Opinion ID: 150495
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Identity of the Plaintiffs

Text: The plaintiffs in the seven cases can be divided into two categories, based on the claims that they assert. The first category consists of direct purchasers that acquired rough gem diamonds directly from De Beers or one of its competitors. The direct purchasers advanced claims of price-fixing and monopolization, citing §§ 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-2, for which they sought damages and injunctive relief under §§ 4 and 16 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 15, 26. [4] The second category of plaintiffs consists of indirect purchasers, which are entities or individuals that acquired either rough or cut-and-polished gem diamonds but did not do so directly from De Beers or its competitors. Consumers and jewelry retailers fall into this category, as do middlemen who acquired diamonds from sightholders or from another indirect purchaser. The indirect purchasers sought recovery for the same antitrust injury as did the direct purchasers but brought their claims under state antitrust, consumer protection, and unjust enrichment law. These plaintiffs could only rely on state law as a route to monetary relief because they lack standing to bring a federal antitrust claim for damages under § 4 of the Clayton Act. Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, 431 U.S. 720, 735-36, 97 S.Ct. 2061, 52 L.Ed.2d 707 (1977). They did, however, seek injunctive relief for those antitrust violations under § 16 of the Clayton Act. See Mid-W. Paper Prods. Co. v. Cont'l Group, 596 F.2d 573, 594 (3d Cir.1979) (Illinois Brick does not preclude indirect purchasers from suing for injunctive relief[,] and ... they have standing to sue under § 16....). Thus, these two categories of plaintiffs assert claims that overlap but are also distinct. The direct purchasers' claims for damages arise only under §§ 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and § 4 of the Clayton Act. The indirect purchasers' damages claims implicate only state antitrust, consumer protection, and unjust enrichment law. Both categories of plaintiffs also assert claims under § 16 of the Clayton Act for injunctive relief against continued price-fixing and monopolization by De Beers.