Opinion ID: 453199
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Evidence Supporting the Section 1 Claim

Text: 25 With the foregoing procedural and substantive principles in mind, we turn to consideration of the evidence presented in this case. Terry's alleges a conspiracy between Lees and Eatman's, the terms of which are as follows: 26 (a) Lees has agreed to sell and has sold carpets to Eatman's at lower prices than those quoted to Terry's for carpets of similar quality and quantity; 27 (b) Lees has instructed its distributors in other territories to refrain from selling carpeting to Terry's; 28 (c) Lees has refused to sell carpeting at any price to Terry's; 29 (d) Eatman's has agreed to provide Lees with guaranteed dollar volume of sales per year in exchange for this preferential pricing treatment. 30 Complaint paragraph 14(a)-(d). Joint Appendix at 11. Basically, the complaint appears to allege a conspiracy to: (1) preclude Terry's from becoming a principal commercial dealer for Lees (thereby assuring Eatman's of more favorable prices); and (2) to terminate Terry's as a Lees dealer altogether. 14 According to Terry's, the evidence from which a conspiracy may be inferred consists of four incidents: (1) the alleged million dollar guarantee; (2) the differential in the prices quoted to Terry's and to Eatman's; (3) the testimony of William Creech; and (4) the Fashion Carpets incident. Appellant's Reply Brief at 1-2. 31 The million dollar guarantee was allegedly given to Lees by Eatman's in exchange for an understanding that Terry's would not receive a better price than did Eatman's. As discussed earlier, Ralph Betts stated that he was informed by John Cummings of this guarantee at the July 1980 carpet market. Cummings recalls that he told Betts that Eatman's had the potential to do over a million dollars in business and had done so for one of Lees' competitors. In his affidavit, Eatman flatly denied giving any such guarantee; and Eatman's has, in fact, never done a million dollars in business for Lees. Joint Appendix at 386. Significantly, Betts admitted in his affidavit that his conversation with Cummings was the only evidence of this alleged guarantee. Joint Appendix at 283. Betts also acknowledged that the existence of the guarantee was a conclusion that he had drawn from his conversation with Cummings. 15 32 The price differential alleged by Terry's is based on Betts' deposition and on certain statistical charts. One chart purportedly shows that when Terry's and Eatman's both bid Lees carpet on the same job, Eatman's bid was consistently lower. 16 Appellant's Brief at 29. A second chart purports to show Terry's low success rate in bidding Lee's carpets in comparison to its success rate in bidding carpet made by other manufacturers. Appellant's Brief at 18. 33 The Creech testimony refers to the deposition of William Creech, a carpet installer who had worked at various times for both Terry's and Eatman's. Creech stated that he had had a conversation with William Eatman regarding Terry's in late 1980 or 1981. Creech recalled the conversation, in pertinent part, as follows: 34 I met Mr. Eatman in the middle of the showroom and that's when he asked me did I install for Terry's. And I told him no, not at the present time, that I had in the past, had helped Ralph Betts out to catch up, but I had never installed for Ralph on a regular basis. And he says, well, Terry's is creating a little static over at UNC. And he says, when I come back the samples are going to leave Terry's or either they're going to leave here, and I don't care which. 35 Joint Appendix at 504. 17 Mr. Eatman, in his affidavit, denied having any such conversation with Creech and denied ever telling Cummings that he wanted Lees products pulled from Terry's. Joint Appendix at 386-387. 36 The final piece of evidence which Terry's offers in support of a conspiracy is the Fashion Carpets incident in which Terry's purchased carpet from another Lees dealer. That incident, described earlier, resulted in an angry complaint from William Eatman to Cummings, a complaint which Cummings discussed in the letter to his superior. Terry's was later terminated by Lees after Mr. Eatman's complaint.