Source: http://supreme.nolo.com/us/451/630/case.html
Timestamp: 2020-01-20 16:55:18
Document Index: 795349397

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 206', '§ 2000', '§ 301', '§ 185', '§ 1', '§ 1']

TEXAS INDUS., INC. V. RADCLIFF MATERIALS, INC., 451 U. S. 630 - Volume 451 - 1981 - Full Text - US Supreme Court Center - USSC Cases - Nolo
US Supreme Court Center > Volume 451 > TEXAS INDUS., INC. V. RADCLIFF MATERIALS, INC., 451 U. S. 630 (1981) > Full Text
(b) The federal courts are not empowered to fashion a federal common law rule of contribution among antitrust wrongdoers. Contribution does not implicate "uniquely federal interests" of the kind that oblige courts to formulate federal common law. Moreover, even though Congress may have intended to allow federal courts to develop governing principles of law in the common law tradition with regard to substantive violations of the Sherman Act, it does not follow that Congress intended to give courts as wide discretion in formulating remedies to enforce the Act or the kind of relief sought through contribution. There is nothing in the Act itself, in its legislative history, or in the overall
On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed, holding that, although the Sherman and the Clayton Acts do not expressly afford a right to contribution, the issue should be resolved as a matter of federal common law. Wilson P. Abraham Construction Corp. v. Texas Industries, Inc., 604 F.2d 897 (1979). The court then examined what it perceived to be the benefits and the difficulties of contribution, and concluded that no common law rule of contribution should be fashioned by the courts.
The parties and amici representing a variety of business
Proponents of a right to contribution advance concepts of fairness and equity in urging that the often massive judgments in antitrust actions be shared by all the wrongdoers. In the abstract, this position has a certain appeal: collective fault, collective responsibility. But the efforts of petitioner and supporting amici to invoke principles of equity presuppose a legislative intent to allow parties violating the law to draw upon equitable principles to mitigate the consequences of their wrongdoing. Moreover, traditional equitable standards have something to say about the septic state of the hands of such a suitor in the courts, and, in the context of one wrongdoer suing a coconspirator, these standards similarly suggest that parties generally in pari delicto should be left where they are found. See supra at 451 U. S. 634. [Footnote 7]
Respondents and amici opposing contribution point out that an even stronger deterrent may exist in the possibility, even if more remote, that a single participant could be held fully liable for the total amount of the judgment. In this view, each prospective coconspirator would ponder long and hard before engaging in what may be called a game of "Russian roulette." [Footnote 8] Moreover, any discussion of this problem
The parties and amici also discuss at length how a right to contribution should be structured and, in particular, how to treat problems that may arise with the allocation of damages among the wrongdoers and the effect of settlements. Dividing or apportioning damages among a cluster of coconspirators presents difficult issues, for the participation of each in the conspiracy may have varied. Some may have profited more than others; some may have caused more damage to the injured plaintiff. Some may have been "leaders" and others "followers"; one may be a "giant," others "pygmies." [Footnote 9] Various formulae are suggested: damages may be allocated according to market shares, relative profits, sales to the particular plaintiff, the role in the organization and operation of the conspiracy, or simply pro rata, assessing an equal amount against each participant on the theory that each one is equally liable for the injury caused by collective action. In addition to the question of allocation, a right to contribution may have a serious impact on the incentive of defendants to settle. Some amici and commentators have suggested that the total amount of the plaintiff's claim should be reduced by the amount of any settlement with any one coconspirator; others
Earlier this Term, in Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Transport Workers, ante p. 451 U. S. 77, we addressed the similar question of a right to contribution under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d), and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. We concluded that a right to contribution may arise in either of two ways: first, through the affirmative creation of a right of action by Congress, either expressly or by clear implication; or, second, through the power of federal courts to fashion a federal common law of contribution. Ante at 451 U. S. 90-91. [Footnote 10]
Brief for Petitioner 10. Moreover, it is equally clear that the Sherman Act and the provision for treble damages actions under the Clayton Act were not adopted for the benefit of the participants in a conspiracy to restrain trade. On the contrary, petitioner "is a member of the class whose activities Congress intended to regulate for the protection and benefit of an entirely distinct class," Piper v. Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., 430 U. S. 1, 430 U. S. 37 (1977) (emphasis added). The very idea of treble damages reveals an intent to punish past, and to deter future, unlawful conduct, not to ameliorate the liability of wrongdoers. The absence of any reference to contribution in the legislative history or of any possibility that Congress was concerned with softening the blow on joint wrongdoers in this setting makes examination of other factors unnecessary. California v. Sierra Club, ante at 451 U. S. 298; Touche Ross Co. v.
The vesting of jurisdiction in the federal courts does not, in and of itself, give rise to authority to formulate federal
In areas where federal common law applies, the creation of a right to contribution may fall within the power of the federal courts. For example, in Cooper Stevedoring Co. v. Fritz Kopke, Inc., 417 U. S. 106 (1974), we held that contribution
Federal common law also may come into play when Congress has vested jurisdiction in the federal courts and empowered them to create governing rules of law. See Wheeldin v. Wheeler, supra, at 373 U. S. 652. In this vein, this Court has read § 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185(a), not only as granting jurisdiction over defined
It does not necessarily follow, however, that Congress intended to give courts as wide discretion in formulating remedies to enforce the provisions of the Sherman Act or the kind of relief sought through contribution. The intent to allow courts to develop governing principles of law, so unmistakably clear with regard to substantive violations, does not appear in debates on the treble damages action created
In contrast to the sweeping language of § 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, the remedial provisions defined in the antitrust laws are detailed and specific: (1) violations of §§ 1
Our cases interpreting the treble damages action, see, e.g., Hawaii v. Standard Oil Co., 405 U. S. 251 (1972); Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 401 U. S. 321 (1971); Perma Life Mufflers, Inc. v. International Parts Corp., 392 U. S. 134 (1968), do not suggest that, in the past,
The range of factors to be weighed in deciding whether a right to contribution should exist demonstrates the inappropriateness of judicial resolution of this complex issue. Ascertaining what is "fair" in this setting calls for inquiry into the entire spectrum of antitrust law, not simply the elements
Compare Wilson P. Abraham Construction Corp. v. Texas Industries, Inc., 604 F.2d 897 (CA5 1979) (this case), and Olson Farms, Inc. v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 1979-2 Trade Cases � 62,995 (CA10), rehearing en banc granted (Dec. 27, 1979), with Professional Beauty Supply, Inc. v. National Beauty Supply, Inc., 594 F.2d 1179 (CA8 1979).
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