Opinion ID: 681322
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Excessive Free Samples and Price Discounts.

Text: 39 Rice also contends Hi-Shear did not give it excessive free samples or price discounts. However, Hi-Shear submitted documents showing that between February 1986 and March 1988, bribed Hi-Shear employees gave Rice some 16,164 free samples. During this period Hi-Shear gave all other distributors a total of 165 free samples. In addition, Hi-Shear notes that it had a policy of not giving any one customer more than a few hundred dollars worth of free samples and notes that the Rice received some $111,927 worth of free samples. Finally, Hi-Shear employees testified that Hi-Shear had a policy of not giving free samples to distributors, who, like Rice, compete with Hi-Shear. 40 Hi-Shear submitted inventory forms indicating that the bribed employees gave Rice an additional price discount at the time of invoicing. Affidavits from Hi-Shear employees and documentary evidence suggest that this additional line discount was not standard Hi-Shear policy and was not given to other customers. Correspondence between Hi-Shear employees indicates that, when Hi-Shear became aware of the additional line discount, it attempted to correct the error, giving up only when Bruce Rice threatened to tell airline manufacturers that Hi-Shear was raising prices on existing purchase orders. ER 313. 41 The district court did not clearly err in finding that Rice received excessive price discounts and free samples. 42