Source: http://openjurist.org/print/30557
Timestamp: 2015-03-29 10:43:35
Document Index: 319000834

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 7', '§ 18', '§ 4', '§ 15', '§ 16', '§ 26', '§ 7']

429 US 477 Brunswick Corporation v. Pueblo Bowl-O-Mat Inc
429 US 477 Brunswick Corporation v. Pueblo Bowl-O-Mat Inc 429 U.S. 477
97 S.Ct. 690
50 L.Ed.2d 701
BRUNSWICK CORPORATION, Petitioner,v.PUEBLO BOWL-O-MAT, INC., et al.
2. Petitioner is entitled under Fed.Rule Civ.Proc. 50(b) to judgment on the damages claim notwithstanding the verdict, since respondents' case was based solely on their novel theory, rejected herein, of damages ascribable to profits they would have received had the acquired centers been closed, and since respondents have not shown any reason to require a new trial. P. 489-490.
3 Cir., 523 F.2d 262, vacated and remanded.
Malcolm A. Hoffmann, New York City, for respondents.
This case raises important questions concerning the interrelationship of the antimerger and private damages action provisions of the Clayton Antitrust Act.
* Petitioner is one of the two largest manufacturers of bowling equipment in the United States. Respondents are three of the 10 bowling centers owned by Treadway Companies, Inc. Since 1965, petitioner has acquired and operated a large number of bowling centers, including six in the markets in which respondents operate. Respondents instituted this action contending that these acquisitions violated various provisions of the antitrust laws.
In the late 1950's, the bowling industry expanded rapidly, and petitioner's sales of lanes, automatic pinsetters, and ancillary equipment rose accordingly.1 Since this equipment requires a major capital expenditure $12,600 for each lane and pinsetter, App. A1576 most of petitioner's sales were for secured credit.
In the early 1960's, the bowling industry went into a sharp decline. Petitioner's sales quickly dropped to preboom levels. Moreover, petitioner experienced great difficulty in collecting money owed it; by the end of 1964 over $100,000,000, or more than 25%, of petitioner's accounts were more than 90 days delinquent. Id., at A1884. Repossessions rose dramatically, but attempts to sell or lease the repossessed equipment met with only limited success.2 Because petitioner had borrowed close to $250,000,000 to finance its credit sales, id., at A1900, it was, as the Court of Appeals concluded, "in serious financial difficulty." NBO Industries Treadway Cos., Inc. v. Brunswick Corp., 523 F.2d 262, 267 (CA3 1975).
Respondents initiated this action in June 1966, alleging, inter alia, that these acquisitions might substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in violation of § 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18.3 Respondents sought damages, pursuant to § 4 of the Act, 15 U.S.C. § 15, for three times "the reasonably expectable profits to be made (by respondents) from the operation of their bowling centers." App. A24. Respondents also sought a divestiture order, an injunction against future acquisitions, and such "other further and different relief" as might be appropriate under § 16 of the Act, 15 U.S.C. § 26. App. A27.
Trial was held in the spring of 1973, following an initial mistrial due to a hung jury. To establish a § 7 violation, respondents sought to prove that because of its size, petitioner had the capacity to lessen competition in the markets it had entered by driving smaller competitors out of business. To establish damages, respondents attempted to show that had petitioner allowed the defaulting centers to close, respondents' profits would have increased. At respondents' request, the jury was instructed in accord with respondents' theory as to the nature of the violation and the basis for damages. The jury returned a verdict in favor of respondents in the amount of $2,358,030, which represented the minimum estimate by respondents of the additional income they would have realized had the acquired centers been closed. Id., at A1737. As required by law, the District Court trebled the damages.4 It also awarded respondents costs and attorneys' fees totaling $446,977.32, and, sitting as a court of equity, it ordered petitioner to divest itself of the centers involved here, Treadway Cos. v. Brunswick Corp., 389 F.Supp. 996 (N.J.1974). Petitioner appealed.5
The Court of Appeals, while endorsing the legal theories upon which respondents' claim was based, reversed the judgment