Opinion ID: 608853
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Plaintiff's Antitrust Standing

Text: 11 We understand defendant's appeal on these standing-related issues to be limited to the district court's denial of defendant's motion for summary judgment. Our standard of review is plenary. See Schafer v. Board of Pub. Educ. of Sch. Dist. of Pittsburgh, Pa., 903 F.2d 243, 246 (3d Cir.1990) (Our review of the district court's order ... denying appellant's summary judgment motion is plenary.). 12 Before addressing defendant's specific attacks on plaintiff's standing, some exposition of the law of antitrust standing is in order. [T]he focus of the doctrine of 'antitrust standing' is somewhat different from that of standing as a constitutional doctrine. Harm to the antitrust plaintiff is sufficient to satisfy the constitutional standing requirement of injury in fact, but the court must make a further determination whether the plaintiff is a proper party to bring a private antitrust action. Associated Gen. Contractors v. California State Council of Carpenters, 459 U.S. 519, 535 n. 31, 103 S.Ct. 897, 907 n. 31, 74 L.Ed.2d 723 (1983) (emphasis added). Whether a plaintiff is the proper party involves considerations of doctrines such as foreseeability and proximate cause, directness of injury, certainty of damages and privity of contract. Id. at 532-33, 103 S.Ct. at 905 (footnotes omitted). 13 In Brunswick Corp. v. Pueblo Bowl-O-Mat, Inc., 429 U.S. 477, 97 S.Ct. 690, 50 L.Ed.2d 701 (1977), the Supreme Court set forth a two-part test for antitrust standing that has recently been applied by our court. See International Raw Materials, Ltd. v. Stauffer Chem. Co., 978 F.2d 1318, 1327-28 (3d Cir.1992). To establish antitrust standing a plaintiff must show both: 1) harm of the type the antitrust laws were intended to prevent; and 2) an injury to the plaintiff which flows from that which makes defendant's acts unlawful. Id. 14 Based on the pretrial record, the first requirement is easily satisfied. The decreased competition in the business jet market is the type of harm targeted by the antitrust laws. Id. at 1328. The second requirement is generally met if the plaintiff is a competitor [ ]or a consumer in the relevant market. Id. Alternatively, this requirement is fulfilled if there exists a significant causal connection such that the harm to the plaintiff can be said to be inextricably intertwined with the antitrust conspiracy. Id. (quoting Blue Shield v. McCready, 457 U.S. 465, 484, 102 S.Ct. 2540, 2551, 73 L.Ed.2d 149 (1982)). 15 As to the second requirement, plaintiff was either a consumer or a competitor, or both, in the relevant market. 1 In addition, the harm to plaintiff through lost profits (or increased losses) on the G-III Purchase Agreement was inextricably intertwined with the horizontal price fixing conspiracy. Thus, unless certain other issues raised by defendant negate plaintiff's standing, defendant was not entitled to summary judgment based on lack of standing. We turn to those issues. 16
17 Antitrust standing requires proximate causation between defendant's conduct and the injury to plaintiff. See Associated Gen. Contractors, 459 U.S. at 535-37, 103 S.Ct. at 907-08. Defendant asserts that plaintiff lacks standing to bring the G-III claim because defendant's antitrust violation was not the proximate cause of the injury to plaintiff. It says that, on the contrary, the proximate cause of plaintiff's injury was its inability to find a lessee for the G-III. 18 The defendant's argument is without merit even though the record shows that plaintiff contemplated taking title to the G-III only if it could find a lessee. Plaintiff's financing for the G-III Purchase Agreement was conditioned by plaintiff's bank upon plaintiff's doing one of two things when the plane was ready for delivery; either: 1) selling the plane/purchase agreement to a third party; or 2) entering into an agreement to lease the plane to a third party and then taking title to the plane. Under either of these options, the defendant's antitrust violation (which caused an overcharge in purchase price) would have been the proximate cause of plaintiff's injury. Under the first option plaintiff would suffer the injury because the amount of the overcharge would reduce plaintiff's profits (or increase plaintiff's losses) from the sale of the plane/purchase agreement. Under the second option, plaintiff would suffer injury because plaintiff would pay the full purchase price (including the overcharge) before taking title to the plane. 19 In sum, defendant's antitrust violation caused an overcharge in the purchase price of the plane. That overcharge was incorporated into the purchase agreement signed by plaintiff. From the date plaintiff signed that agreement through the date the plane was delivered to a third party, subsequent to an assignment by plaintiff, it is not disputed that plaintiff remained obligated to pay the overcharge upon exercising either option. Thus, defendant's proximate cause argument did not entitle defendant to summary judgment. 20
21 Defendant next asserts that plaintiff lacks standing to bring the G-III claim because plaintiff assigned the agreement and thus never purchased the G-III. Defendant's argument seems to be predicated on the assumption that only a purchaser can have antitrust standing. 22 Almost fifty years ago, the Supreme Court rejected such an argument. See Mandeville Island Farms, Inc. v. American Crystal Sugar Co., 334 U.S. 219, 236, 68 S.Ct. 996, 1006, 92 L.Ed. 1328 (1948) (The statute does not confine its protection to consumers, or to purchasers, or to competitors, or to sellers.... The Act is comprehensive in its terms and coverage, protecting all who are made victims of the forbidden practices by whomever they may be perpetrated. (emphasis added)). On their face, the antitrust laws purport to provide a remedy to [a]ny person who shall be injured in his business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws.... 15 U.S.C. § 15. Recent Supreme Court cases have espoused a narrower reading of the statutes' coverage. See, e.g., Associated Gen. Contractors, 459 U.S. at 529 & n. 19, 103 S.Ct. at 904 & n. 19 (quoting Mandeville; rejecting argument that statute is as broad as its words suggest). Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has never intimated that only purchasers have standing. 23 In addition, even if this court accepted the view that standing should generally be limited to purchasers, defendant's argument seeks to exalt form over substance. Admittedly, plaintiff assigned its rights in the plane and purchase agreement and never took title to the G-III. Thus, plaintiff was not a purchaser in the ordinary sense of that word. Nevertheless, plaintiff executed a purchase agreement and remained contractually bound to pay the G-III's total purchase price up to and including the date of delivery. We believe in these circumstances that plaintiff's continuing contractual obligation nullifies this objection to its standing and, thus, summary judgment was properly denied.c. Assignment of the G-III Purchase Agreement 24 Defendant next argues that plaintiff lacks standing to bring this action because it unconditionally assigned its antitrust rights in January of 1984 when it transferred its interest in the G-III and purchase agreement to JB & A Aircraft, Inc. Under the terms of that assignment, plaintiff [sold], assign[ed], transfer[red] and set over ... all of its rights, title and interest in and to the [G-III] and the Purchase Agreement.... (J.A. at 356). This action was commenced against defendant in June of 1985, eighteen months after the assignment. 25 In a pretrial ruling, the district court recognized that antitrust claims are assignable, but rejected the argument that plaintiff had assigned its antitrust claim in this case. It contrasted this case with one previously decided by our court which involved, in part, an express assignment of antitrust rights and noted that no language in plaintiff's assignment ... so much as allude[d] to rights under the antitrust laws. (J.A. at 58). The court stated: On this record, the Court will not infer an assignment of plaintiff's Clayton Act rights. The defendant takes issue with that ruling. 26 Under controlling federal law, as the district court recognized, antitrust claims are assignable. In re Fine Paper Litig., 632 F.2d 1081, 1090 (3rd Cir.1980). The critical question is whether the general assignment here encompassed plaintiff's federal antitrust claim despite the fact that it is not specifically identified in the assignment that transferred all of plaintiff's interest in the G-III and the purchase agreement. 27 In its separate opinion, the majority of this court holds that federal rather than state law controls the issue as to whether there has been an assignment of an antitrust claim and that such law requires specific reference thereto in the assignment to transfer such claim. The author of this opinion is dubitante as to the majority determination because he believes that the case for the application of state law rather than federal common law may be more compelling and thus dictate a contrary conclusion. However, since the vote of the majority constitutes the holding of this court, it follows that there is no merit to defendant's argument that, because of the general assignment here, plaintiff lacked standing to maintain this antitrust action. 28