Opinion ID: 392697
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Meeting Competition Defense

Text: 16 Falls City also argues that it was entitled to use the meeting competition defense contained in Section 2(b) of the Robinson-Patman Act (15 U.S.C. § 13(b)). Section 2(b) permits a seller to rebut a prima facie case under Section 2(a) by showing that its lower price to any purchaser was made in good faith to meet an equally low price of a competitor   . This Section places emphasis on individual situations, rather than upon a general system of competition, and is designed to allow a seller to defend his business against genuine price competition. Federal Trade Commission v. A. E. Staley Manufacturing Co., 324 U.S. 746, 753, 65 S.Ct. 971, 974, 89 L.Ed. 1338. However, the exception does not justify the maintenance of discriminatory pricing among classes of customers that results merely from the adoption of a competitor's discriminatory pricing structure. Id. at 756, 65 S.Ct. at 976. 17 The district court rejected Falls City's Section 2(b) defense on the basis of its findings that Falls City's discriminatory pricing resulted from price increases in Indiana, not price decreases in Kentucky, and that in setting its Indiana prices Falls City was simply taking advantage of its competitors' policies of charging higher prices in Indiana than in Kentucky and other states. These findings are not clearly erroneous. There is nothing in the record to show that Falls City first adopted a non-discriminatory pricing structure and then reduced prices where necessary to defend against competition. Indeed, Falls City's president testified that Falls City's Indiana price was set higher than its Kentucky price because we followed the leaders, the pricing of the leaders of the beers in Indiana as far as their dock prices were concerned (Tr. 948). The district court therefore did not err in finding that Falls City had failed to meet its burden of showing that its discriminatory pricing was a good faith effort to defend against competitors. Cf. A. E. Staley Manufacturing Co., supra. 18 In sum, our review of the evidence in the record does not leave us with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S.Ct. 525, 541, 92 L.Ed. 746. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's finding that Falls City is liable to Vanco under Section 2(a) of the Robinson-Patman Act.