price increase had

gone successfully, but they later felt it was

unsuccessful because at least some of

them failed to “hold the line.” 

3. The September-October 1992

Price Increase

A July 1, 1992 entry in the pocket

calendar for a Ford Regional Sales

Manager indicated that LOF was going to

announce a price increase on Sept. 22,

1992, effective Oct. 1, 1992, with

increases of 9% on clear and tinted glass

and 5% on “Eclipse” glass. App. 3628. A

few weeks later, on July 24, 1992, Joseph

Hudson—PPG’s Eastern Zone Manager

for Flat Glass Products, app. 5908—

noted: “No one, however, believes that

demand will be robust enough to support a

price increa se without significant

discipline on the part of all float

producers.” App. 5841.18

18 A fuller excerpt from the cited

portion of the record states: 

Glaverbec appears to have

quieted down just a bit in

terms of new aggressive

pricing, seemingly for the

first time to be content with

current absurdly low prices.

Significantly, for the first

time, Glaverbec is reported

to have said that their tank is

sold out. All producers,

including PPG, continue to

react sele cti v e ly t o

Glaverbec’s pricing and

attempt to protect selected

customers and selected

markets.

Discussion and rumors

surrounding a possible price

increase later in the year are

widespread in the market

place. No one, however,

believes that demand will be

robust enough to support a
21

In September of 1992, however, the

competitors announced a 5-9% price

increase: AFG announced its price

increase on September 15, 1992, to be

effective October 1, app. 3545; Guardian

announced a price increase on September

21, to be effective October 9, app. 3547;

LOF announced on September 22, to be

effective October 1, app. 3476; and both

PPG and Ford announced their prices

increases on September 23, to be effective

October 12, app. 3475, 3549. On

September 24, AFG changed the effective

date of its price increase from October 1 to

October 12. App. 3550.

Between September 22 and

September 26, 1992, soon after the price

increases were announced, senior

executives from the various competitors

(PPG, Ford, Guardian, and Pilkington)

attended a “Glass Fair” meeting in

Germany. A Pilkington executive reported

the following in a letter to LOF’s Skeddle:

I was pleased to learn during

the Glass Fair that an

attempt to raise prices by

9% in the United States had

been initially supported by

all supplie rs in th e

marketplace. During the

Fair, I also had the

opportunity to meet with

Russ Ebeid of Guardian

who assured me that they

were fully supportive of the

price increase proposition.

Clearly, this could make

quite a difference to your

results if the price increase

can stick.

App. 3895. This excerpt was removed

from a later version of the letter. App.

7194.19

Finally, during the same time period

in September of 1992, PPG’s Hudson

reiterated his July comment that a price

increase would not be consistent with

market conditions. According to Hudson,

“[b]asic supply and demand do not support

this [1992] increase.” App. 5908.20

price i ncreas e

without significant

discipline on the part

of all float producers.

App. 5841.

19 Even if this statement does not

unambiguously tend to show that flat glass

producers agreed ahead of time to raise

prices, it at least tends to show that there

was an agreement to maintain higher

prices despite competitive demands (i.e. to

“make it stick”).

20 The full excerpt from the record

reads:

Certainly the hot topic on

the pricing front is the

industry increase announced

during September to be

effective in October. Basic

supply and demand do not
22

To summarize: A Ford Regional

Sales Manager was aware of the precise

date when LOF was going to announce a

price increase almost three months ahead

of time, as well as the precise amounts of

the increase. A PPG executive believed

that the market would not support a price

increase. Nonetheless, PPG and its

competitors raised their prices by the same

amount, all within eight days of each

other. Soon after the price increases were

announced, executives from the various

flat glass producers attended a trade show

at which a executive from Guardian

assured an executive from Pilkington that

Guardian was “fully supportive of the

price increase proposition.”

4. The May-June 1993

Price Increase

In December of 1992, AFG’s Roger

Kennedy told LOF’s Roger Teat that AFG

was “considering another increase in May

or June [of 1993] of about 5 or 6%.” App.

3720, 3456, 3458-59. Teat reported this to

superiors at LOF with pricing authority.

App. 3721-23, 3456-58.21

LOF’s preliminary budget for fiscal

year 1994, dated January 21, 1993, refers

to a “May-June ‘93 price increase.” App.

6432. Similarly, an LOF “CEO’s Review

Report” from March 30, 1993 stated that

there would be “a U.S. domestic price

increase in the May-June timeframe.” App.

4031.22 And LOF’s revised budget (dated

support this increase,

so it will require

discipline on the part

o f eac h

manufa ctu rer .

G l averbe c ,

Guardian’s mirror

oper atio n s an d

AFG’s distribution

arm are keys to the

succ ess of th e

increase.

App. 5908.

21 Kennedy was an officer and

director of AFG. Although Teat did not

have pricing authority, his precise position

at LOF is unclear from the record.

22 A fuller excerpt stated:

A price increase has been

initiated in Eastern Canada

by PPG to be effective

March 22; 7% increase for

all clear, uncased product

(2.3mm through 6.0mm)

and a 9% increase for clear

cased prod uct. It is

anticipated that this increase

will be a lead into a U.S.

domestic price increase in

the May-June timeframe.

LOF is following the

Canadian lead and including

heavy clear and tint product

with the increase.

App. 4031.
23

April 5, 1993) also referred to a “MayJune price increase.” App. 4669.23

A few months later, on April 16,

1993, AFG f a xe d to PPG a

“prepublication” copy of its May 17, 1993

5.5% price increase announcement (to be

effective in June). App. 6369.24 It also

faxed a copy to Guardian. App. 3711. 

PPG announced a 5.5% price

increase on May 12, 1993, almost a week

before AFG was going to announce its

price increase. App. 5840. The rest of

PPG’s competitors quickly followed suit.

LOF, AFG, and Ford announced five days

later, on May 17, 1993. App. 3477, 3708,

3478. Guardian announced on May 19,

1993. App. 6105.

After the price increases went into

effect, John Musser (from PPG) reported

that “[t]he price increase of 5.5%

announced in early May by all major float

producers for an implementation on or

about June 7 has had the effect of

stabilizing prices.” App. 5906.

25 In a

23 In addition, Ford’s business plan

(dated April 29, 1993) also referred to a

5% price increase. App. 3698. Under the

heading “Possible Opportunities and

Improvements,” it stated: “A 5% market

price increase spurred by cyclical recovery

with increased industry capacity utilization

would increase profits by almost $3

million.” App. 3697-98.

24 PPG urges that AFG did not send

the fax on April 16, 1993, arguing that the

most likely explanation for the date’s

appearance on the fax is that the fax

machine malfunctioned. PPG is free to

make this argument to a jury, but surely a

reasonable finder of fact could infer that

the date on the fax means that it was sent

on that day. 

25 A fuller excerpt stated:

The price increase of 5.5%

announced in early May by

all major float producers for

an implementation on or

about June 7 has had the

effect of stabilizing prices.

Overall customer reaction to

the increase has been

favorable, particularly in the

mirror and distributor/

fabricator segments. Sash

accounts who are not price

protected are resisting the

increased [sic], to a degree.

The modest amount of the

increase, the perceived cost

justification for the increase,

and the firmness to date of

all float producers,

however, are all positive

factors which project that

the announced prices will

hold. The highest degree of

uncertainty resides on the

West Coast, which has the

lowest level of industry

capacity utilization. 

App. 5906.
24

similar vein, an LOF report (dated June 21,

1993) stated: “Price increase is in effect

from all major manufacturers. We are

monitoring the market to make sure that all

stick to the rules and will report any and

all information we hear about.” App. 3732.

PPG’s Central Zone Manager,

Thomas Merlitti, stated on June 25, 1993

that “[t]he price increase implemented in

June remains firmly in place as all major

flat glass producers are holding firm.”

App. 3507. And Hudson of PPG reported:

“The increase which was effective June 7

has been a nearly complete success.” App.

5794.

To summarize: AFG and LOF

discussed a May-June 1993 price increase

during the preceding December, and LOF

accounted for such an increase in its

forthcoming budget. In April, AFG faxed

to PPG a copy of the increase it planned to

announce on May 17. PPG announced an

identical increase on May 12, and the rest

of the flat glass producers followed with

identical price increases. LOF was

“monitoring the market to make sure that

all stick to the rules.” The flat glass

producers all “held firm,” and executives

from the firms generally considered the

price increase a “success.”

5. Analytical Summary

The above evidence is sufficient to

provide a finder of fact with a basis to

reasonably conclude that PPG agreed with

the other flat glass producers to raise

prices. Put differently, there is “evidence

that would enable a reasonable jury to

reject the hypothesis that the defendants

foreswore price competition without

actually agreeing to do so.” In re High

Fructose Corn Syrup, 295 F.3d at 661

(citing Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 488). 

First, there is the evidence—

including LOF’s assertion that there was

an “across the board” agreement to

increase prices—that PPG’s competitors

entered into an agreement. And viewed

collectively and holistically, there is

evidence tending to show that PPG was a

party to an agreement to raise the price of

flat glass on three occasions. 

PPG urges us to take a different

approach. It appears to propose that we

consider each individual piece of evidence

and disregard it if we could feasibly

interpret it as consistent with the absence

of an agreement to raise prices. With

regard to the announcement that stated “all

other major glass suppliers are

concurrently raising prices by the same

percentage,” for example, PPG argues that

the “facts suggest that the notation was

placed on the announcement after all glass

produc ers had is s ued their

announcements.” PPG Br. 25 (emphasis

added). Similarly, PPG contends that the

“most likely explanation” for the date that

appears on an AFG price announcement

found in PPG’s files “is that the date stamp

mechanism malfunctioned.” PPG Br. 43.

We echo the Seventh Circuit’s admonition

in In re High Fructose Corn Syrup that the

“statement of facts in the defendants’ brief

combines a recital of the facts favorable to
25

the defendants with an interpretation

favorable to them of the remaining

evidence; and that is the character of a trial

brief rather than of a brief defending a

grant of summary judgment.” 295 F.3d at

655. PPG’s arguments are well-suited for

an argument before a jury, but they are

irrelevant to our consideration in the

present posture of this case.

Alternatively, PPG appears to

contend that we should disregard certain

categories of evidence, from various

periods of time, because such evidence

does not in isolation lead inexorably to the

conclusion that PPG entered into an

agreement. Tr. of Oral Argument 25. PPG

argues, for example, that competitors’

possession of each others’ price increase

announcements or meetings among

competitors’ executives cannot suffice to

preclude summary judgment. To be sure,

the mere presence of such evidence does

not require a court to deny summary

judgment. In In re Baby Food, we

observed that “[w]e do not believe that the

mere possession o f com petitive

memoranda is evidence of concerted

action to fix prices.” 166 F.3d at 126. But

the price-exchange evidence in In re Baby

Food was far less compelling than in this

case. The In re Baby Food plaintiffs relied

upon testimony of competitors’ price

information gathered by low-level sales

employees in unsystematic fashion.

Plaintiffs pointed to a few competitors’

memos in sales files, but there was no

evidence of how the documents got there.

Additional evidence documented some

awareness of competitors’ price increase

plans. Notably, these scraps of evidence of

foreknowledge were not correlated to any

actual concerted price increase activity

among all competitors. 

We made two salient points in

reviewing this evidence and rejecting the

inference of agreement. First, we noted

that price discussion among low level sales

people has little probative weight; we

distinguished the far different situation

where upper level executives have secret

conversations about price. Id. at 125 & n.8

(“Evidence of sporadic exchanges of shop

talk among field sales representatives who

lack pricing authority is insufficient to

survive summary judgment.”). Second, and

more important, we emphasized that “there

must be evidence that the exchanges of

information had an impact on pricing

decisions.” Id. at 125. The reason for this

requirement is that exchanges of price

information may be compatible with

competition, because they may “‘increase

economic efficiency and render markets

more, rather than less, competitive.’” Id.

(quoting United States v. United States

Gypsum Co., 438 U.S. 422, 443 n.16

(1978)). The In re Baby Food plaintiffs

simply could not correlate information

exchanges with specific collusive

behavior. Rather, they made the more

amorphous claim that the exchanges of

information “impacted the market as a

whole.” Id.

The exchanges of information here,

by contrast, are qualitatively different from

those in In re Baby Food, particularly

when considered in the context of other
26

evidence. First, there is evidence tending

to show that the exchanges occurred at a

higher level of the flat glass producers’

structural hierarchy. Second, and more

importantly, a finder of fact could

reasonably infer that the flat glass

producers used the information to

implement collusive price increases; that

is, “the exchanges of information had an

impact on pricing decisions.” A court must

look to the evidence as a whole and

consider any single piece of evidence in

the context of other evidence. See Big

Apple BMW, Inc. v. BMW of North

America, Inc., 974 F.2d 1358, 1364-65 (3d

Cir. 1992), cited in In re Baby Food, 166

F.3d at 124. So, for example, there is

evidence that AFG faxed to PPG a copy of

a planned future increase that it had not

announced publicly, PPG announced an

identical increase before AFG, and the rest

of the flat glass producers followed with

identical price increases. It would take no

stretch of the imagination for a fact finder

to infer from this evidence—one piece of

which is PPG’s possession of a

“competitive memoranda”—that PPG

engaged in concerted action to fix prices.

In sum, here the exchanges of

information are more tightly linked with

concerted behavior and therefore they

appear more purposive. Several of the key

documents emphasize that the relevant

price increases were not economically

justified or supportable, but required

competitors to hold the line. Others

suggest not just foreknowledge of a single

competitor’s pricing plans, but of the plans

of multiple competitors. Predictions of

price behavior were followed by actual

price changes. The inference of concerted

rather than interdependent action is

therefore stronger. In other words, these

facts take the exchanges of pricing

information outside the realm of “mere

possession.” In re Baby Food, 166 F.3d at

126. 

We need not speculate as to

whether something less than the evidence

in this record—two rate increases, for

instance, rather than three—would suffice

to deny summary judgment. The evidence

here, in its totality, is sufficient to go to a

jury.

B. Automotive Replacement Glass

As described above, PPG and other

automotive replacement glass producers

supplied NAGS with their truckload list

prices for various automotive replacement

glass products. NAGS would select a

particular truckload price—usually the

truckload price of the identical OEM glass

product—to devise recommended retail

prices for the products. NAGS devised the

recommended price by using a particular

“multiplier” for each type of product.26

The glass producers knew the multipliers

NAGS used, and were able to calculate

backwards to the truckload price that

NAGS had utilized. The producers would

then align their truckload list prices with

26 The multiplier for domestic

windshields, for example, was 4.06. App.

2980.
27

the price that NAGS had used. As a result,

the automotive replacement glass

producers often increased their prices in

parallel fashion.27

Plaintiffs argue that the evidence

shows that PPG and other automotive

replacement glass producers agreed to

raise their prices. They provide evidence

that although it was against PPG’s official

policy, PPG provided its truckload pricing

information to NAGS. Plaintiffs also refer

to the NAGS website, which at one point

stated: “[M]anufacturers were in conflict

over their published list prices. As a

neutral party NAGS was asked to assign

list prices to NAGS part numbers,

establishing the NAGS List Price.” App.

6444-45.28 In addition, a chart that LOF

devised depicts the process. It indicates

that producers gave their truckload prices

to NAGS, NAGS selected a particular

truckload price, the producers issued a

“new pricing schedule adjusted to

NAGS,” and as a result “industry pricing

stabilize[d].” App. 4939.

We understand why the NAGS

Calculator would raise suspicion in

plaintiffs’ minds, and why plaintiffs would

seek discovery regarding PPG’s use of the

calculator. Cf. Areeda, supra, ¶ 1435g, at

264-65 (discussing the use of “pricing

manuals”). But publication of pricing

information can have a pro-competitive

effect. As we note above, we should

therefore hesitate to rest on inference of

improper collusion from this ambiguous,

or even pro-competitive, fact. See, e.g., In

re Baby Food, 166 F.3d at 126; Petruzzi’s,

998 F.2d at 1232. After conducting

discovery, plaintiffs have failed to adduce

sufficient evidence to create a genuine

issue of material fact. First, there is no

evidence that PPG or any other

automotive replacement glass producer

exerted influence overthe truckload prices

that NAGS selected to formulate

recommended prices. And there is no

27 PPG, Ford and LOF increased

the price of windshields by 7% and

tempered parts by 8%, for example, in

February-March of 1992. App. 5913,

5917, 7184. Similarly, in JanuaryFebruary of 1992 they increased

windshield prices by 9% and tempered

parts by 10%. App. 4899, 7192, 7187. 

28 A fuller excerpt states:

In the 1950s, manufacturers

were in conflict over their

published list prices. As a

neutral party NAGS was

asked to assign list prices to

NAGS part numbers,

establishing the NAGS List

Price. These prices reflected

the industry practice of

discounting and were based

on manufacturers’truckload

prices. NAGS started

publishing the part numbers

with prices, establishing the

‘NAGS calculator’.

App. 6444-45 (emphasis added).
28

evidence—unlike the evidence we

described above regarding flat glass list

prices—that the automotive replacement

glass manufacturers agreed to adjust their

list prices according to the NAGS

recommended price. We will therefore

affirm summary judgment on this claim.

C. Evidentiary Rulings

The District Court excluded several

categories of evidence before it decided

PPG’s motions for summary judgment.

Plaintiffs appeal from four of the District

Court’s evidentiary determinations. We

address them in turn.29

1. Fifth Amendment

When plaintiffs sought to depose

Skeddle and Bryant—the former LOF

executives who were charged with crimes

and who alleged that LOF engaged in

illegal antitrust activity—they both

asserted their Fifth Amendment privilege

against self incrimination. The District

Court denied plaintiffs’ motion in which

they urged the Court to compel Skeddle

and Bryant to testify. Plaintiffs now

challenge the District Court’s ruling on

appe al. We review the Co urt’s

determination for an abuse of discretion.

See United States v. Castro, 129 F.3d 226,

229 (1st Cir. 1997). 

As a general matter, a court should

allow a witness to invoke his Fifth

Amendment privilege only if the hazard of

incrimination is “substantial and ‘real,’

and not merely trifling or imaginary.”

United States v. Apfelbaum, 445 U.S. 115,

128 (1980) (citation omitted). Yet “the

trial judge should order the witness to

answer questions only if it is perfectly

clear, from a careful consideration of all

the circumstances in the case that the

answer cannot possibly tend to incriminate

the witness.” United States v. Washington,

318 F.3d 845, 856 (8th Cir.), cert. denied,

124 S. Ct. 251 (2003) (internal quotations

and citations omitted); see also United

States v. Yurasovich, 580 F.2d 1212,

1215-16 (3d Cir. 1978) (“To support a

contempt citation for a refusal to testify on

Fifth Amendment grounds . . . it must be

‘Perfectly clear from a care ful

consideration of all the circumstances in

the case, that the witness (who invokes the

privilege) is mistaken, and that the

answer(s) cannot Possibly have such a

tendency to incriminate.’”).

Plaintiffs argue that the Court erred

because (1) all relevant statutes of

limitations have run; and (2) the relevant

prosecutorial authorities have stated that

they do not intend to bring criminal

charges against Skeddle or Bryant. It is

irrelevant, however, that prosecutorial

29 We do not address the District

Court’s other evidentiary rulings, such as

its decision to exclude the transcript of

Skeddle’s grand jury testimony. Plaintiffs

opine that the District Court erred when it

excluded the testimony, but they do not

appeal from that decision. Plaintiffs’ Br.

18.
29

authorities have stated that they do not

intend to prosecute Skeddle or Bryant. See

Matter of Special Federal Grand Jury, 819

F.2d 56, 58 (3d Cir. 1987) (“[A] promise

by the government not to use the testimony

to be compelled, even if approved by a

court, does not strip the recipient of the

protection of that privilege.”). And

Skeddle and Bryant have sufficiently

refuted plaintiffs’ statute of limitations

argument. To be sure,“if a prosecution for

a crime, concerning which the witness is

interrogated, is barred by the statute of

limitations, he is compellable to answer.”

Brown v. Walker, 161 U.S. 591, 598

(1896). But, contrary to plaintiffs’

assertion, Skeddle and Bryant have

identified several state statute of

limitations that have not run. In Michigan,

for example, a defendant’s absence from

the state tolls the statute of limitation for

certain of the state’s antitrust laws. See

Mich. Comp. Laws. Ann. §§ 445.781,

767.24(5). The District Court did not

abuse its discretion by declining to compel

Skeddle and Bryant to testify.

2. Skeddle’s Notes

Over the course of the litigation,

plaintiffs obtained a large collection of

Ronald Skeddle’s handwritten notes. The

notes fall into two general categories:

notes that LOF provided to plaintiffs

during discovery and notes that the DOJ

produced to plaintiffs pursuant to an order

of the District Court. App. 10746, 11154.

Skeddle originally provided the latter

notes, which the parties have come to call

the “Queen’s File,” to a grand jury

empaneled in the spring of 1996 to

investigate Skeddle’s (and others)

allegations of wrongdoing in the flat glass

industry.30

PPG filed two separate in limine

motions seeking to exclude both

categories of notes, and the District Court

granted its motions because it determined

that the notes contain “multiple levels of

hearsay” and did not fall within any

exception to the hearsay rule. App. 47-48,

56-58. “[W]e review the district court's

decisions to admit or exclude evidence for

abuse of discretion, although our review is

plenary as to the interpretation or

application of a legal standard underlying

such a decision.” Robinson v. City of

Pittsburgh, 120 F.3d 1286, 1293 (3d Cir.

1997) (citations omitted). 

a. Non-Queen’s File Notes

Plaintiffs argue that many portions

of Skeddle’s notes tend to support their

contentions that PPG agreed with its

competitors to increase prices on at least

two of the three occasions we discussed

above. With respect to the June-July 1991

price increase, plaintiffs reference a May

31, 1991 note that states: “Glen

30 There is apparently some amount

of overlap between the two categories of

notes: LOF had already produced a

portion of the notes that plaintiffs also

obtained as part of the Queen’s File. App.

11154 n.3. 
30

[Nightingale] heard that Glaverbec wants

to move upwards in N.E. Reg’s.” App.

4567. Similarly, a note that plaintiffs argue

Skeddle wrote no later than May of 1991

states that Jim Collins, a PPG Regional

Sales Manager, “mentioned that PPG is

looking at the possibility of an inc this

summer.” App. 3938. 

With regard to the SeptemberOctober 1992 price increase, plaintiffs

refer to notes that purportedly memorialize

conversations Skeddle had with Glen

Nightingale, of Pilkington. First, a note

dated February 6, 1992 provides: “Clearly

Glen has had discussions w AFG,

Guardian, & probably indirectly w PPG

(crystal tower) re price increases, and is

asking me now to supply him info so that

he can initiate more detailed discussions

with his contacts.” App. 3877. And a note

that plaintiffs contend pertains to a

meeting Skeddle had with Glen

Nightingale on April 29, 1992 states:

Glen indicated he would

make contacts w AFG and

Glaverbel/Glaverbec to see

if he could get them to agree

to come off their silly low

prices and if he could

initiate a general price

increase w/in the next 2

months.

He indicated he would get

back to me to indicate his

findings/effectfollowing his

calls.

App. 4581. Another note also ostensibly

memorializing a conversation Skeddle had

with Glen Nightingale states that

Nightingale met with AFG’s Dee

Hubbard. The note mentions an

“incremental increase” and states that

“AFG will lead—before Labor Day.” App.

3891. 

Similarly, a note from a meeting

Skeddle had with LOF board member

Tomoaki Abe and dated November 17,

1992 contains the notation: “Mtgs. w PPG,

Guardian re lic’g, prices, etc.” App. 10602.

Finally, a note that plaintiffs contend

memorializes a July 13, 1992 conversation

with Nightingale states:

Glen then related his

information on North

American flat glass pricing

— the info came from

Hubbard of AFG, and the

top guy at Glaverbel (Asahi)

who control Glaverbec in

Canada, [illegible] controls

AFG in the states. 

The indication is that new

“targets” have b e e n

established for AFG and

Glaverbec in Canada @

~7% ab ove r ecen t

experience—letters will be

forthcoming to the general

mkt place explaining new

prices as follows:

[chart omitted]
31

These prices should go into

effect 17th July.

Glen then related that

Hubbard & he have “talked”

and have together convinced

PPG to take the lead in

putting up the price by ~7%

with letter to go out in Sept.

92, to take effect Oct. 1,

1992—with PPG taking the

lead.

App. 3893. 

Plaintiffs argue that these

statements are admissible because they are

statements of coconspirators under Federal

Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(E) and

therefore not hearsay. Alternatively, they

argue that even if the statements are

hearsay they are admissible as statements

against interest under Federal Rule of

Evidence 804(b)(3). 

We first consider whether the

District Court erred in concluding that the

statements were not admissible as against

interest under Rule 804(b)(3). A hearsay

statement is nonetheless admissible if (1)

“the declarant is unavailable as a witness,”

United States v. Boyce, 849 F.2d 833, 836

(3d Cir. 1988); (2) “the statement is so far

contrary to his pecuniary, proprietary or

penal interest that ‘a reasonable person in

the declarant's position would not have

made the statement unless believing it to

be true,’” id. (quoting Fed. R. Evid.

804(b)(3)); (3) “the trustworthiness and

reliability of the statemen t [is]

corroborated by the ‘totality of

circumstances’ in the case,” id.; and (4) the

declarant had personal knowledge (i.e., he

perceived the facts to which the statement

relates), see United States v. Ammar, 714

F.2d 238, 254 (3d Cir. 1983); 5 Jack B.

Weinstein et al., Weinstein’s Federal

Evidence § 804.06[4] (2d ed. 2003).31 The

31 Federal Rule of Evidence

804(b)(3) provides:

(b) Hearsay exceptions. The

following are not excluded

by the hearsay rule if the

declarant is unavailable as a

witness:

. . . .

(3) Statement against

interest. A statement which

was at the time of its

making so far contrary to

the declarant's pecuniary or

proprietary interest, or so far

tended to subject the

declarant to civil or criminal

liability, or to render invalid

a claim by the declarant

against another, that a

reasonable person in the

declarant's position would

not have made the statement

unless believing it to be

true. A statement tending to

expose the declarant to

criminal liability and

offered to exculpate the

accused is not admissible

unle ss corrobora ting
32

second and third requirements are

“somewhat redundant” and often require

“‘a sensitive analysis of the circumstances

in which the statement was made and the

precise nature of the statement.’” Boyce,

849 F.2d at 836 (quoting United States v.

Palumbo, 639 F.2d 123, 127 (3d Cir.

1981)); see also United States v. Moses,

148 F.3d 277, 280 (3d Cir. 1998) (“This

determination must be made ‘by viewing

[the statement] in context’ and ‘in light of

all the surrounding circumstances.’”)

(quoting Williamson v. United States, 512

U.S. 594, 603-604 (1994)).

Here, the District Court concluded

that Skeddle’s statements were

inadmissible because they “have not been

corroborated by the totality of the

circumstances.” App. 47. Because this was

the total of the District Court’s analysis,

the precise basis for this conclusion is

unclear. In its in limine motion before the

District Court, PPG appears to have

offered three reasons why the totality of

the circumstances do not corroborate

Skeddle’s statements: (1) actual events did

not occur precisely as the notes indicated

they would (e.g., PPG did not “lead” the

September 1992 price increase); (2)

Skeddle’s notes tend to implicate others

besides himself; and (3) Skeddle may not

have written the notes contemporaneously

with the events he described in them. App.

10748-50.

The first two factors do not

sufficiently impugn Skeddle’s statements.

To the contrary, discrepancies between

Skeddle’s statements and later actual

events could tend to reinforce their

veracity; statements that exactly mirrored

what occurred would arguably be more

suspect. And there is no per se rule that

statements implicating another person in

misconduct are not against the interest of

the declarant. See Moses, 148 F.3d at 280.

We do not agree with PPG’s assertion that

the statements, which relate the

inculpatory statements of his superiors

(such as Nightingale), do not also

inculpate Skeddle. Skeddle was the

President of LOF at the time of the alleged

conspiracy. Discussions to increase prices

and Skeddle’s knowledge of those

discussions blanket him with antitrust

liability. Indeed, such liability likely forms

the basis for Skeddle’s invocation of his

Fifth Amendment privilege against self

incrimination. 

We agree, however, that a finding

that Skeddle’s notes were not

contemporaneous would support a

conclusion that the statements are not

reliable or corroborated by the

circumstances clearly

i n dicate t h e

trustworthiness of

the statement.

Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(3). We note that the

Confrontation Clause raises some

additional issues about admissibility of

such testimony in a criminal case, but

those concerns are irrelevant in this civil

case. See Crawford v. Washington, 123 S.

Ct. 1354 (2004).
33

circumstances. Skeddle left LOF under a

cloud of mutual disaffectio n.

Consequently, documenting LOF

wrongdoing during a time when LOF was

alleging that Skeddle himself had engaged

in wrongdoing would tend to impugn

Skeddle’s motives and therefore also the

reliability of the statements. But it is not

clear that the District Court excluded

Skeddle’s notes because it found that they

were not contemporaneous. Moreover, it is

not clear that the record supports such a

conclusion; on their face, many of the

notes give no indication that they were ex

post fabrications. 

The District Court’s summary

disposition of PPG’s in limine motion

hinders our ability to determine whether it

abused its discretion. Cf.Becker v. ARCO

Chemical Co., 207 F.3d 176, 181 (3d Cir.

2000) (“Where, however, the district court

fails to explain its grounds for denying a

Rule 403 objection and its reasons for

doing so are not otherwise apparent from

the record, there is no way to review its

discretion.”). Since we conclude that a

jury could find an agreement existed even

absent Skeddle’s notes and we would

remand on that basis alone, we believe the

best course is to allow the District Court to

consider these evidentiary matters in the

first instance. We will therefore remand

the District Court’s determination that

Skeddle’s statements were not against self

interest so that the Court can consider its

rulings in light of our decision and more

fully explain any bases for its rulings.32

Similarly, we will also remand the

District Court’s determination that the

statements in Skeddle’s notes were not

statements of co-conspirators. “In orderfor

an out-of-court statement to be admissible

pursuant to Rule 801(d)(2)(E), the district

court must find by a preponderance of the

evidence that: (1) a conspiracy existed; (2)

the declarant and the party against whom

the statement is offered were members of

the conspiracy; (3) the statement was made

in the course of the conspiracy; and (4) the

statement was made in furtherance of the

conspiracy.” United States v. Ellis, 156

32 In this regard, the District Court

should determine whether, because the

statements at issue were diary entries,

Skeddle believed that they would be seen

by anyone. This may bear on whether they

qualify as statements against interest.

See Zenith Radio Corp. v. Matsushita

Electric Industrial Co., 505 F. Supp. 1190,

1259-60 (E.D. Pa. 1981), issue aff’d In re

Japanese Electronic Products Antitrust

Litigation, 723 F.2d 238, 300 (3d Cir.

1983), rev’d on other grounds sub. nom

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v.

Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (1986).

We do not categorically hold that diary

entries cannot satisfy the requirements of

Rule 804(b)(3), see Walker v. Lockhart,

763 F.2d 942, 951 n.18 (8th Cir. 1985) (en

banc), but we do believe that a searching

inquiry is appropriate here, In re Japanese

Electronic Products, 723 F.2d at 300.
34

F.3d 493, 496 (3d Cir. 1998).33

Here, the District Court determined

that plaintiffs had not satisfied the second

requirement. It concluded that the

statements in Skeddle’s notes were not

admissible as co-conspirator statements

because “plaintiffs have failed to adduce

sufficient evidence that PPG was a coconspirator in the alleged price-fixing

conspiracy.” App. 48.34 In other words,

although the Court concluded that there

was evidence that a conspiracy existed, see

app. 46, it found that there was insufficient

evidence that PPG was a party to the

conspiracy. 

 It was plaintiffs’ burden to show by

a preponderance of the evidence that the

statements in Skeddle’s notes were made

in the course of and in furtherance of a

conspiracy of which the declarant and PPG

were members. See United States v.

McGlory, 968 F.2d 309, 334 (3d Cir.

1992) (citing Bourjaily v. United States,

483 U.S. 171, 175 (1987)); 5 Jack B.

Weinstein et al., Weinstein’s Federal

Evidence § 801.34[6][a] (2d ed. 2003).

And it was the District Court’s role to

determine whether plaintiffs satisfied their

burden. See Bourjaily, 483 U.S. at 175;

Ammar, 714 F.2d at 247 n.5. In making

this factual determination, a district court

is not bound by the rules of evidence. See

Bourjaily, 483 U.S. at 178-79; Fed. R.

Evid. 104(a). Thus a district court can

consider hearsay and other inadmissible

evidence. See McGlory, 968 F.2d at 334.

And it must consider the content of the

alleged coconspirator statement as well,

although the statements require

independent corroboration. See Fed. R.

Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) (“The contents of the

statement shall be considered but are not

alone sufficient to establish . . . the

existence of the conspiracy and the

participation therein of the declarant and

the party against whom the statement is

offered . . . .”).

The Court’s summary disposition

again hampers our review of its decision

for an abuse of discretion, however, which

is the standard of review we must apply to

its Rule 801(d)(2)(E) determinations. See,

e.g., United States v. Local 560 (I.B.T.),

974 F.2d 315, 337 (1992). Insofar as the

Court based its determination on a

conclusion that there was insufficient

33 There is no requirement that the

declarant be speaking from personal

knowledge. See United States v. Ammar,

714 F.2d 238, 254 (3d Cir. 1983); 5 Jack

B. Weinstein et al., Weinstein’s Federal

Evidence § 801.23[2] (2d ed. 2003).

34 The District Court characterized

the admissibility of coconspirator

statements as an “exception to the hearsay

rule.” Rules 803 and 804 set forth

exceptions to the hearsay rule; that is, they

explain when statements are admissible

even though they qualify as hearsay. Rule

801(d), however, sets forth statements that

are admissible because they do not

constitute hearsay, including statements

“by a coconspirator of a party during the

course and in furtherance of the

conspiracy.” Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(E).
35

evidence from which a jury could

conclude that PPG entered into an

agreement to fix prices, the District Court

erred for the reasons we set forth above.

But simply because a jury could find by a

preponderance of the evidence that PPG

entered into a conspiracy, it is not the case

that the District Court must find that

plaintiffs showed by a preponderance of

the evidence that PPG entered into an

agreement. Any particular factual

determination requires making a number

of more particularized factual

determinations and weighing the relevant

importance of those determinations. And

two factfinders could feasibly reach

different conclusion, especially under a

preponderance of the evidence standard.

To be sure, however, “the Federal Rules

of Evidence are to be liberally construed

in favor of admissibility.” United States v.

Pelullo, 964 F.2d 193, 204 (3d Cir. 1992).

Because we will remand plaintiffs’

flat glass price fixing claim for further

proceedings, we again conclude that the

best course is to remand the District

Court’s determination that the statements

in Skeddle’s notes were not coconspirator

statements. See In re Japanese Electronics

Products Antitrust Litigation, 723 F.2d

238, 263 (3d Cir. 1983) (remanding Rule

801(2)(E) determination to be

reconsidered),rev’d on other grounds sub.

nom. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v.

Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (1986).

Thus the District Court can consider

whether the statements in Skeddle’s notes

are coconspirator statements with the

benefit of our discussion of the evidence

tending to implicate PPG in a price-fixing

conspiracy, and can further explain any

bases it might have for its reasoning.35

Finally, we note that many of the

notes contain multiple levels of hearsay.

See, e.g., Carden v. Westinghouse Elec.

Corp., 850 F.2d 996, 1001-02 (3d Cir.

1988); Fed. R. Evid. 805. One note states,

for example, that Nightingale “related”

that he and an AFG executive “convinced

PPG to take the lead in putting up the price

by ~7% with letter to go out in Sept. 92, to

take effect Oct. 1, 1992—with PPG taking

the lead.” App. 3893. The note itself

(Skeddle’s statement) and Nightingale’s

assertion that he convinced PPG to take

the lead in increasing prices are both outof-court statements that plaintiffs seek to

use to prove the truth of the matter

asserted. Either or both might be

admissible as statements of coconspirators

as well as statements against interest.

Again, we think the District Court should

make these determinations in the first

instance, taking into account our

35

 PPG argues that the District

Court concluded that the statements in

Skeddle’s notes were not in furtherance of

any conspiracy, ostensibly because—as

PPG argues—Skeddle did not create the

notes at the same time as the events he

purports to describe in them. But nothing

in the Court’s decision indicates that this

was a basis for its determination that the

statements were inadmissible. The District

Court will surely consider PPG’s

arguments in this regard on remand. 
36

discussion in this opinion.

b. Queen’s File Notes

The District Court concluded that

the statements in the Queen’s File notes,

like the statements in the other Skeddle

notes, were not admissible as

coconspirator statements because

“plaintiffs have failed to adduce sufficient

evidence that PPG was a co-conspirator in

the alleged price-fixing conspiracy.” App.

57. It also concluded that the statements

were hearsay and the Queen’s File was not

admissible under the statement against

interest exception because “the statements

contained therein are not contrary to

Skeddle’s pecuniary or penal interest” and

because “the documents’ trustworthiness

and reliability are questionable given the

totality of the circumstances.” App. 57.36

Since this was the sum of the

District Court’s reasoning, we turn to

PPG’s arguments before the District Court

to discern the bases for the Court’s

decision. Cf. United States v.

Himmelwright, 42 F.3d 777, 781 (3d Cir.

1994) (looking to whether bases for

district court’s decision was “apparent

from the record” where the court did not

explain the grounds for its decision). PPG

argued that most of the notes in the

Queen’s File “were written after Mr.

Skeddle’s termination as chief executive

officer of LOF on May 10, 1993, when he,

Edward Bryant (then LOF’s head of

manufacturing operations), and Darryl

Costin (then LOF’s head of technical

operations) were fired amidst allegations

of actionable self-dealing.” App. 11154.

Many of the notes appear, on their face, to

support PPG’s contention. They are

written in the third-person, for example,

and they refer to events that post-date

Skeddle’s termination. See, e.g., Supp.

App. 437. One note, for instance, refers to

the “summer of 1993” in the past tense.

App. 11154.

If the District Court concluded that

the notes were not contemporaneous, it

could have concluded that the statements

contained therein were not in furtherance

of a conspiracy or corroborated by the

totality of the circumstances; that is, it

could have concluded that the statements

were not admissible as coconspirator

statements or statements against interest. If

we could conclude that the District Court

excluded all the Queen’s File notes on that

basis, we would affirm the District Court’s

decision. But PPG concedes that not all

the Queen’s File notes appear to be noncontemporaneous. See PPG Br. 94, Tr. of

Oral Argument 46. We will therefore

36 The DistrictCourt also concluded

that the Queen’s File and non-Queen’s

File notes did not fall within the business

records exception of Rule 803(6). App.

47, 56-57. And the Court found that the

“Queen’s File does not qualify as an

admission by a party opponent under

Rules 801(d)(2)(A), (B), (C), or (D).”

App. 57-58. Plaintiffs do not argue that

the District Court erred in these

determinations, and we therefore do not

address them. 
37

remand the District Court’s decision to

exclude the Queen’s File notes for the

same reasons we remand its determination

to exclude Skeddle’s other notes. We

think it best for the District Court to have

the opportunity to make these evidentiary

determinations with the benefit of our

discussion here.

3. Evidence Concerning

OEM Glass

As we explained above, PPG and

others fabricated flat glass into products

for use in automobiles. Some of those

products—called “original equipment

manufacturer ” gla ss ( “OE M

glass”)—were fabricated for use in new

automobiles. Others were fabricated for

use as automotive replacement parts. The

latter products—called automotive

replacement glass—are the same as OEM

glass products, but the markets for the two

are distinct.

In order to prove that PPG

conspired to fix the price of flat glass,

plaintiffs offered evidence that they argue

shows that PPG conspired with LOF to fix

the price of OEM glass products.

Specifically, plaintiffs argue that meetings

and conversations occurred between

Edward Bryant—who was LOF’s

Executive Vice President in charge of the

firm’s flat glass, automotive replacement

glass, and OEM businesses—and Frank

Archinaco (the head of PPG’s automotive

replacement glass and OEM businesses).

These meetings and discussions were

private and occurred, according to

plaintiffs, at “opportune times” for price

fixing. 

The District Court concluded that

while the evidence constituted “other bad

acts” evidence under Federal Rule of

Evidence Rule 404(b), it was admissible

for other acceptable purposes (e.g. motive,

opportunity, or intent). Yet the Court

excluded the evidence because it

determine that the evidence’s probative

value was substantially outweighed by the

danger of unfair prejudice. App. 54-55.

This is a standard Rule 403 balance, which

we review with “substantial deference.”

McQueeney v. Wilmington Trust Co., 779

F.2d 916, 922 (3d Cir. 1985).37

While evidence that PPG and LOF

conspired together in the OEM market

would be relevant to plaintiffs’ claim that

PPG also conspired to fix prices in the

market for flat glass, see In re High

Fructose Corn Syrup, 295 F.3d at 661

(noting that defendant conceded to having

37 PPG also argues that we should

affirm the District Court’s decision

because a reasonable jury could not

conclude that PPG committed the “other

bad acts”—conspiring in the OEM

market—that plaintiffs argue tend to show

that PPG conspired to fix the prices of flat

glass. See Huddleston v. United States,

485 U.S. 681, 689 (1988). The District

Court did not exclude the OEM glass

evidence on that basis, however, and we

need not address PPG’s argument since

we affirm on other grounds. 
38

fixed prices on related products during the

same time frame as the alleged

conspiracy), Areeda, supra, ¶ 1421, at 145,

plaintiffs’ evidence here is not particularly

probative of any OEM glass conspiracy.

The weakness of this evidence also

mitigates any danger of unfair prejudice.

But we cannot say that the District Court

abused its discretion in weighing these

countervailing considerations, and we will

therefore affirm the Court’s decision to

exclude the OEM glass evidence. 

III. Conclusion

We will affirm the District Court’s

decision granting summary judgment on

plaintiffs’ claim that PPG conspired to fix

the prices of automotive replacement

glass. We conclude, however, that there is

sufficient evidence in the record—not

taking into account evidence the District

Court excluded—from which a reasonable

jury could find that PPG conspired to fix

the prices of flat glass. We will therefore

reverse the District Court’s judgment and

remand for further proceedings. In

addition, we will affirm the District

Court’s decisions declining to compel

Skeddle and Bryant to testify and

excluding evidence regarding OEM glass.

But we will remand the Court’s decision to

exclude Skeddle’s notes so that the Court

can consider its ruling in light of our

opinion here and have a further

opportunity to explain the bases for its

decisions.