Opinion ID: 2995956
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Statement of Claim Against CLR

Text: CLR advances one final argument in support of the judgment in both Viacom and Ocean View, which applies only to itself and not to its co-defendants. The district court stated in the Viacom action that, while it would not “address the issue in any detail,” it believed that Viacom had made an inadequate showing that CLR’s activities in any way affected the prices Viacom paid for copper. CLR urges this as an alternate ground for affirmance. The procedural history of this argument is complex and seems to have engendered a great deal of enmity between the parties. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on the standing question in the Viacom action. In its lengthy joint motion with Global, CLR never argued that its role in the conspiracy was too attenuated to have directly affected the Comex price. The issue was first raised in CLR’s response to Viacom’s cross-motion. 46 Nos. 00-3979, 01-1148, 01-3229, 01-3230, 01-3485 Viacom, in reply, pointed to evidence in the record that addressed this new argument. The district court struck these submissions as untimely. This, however, was in error. Viacom had no obligation to produce specific evidence of CLR’s role to survive CLR’s motion for summary judgment since the issue was never raised by CLR at that stage. Aviles v. Cornell Forge Co., 183 F.3d 598, 60405 (7th Cir. 1999). Because CLR raised this argument in an untimely manner, the district court should not have considered it as a ground for summary judgment without giving Viacom “notice and a fair opportunity to present arguments and evidence in response.” Id. By striking the materials Viacom submitted, the district court denied just that opportunity. Of course, since we are remanding this case on other grounds, the issue may resurface again after further discovery. At that point, considering all evidence in the record, the district court may properly evaluate—after considering all record evidence—whether either Viacom or Ocean View has presented enough to connect CLR to any violation of the antitrust laws. For the foregoing reasons, we also deny CLR’s motion to strike.