Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/173/995/548125/
Timestamp: 2019-08-22 13:10:10
Document Index: 53119779

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 1', '§ 15', '§ 1']

Re/max International, Inc.; A.e.b.t.s., Inc., D/b/a Re/maxcrossroads Properties; T.m.a.t.n.b., Inc., D/b/a Re/maxaffinity, Inc.; D.f.i., Inc., D/b/a Re/max Results; Josephp. Grady, Inc., D/b/a Re/max Xpress; Mcgrew Realty, Inc.,d/b/a Re/max Key Realty; Property Professionals, Inc.,d/b/a Re/max Property Professionals,plaintiffs-appellants/cross-appellees,re/max Northeast Ohio Limited Partnership; Zames Realty,inc.; Realty Properties, Inc.; True Independencepartnership; R.e.p., Inc.,intervenors-appellants/cross-appellees, v. Realty One, Inc. (96-3362/3469); Smythe Cramer Company(96-3362/3470), Defendants-appellees/cross-appellants, 173 F.3d 995 (6th Cir. 1999) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Sixth Circuit › 1999 › Re/max International, Inc.; A.e.b.t.s., Inc., D/b/a Re/maxcrossroads Properties; T.m.a.t.n.b., Inc.,...
Re/max International, Inc.; A.e.b.t.s., Inc., D/b/a Re/maxcrossroads Properties; T.m.a.t.n.b., Inc., D/b/a Re/maxaffinity, Inc.; D.f.i., Inc., D/b/a Re/max Results; Josephp. Grady, Inc., D/b/a Re/max Xpress; Mcgrew Realty, Inc.,d/b/a Re/max Key Realty; Property Professionals, Inc.,d/b/a Re/max Property Professionals,plaintiffs-appellants/cross-appellees,re/max Northeast Ohio Limited Partnership; Zames Realty,inc.; Realty Properties, Inc.; True Independencepartnership; R.e.p., Inc.,intervenors-appellants/cross-appellees, v. Realty One, Inc. (96-3362/3469); Smythe Cramer Company(96-3362/3470), Defendants-appellees/cross-appellants, 173 F.3d 995 (6th Cir. 1999)
US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit - 173 F.3d 995 (6th Cir. 1999)
Argued Oct. 30, 1997. Decided April 6, 1999
Plaintiffs and intervenors, whom we shall call plaintiffs or Re/Max, appeal from the entry of summary judgment against them on their state and federal antitrust claims. Defendant Realty One cross-appeals from the Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) (6) dismissal of its complaint for failure to state a claim on some of its counterclaims and from the Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 entry of summary judgment on others.
Fourth, the court dismissed Realty One's antitrust disparagement claim ((4) above), because " [m]ere allegations of business disparagement are not the type of injuries to competition that the antitrust laws were designed to prevent."
Fifth, the court found that Realty One had stated a valid claim that the plaintiffs conspired to conduct sham litigation against Realty One in violation of § 1 of the Sherman Act ((6) above). Sixth, Realty One's state-law counterclaims contained allegations sufficient to survive a 12(b) (6) motion ((7) & (8) above).
On September 11, 1995, the district court denied another motion by Realty One asking for summary judgment. This time, the defendant claimed that issues decided in Re/Max International, Inc. v. Donald Greif, No. 90-0166 (N.D. Ohio Mar. 14, 1990), precluded Re/Max from arguing for a different result in the present case. For reasons not important to this appeal, the district court denied Realty One's motion. Realty One has abandoned any issue-preclusion assignment of error by failing to discuss it on appeal.
Moreover, the court ruled that the testimony of Leo Lee--to the effect that Realty One's CEO admitted conspiring with Smythe Cramer to impose the adverse splits--was inadmissible. The court found the conversation between Lee and Realty One's CEO to be inadmissible hearsay, and not within the requirements of the coconspirator exclusion of Fed.R.Evid. 801(d) (2) (E), because there was insufficient evidence of a conspiracy and because the statement could not be construed as being "in furtherance of" the conspiracy even if one existed. The court apparently did not consider whether the statement was admissible against Realty One simply as an admission of a party opponent. Fed.R.Evid. 801(d) (2) (D).
Because the central claims in the case had been dismissed, and because proceeding to trial on the sham-litigation claim would result in undue delay of the appeals from the several judgments as matters of law, the district court entered final judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b). This timely appeal followed.
We review for abuse of discretion the district court's judgments of dismissal for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) (6), and de novo, its dismissal of claims on summary judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56.
As we have said, § 1 of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1, prohibits any "contract, combination ..., or conspiracy" between two or more persons that unreasonably restrains trade in interstate commerce. See Standard Oil Co. v. United States, 221 U.S. 1, 31 S. Ct. 502, 55 L. Ed. 619 (1911). Absent sufficient evidence that Realty One and Smythe Cramer agreed to adopt the adverse-splits policy, § 1 of the Sherman Act is not implicated. See Nurse Midwifery Assocs. v. Hibbett, 918 F.2d 605, 611 (6th Cir. 1990). We turn, therefore, to a discussion of the evidence adduced regarding the defendants' alleged conspiracy.
As in other areas of law, a conspiracy may be demonstrated by direct or circumstantial evidence. However, circumstantial evidence alone cannot support a finding of conspiracy when the evidence is equally consistent with independent conduct. In such a case, the evidence of conspiracy would not preponderate. See Riverview Investments, Inc. v. Ottawa Community Improvement Corp., 899 F.2d 474, 483 (6th Cir. 1990). In other words, circumstantial evidence must tend to exclude the possibility of independent conduct in order that an antitrust claim survive summary judgment. Important factors to evaluate in this analysis include: (1) whether the defendants' actions, if taken independently, would be contrary to their economic self-interest; (2) whether the defendants have been uniform in their actions; (3) whether the defendants have exchanged or have had the opportunity to exchange information relative to the alleged conspiracy; and (4) whether the defendants have a common motive to conspire. See Wallace v. Bank of Bartlett, 55 F.3d 1166, 1168 (6th Cir. 1995). Ordinarily, an affirmative answer to the first of these factors will consistently tend to exclude the likelihood of independent conduct.
Considered separately, Aveni's oral utterances and his act of leaning forward and smiling have no incriminatory meaning. But, considered together, as the constituent parts of a single, unitary assertive statement, each part integral to the others, as Aveni obviously intended, the statement unmistakably conveys the idea that Aveni actually had "talked" to McKelvey, but that no one would be able to prove it. As we have said, the district court ruled that Aveni's communication was inadmissible hearsay as to both defendants, and was not made admissible as "not hearsay" under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d) (2) (E), because there was not sufficient evidence of a conspiracy, and even if there was, the statement did not further the conspiracy. We hold that the district court erred in excluding Lee's testimony as to Realty One. Even if Aveni's declaration was not admissible as a statement of a coconspirator under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d) (2) (E), we are satisfied that it is "not hearsay" under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d) (2) (D) and is admissible against Realty One as a "statement by the party's [ (Realty One) ] agent [ (Aveni) ] ... concerning a matter within the scope of the agency or employment, made during the existence of the relationship." Id.
Of course, Aveni's communication to Lee would not be admissible against Smythe Cramer as an admission under Rule 801(d) (2) (D), because Aveni was not an agent of Smythe Cramer. The question remains, however, whether the statement was admissible against Smythe Cramer as the statement of a coconspirator under Rule 801(d) (2) (E). A statement is "not hearsay" if it is offered against a party--Smythe Cramer--and was made "by a coconspirator of a party"--Realty One--"during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy." Fed.R.Evid. 801(d) (2) (E). "A 'statement is "in furtherance of" a conspiracy if it is intended to promote the objectives of the conspiracy.' " United States v. Monus, 128 F.3d 376, 392 (6th Cir. 1997). However, " [t]he statement need not actually advance the conspiracy to be admissible." United States v. Clark, 18 F.3d 1337, 1342 (6th Cir. 1994).
Although the district court thought otherwise, we are satisfied, as we have said, that there was sufficient evidence of a conspiracy in the record, with or without Lee's testimony, to defeat summary judgment. Consequently, it follows that there is sufficient evidence of a conspiracy to meet that foundation requirement for the admissibility of Aveni's statement under Rule 801(d) (2) (E). In addition to the independent evidence of conspiracy we have already discussed, Aveni's statement itself could properly have been considered by the district court in making its Rule 104(a) determination concerning the admissibility of the statement as substantive evidence under Rule 801(d) (2) (E). Bourjaily v. United States, 483 U.S. 171, 180-81, 107 S. Ct. 2775, 97 L. Ed. 2d 144 (1987). In all events, we have no doubt that to the extent proof of the existence of a conspiracy is a foundation fact that conditions the admissibility of Aveni's statement under Rule 801(d) (2) (E), the plaintiffs met their burden. That having been said, however, we cannot say that the district court clearly erred in excluding Aveni's statement on the ground that it was not in furtherance of the conspiracy.
Northwest Wholesale Stationers, Inc. v. Pacific Stationery and Printing Co., 472 U.S. 284, 289, 105 S. Ct. 2613, 86 L. Ed. 2d 202 (1985) (citation omitted). Generally speaking, group boycotts and refusals to deal are "so likely to restrict competition without any offsetting efficiency gains that they should be condemned as per se violations." Id. at 290, 105 S. Ct. 2613. However, as the Court stated in FTC v. Indiana Federation of Dentists, "the category of restraints classed as group boycotts is not to be expanded indiscriminately." 476 U.S. 447, 458, 106 S. Ct. 2009, 90 L. Ed. 2d 445 (1986).
If an antitrust defendant's conduct cannot reasonably be justified as pro-competitive--viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff according to the summary-judgment standard--then a per se analysis is appropriate. As the Supreme Court has stated, "A plaintiff seeking application of the per se rule must present a threshold case that the challenged activity falls into a category likely to have predominantly anticompetitive effects." Northwest Wholesale Stationers, 472 U.S. at 298, 105 S. Ct. 2613.
In Northwest Wholesale Stationers, defendant Northwest's expulsion of Pacific Stationery from a wholesale cooperative was not likely to result in predominantly anticompetitive effects because Northwest did not possess market power or exclusive access to an element essential to effective competition. Id. at 296, 298, 105 S. Ct. 2613. The Court did note, though, that a concerted refusal to deal "might justify per se invalidation if it placed a competing firm at a severe competitive disadvantage." Id. at 295 n. 6, 105 S. Ct. 2613.
On the other hand, in FTC v. Superior Court Trial Lawyers Association, 493 U.S. 411, 422-23, 110 S. Ct. 768, 107 L. Ed. 2d 851 (1990), the Court found per se illegal an agreement, entered into by many private lawyers who regularly represented indigent criminal defendants, to refuse assignments from the court until the District of Columbia raised their rate of compensation. Notably, the Court did not consider whether the attorneys who had agreed to the boycott in fact exercised market power. Their horizontal refusal-to-deal agreement alone "unquestionably" constituted a "naked restraint on price and output." Id. at 423, 110 S. Ct. 768 (internal quotation marks omitted).
While the Northwest Wholesale Stationers and Superior Court Trial Lawyers cases provide a framework for the analysis of the present case, FTC v. Indiana Federation of Dentists, 476 U.S. 447, 106 S. Ct. 2009, 90 L. Ed. 2d 445 (1986), is particularly instructive. Indiana Federation makes clear that, although the "rule of reason"--which requires proof of unreasonable restraint of trade--and per se analysis are often discussed as if they are dichotomous, the practical difference between these two analytical tools is sometimes negligible. In Indiana Federation, a group of dentists conspired to deny insurance companies' requests for x-rays that the insurers needed in order to determine the necessity for dental procedures performed on their insureds. Id. at 451, 106 S. Ct. 2009. The Court viewed the dentists' refusal as a group boycott, even though the group did allow the insurance companies to review the x-rays at the dentists' offices. In essence, the imposition of the additional cost of traveling to the dentists' offices made the dentists' conduct a refusal to deal. However, the Court did not find the refusal to deal was a per se violation because Indiana Federation differed from the paradigmatic per se case "in which firms with market power boycott suppliers or customers in order to discourage them from doing business with a competitor." Id. at 458, 106 S. Ct. 2009. Apparently, Indiana Federation was not such a case because the boycott did not have the purpose of discouraging the dentists' customers from doing business with competitors. Thus, the Court required proof that the boycott unreasonably restrained trade.
Id. at 459, 106 S. Ct. 2009 (citations omitted).
Notably, the Court rejected the dentists' argument that the rule-of-reason analysis must fail because the relevant market had not been defined and the Federation's market power not proven. Id. at 460, 106 S. Ct. 2009. According to the Court, even if the Federation's boycott was not sufficiently "naked" to require it to come forward with some procompetitive justification, sufficient proof of the boycott's actual detrimental effects obviated the need for detailed market analysis. Id. at 460-61, 106 S. Ct. 2009. In that case, the FTC had found that in the communities of Anderson and Lafayette, Indiana, the Federation had obtained the cooperation of "heavy majorities" of dentists and had effectively thwarted insurers' requests for x-rays in those areas. These findings of detrimental effects, "viewed in light of the reality that markets for dental services tend to be relatively localized," were "legally sufficient to support a finding that the challenged restraint was unreasonable even in the absence of elaborate market analysis." Id. at 461, 106 S. Ct. 2009 (emphasis added). Moreover, the proof that insurers' requests had been effectively denied was sufficient to support the unreasonable-restraint finding, even absent any proof that the dentists' refusal to deal resulted in higher prices for consumers. Id. Thus:
Id. at 461-62, 106 S. Ct. 2009.
The offense of monopolization under § 2 has two elements: "(1) the possession of monopoly power in the relevant market and (2) the willful acquisition or maintenance of that power as distinguished from growth or development as a consequence of a superior product, business acumen, or historic accident." United States v. Grinnell Corp., 384 U.S. 563, 570-71, 86 S. Ct. 1698, 16 L. Ed. 2d 778 (1966).
There are two ways to establish the first element, that is, that the defendant holds monopoly power. The first is by presenting direct evidence "showing the exercise of actual control over prices or the actual exclusion of competitors." Byars v. Bluff City News Co., 609 F.2d 843, 850 (6th Cir. 1979). The second is by presenting circumstantial evidence of monopoly power by showing a high market share within a defined market. See Coastal Fuels of Puerto Rico, Inc. v. Caribbean Petroleum Corp., 79 F.3d 182, 196-97 (1st Cir. 1996); Rebel Oil Co. v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 51 F.3d 1421, 1434 (9th Cir. 1995). In recent years, parties and courts have increasingly moved toward utilizing the circumstantial method as a "shortcut." However, this does not undercut the continued viability of the first avenue of establishing monopoly power. For the reasons below, we find that although the plaintiffs failed to define the relevant market with precision and therefore failed to establish the defendants' monopoly power through circumstantial evidence, there does exist a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the plaintiffs' evidence shows direct evidence of a monopoly, that is, actual control over prices or actual exclusion of competitors. A geographic market is defined as an " 'area of effective competition.' " Moore v. Matthews & Co., 550 F.2d 1207, 1218 (9th Cir. 1977) (citation omitted). Although such an area is not subject to definition by metes and bounds, see White & White, Inc. v. American Hosp. Supply Corp., 723 F.2d 495, 503 (6th Cir. 1983), it is the locale in which consumers of a product or service can turn for alternative sources of supply, see Moore, 550 F.2d at 1218. Obviously, at the outer edges of a bona fide geographic market, buyers may be able to cross into other territory for their supply of a product or service; however, this fact alone does not require a rejection of the claimed market. See United States v. Philadelphia Nat'l Bank, 374 U.S. 321, 359-60, 83 S. Ct. 1715, 10 L. Ed. 2d 915 (1963). On the other hand, when the evidence indicates that a large proportion of consumers within the proposed area in fact turn to alternative sources of supply outside the proposed area, the market boundaries posited by the plaintiff must be rejected. See Bathke v. Casey's Gen. Stores, Inc., 64 F.3d 340, 346 (8th Cir. 1995). Dr. Martin in his report devoted 16 pages to defining the relevant geographic markets. He concluded that each of the 161 municipalities and townships in northeast Ohio as listed on the relevant multilisting service (MLS) was its own market for brokerage services and for real-estate agents. As support, Dr. Martin noted the following: there are few economies of scale in consolidating many agents into one office covering more geographical area; at least one study has shown that 70% of home sales occur within five miles of the listing-agent's office; franchise operators frequently limit their franchisees' territory to a one-mile radius around the franchise office; and franchisors expanding into new territory do so by acquiring existing brokerages because they regard as critical the local knowledge possessed by local agents. Furthermore, the plaintiffs' expert noted that market-share data are tracked community by community, and the MLS data are also broken down that way because the information is only useful community by community.
We agree that an antitrust plaintiff is not required to rely on indirect evidence of a defendant's monopoly power, such as high market share within a defined market, when there is direct evidence that the defendant has actually set prices or excluded competition. This court recognized such a rule in Byars v. Bluff City News Co., 609 F.2d 843, 850 (6th Cir. 1979) (citing American Tobacco Co. v. United States, 328 U.S. 781, 66 S. Ct. 1125, 90 L. Ed. 1575 (1946)). In Byars, the plaintiff received periodicals from a regional distributor and distributed them to small retailers in exchange for 10% of sales. Eventually, the regional distributor decided to refuse to deal with the plaintiff--who this court deemed an independent contractor--and began distributing the periodicals to the small retailers directly. Id. at 848.
Although the district court found no § 2 violation, this court remanded for "fresh fact-finding" and directed the district court to consider not only the defendant's market share, but also whether the customers for which the parties were competing received "inferior service at greater cost" once the defendant prevented the plaintiff from servicing the small retailers and left the latter no alternative source of supply. Id. at 852, 853 n. 26. If the evidence that the retailers received less service at greater cost was credited by the district court, it "lends strong support to plaintiff's contention that [the defendant] possesses monopoly power." Id. at 853 n. 26. As we stated: " [T]he simplest way of showing monopoly power is to marshal evidence showing the exercise of actual control over prices or the actual exclusion of competitors." Id. at 850.
This view has been adopted, at least implicitly, in four sister circuits: the First, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth. See, e.g., Coastal Fuels of Puerto Rico, Inc. v. Caribbean Petroleum Corp., 79 F.3d 182, 196-97 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 927, 117 S. Ct. 294, 136 L. Ed. 2d 214 (1996); Rebel Oil Co. v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 51 F.3d 1421, 1434 (9th Cir. 1995); Flegel v. Christian Hosp., 4 F.3d 682, 688 (8th Cir. 1993); Reazin v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas, Inc., 899 F.2d 951, 966-67 (10th Cir. 1990). As the Eighth Circuit has stated:
Flegel, 4 F.3d at 688 (quoting Indiana Fed'n, 476 U.S. at 461, 106 S. Ct. 2009). Other circuits also look to evidence of actual detrimental effects in the absence of market definition and market share, but require unambiguous evidence that a defendant can control prices or exclude competition. See, e.g., Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wis. v. Marshfield Clinic, 65 F.3d 1406, 1412 (7th Cir. 1995); United States Football League v. National Football League, 842 F.2d 1335, 1362 (2d Cir. 1988). On the other hand, the Fifth Circuit has rejected a plaintiff's claim in light of the defendant's low market share even though there was evidence of control over prices. See Dimmitt Agri Indus., Inc. v. CPC Int'l, Inc., 679 F.2d 516, 526 (5th Cir. 1982).
The Supreme Court has noted on at least two occasions that direct evidence of monopoly power will support an antitrust claim. See Eastman Kodak Co. v. Image Technical Servs., Inc., 504 U.S. 451, 477, 112 S. Ct. 2072, 119 L. Ed. 2d 265 (1992); Indiana Fed'n, 476 U.S. at 460-61, 106 S. Ct. 2009. In Eastman Kodak, Kodak was accused of "tying" the sale of one product to the purchase of a separate product from Kodak, in violation of § 1. After the Court found sufficient evidence that Kodak had in fact tied the two products, it turned to the next question: whether Kodak had the power to raise prices and restrict output in the market for the secondary product. See 504 U.S. at 464, 112 S. Ct. 2072. Because evidence existed that Kodak had increased prices and excluded competition in the market for the secondary product, it bore the "substantial burden" of proving that it did not, in fact, possess monopoly power. Id. at 469, 112 S. Ct. 2072. Similarly, the Indiana Federation Court rejected defendant Federation's contention that the lack of proof regarding the relevant market required summary judgment in its favor. 476 U.S. at 460, 106 S. Ct. 2009. Instead, the Court looked to evidence that the Federation had actually defeated insurance companies' requests to view insureds' x-rays in holding that detailed market analysis was not required. Id. at 461, 106 S. Ct. 2009. As the Indiana Federation Court noted:
The statute of limitations for federal antitrust actions is four years from the accrual of the action. 15 U.S.C. § 15b. A cause of action accrues when a defendant commits an act that injures the plaintiff's business. Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 401 U.S. 321, 338, 91 S. Ct. 795, 28 L. Ed. 2d 77 (1971). Courts look to a defendant's overt acts, rather than the effects of those acts. Peck v. General Motors Corp., 894 F.2d 844, 849 (6th Cir. 1990). The district court held that no plaintiff's § 1 conspiracy claim is barred, because the plaintiffs produced evidence that the defendants fraudulently concealed evidence of their agreement to impose adverse splits against Re/Max.
The question of the franchisor-plaintiffs' standing may be resolved by reference to Associated General Contractors of California, Inc. v. California State Council of Carpenters (AGC), 459 U.S. 519, 103 S. Ct. 897, 74 L. Ed. 2d 723 (1983), and to Southaven Land Co. v. Malone & Hyde, Inc., 715 F.2d 1079 (6th Cir. 1983).
Although a discussion of these cases will necessarily extend this already extensive opinion, we think they provide a useful background for our conclusion concerning the sometimes abstruse standing doctrine. In AGC, a union sued an association of employers, claiming that the association coerced its members and other employers to enter into business relationships with nonunion firms. The union alleged that this coercion diverted business opportunities from unionized firms, and thereby adversely affected the union itself. 459 U.S. at 520, 103 S. Ct. 897. The Court rejected the union's claim to standing on several grounds. First, although the union alleged a causal connection between the antitrust violation and the harm the union suffered, and also that the defendants intended to cause that harm, the Court held that the injury was not the type that the Sherman Act was meant to prevent because labor-relations issues fall under "a separate body of labor law specifically designed to protect and encourage the organizational and representational activities of labor unions." Id. at 540, 103 S. Ct. 897.
Second, the Court said, the injury to the union was speculative and indirect: the union had alleged only unspecified injuries to its "business activities," and the injuries were derivative of the injuries to the unionized contractors who lost jobs to nonunion firms. Id. at 541, 103 S. Ct. 897. If either the unionized association-member firms or the other coerced employers had suffered an injury attributable to the antitrust violation, they would have a valid antitrust cause of action. However,
Id. at 542, 103 S. Ct. 897. The speculative nature of the injury was confirmed by the lack of any allegation that the share of the contracting market controlled by unions had decreased, that the number of union members had declined, or that the union's dues or initiation fees had decreased. Moreover, there was no allegation that any employer was prevented from hiring a unionized contractor, as opposed to being forced to hire certain nonunionized firms. Id.
Third, the difficulty in computing damages if the union were granted standing stood as a final barrier to the union's claim. If the union had standing, the trial court would potentially face the daunting task of determining to what extent business was diverted from unionized contractors; identifying the union's damages; and apportioning damages among directly injured contractors, unions, and union employees. Id. at 545, 103 S. Ct. 897.
Realty One maintains that the district court erroneously dismissed five of its counterclaims. To reiterate, Realty One has charged Re/Max with (1) conspiring to monopolize the northeast Ohio real-estate market by "combin [ing] their financial and other resources to work unlawfully in concert against local real estate brokers," (2) conspiring to unreasonably restrain trade by agreeing not to recruit other Re/Max agents, (3) conspiring to offer 50/50 commission splits in cooperative transactions with other brokerages, (4) interfering in Realty One's business relationships with its customers and agents in violation of Ohio state law, and (5) engaging in unfair competition by bringing sham litigation, also in violation of Ohio law.
Third, Realty One's final antitrust counterclaim--that Re/Max franchises conspired with each other and with the franchisors to set cooperative commission rates at 50/50--is also legally insufficient. As we have said, setting cooperative sales-commission rates is not price fixing: it has no relation to the amount charged to clients for an agent's services. Thus, FTC v. Superior Court Trial Lawyers Association, 493 U.S. 411, 110 S. Ct. 768, 107 L. Ed. 2d 851 (1990), is inapplicable. Rather, cooperative rates constitute incentives for non-listing agents to show the listed property. We found that Re/Max has made out a jury-submissible claim that Realty One's and Smythe Cramer's