Opinion ID: 352316
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Miscellaneous Contentions of Parties

Text: 56 Despite the fact that it never moved at trial for a directed verdict on all its claims, apparently recognizing the errors in the jury instructions discussed supra, plaintiff argues that the jury verdict is unnecessary to support the judgment because plaintiff was entitled to a directed verdict that the defendant violated the antitrust laws on each of the following issues: defendant's resale price restrictions, defendant's termination of plaintiff and defendant's discriminatory price allowances. 57 Given the strict standards that must be met before a case can be taken away from the jury (see Hohmann v. Packard Instrument Company, Inc.,471 F.2d 815, 819 (7th Cir. 1973)), a directed verdict on the resale price restrictions issue would have been improper if requested because plaintiff's case (apart from evidence that must be viewed as barred by an October 1, 1970, release, at least in the absence of a contrary finding below) is based not on defendant's insistence upon any specific prices but rather on inferences that a jury might draw from language in generalized pricing discussions and from certain possibly unrelated actions by the defendant such as the monitoring of advertisements and invoices. Such inferences cannot support a directed Sherman Act verdict on a resale price maintenance theory. 58 Nor would a directed verdict have been proper if requested on the question whether the termination of plaintiff violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act. A jury reasonably could have found that the termination was in response to a declining sales record even though plaintiff remained defendant's largest single distributor, or in response to plaintiff's selling brands of competing suppliers. Because the purpose of the termination is unclear and because plaintiff's evidence of the effect of defendant's conduct on an individual distributor is not conclusive on the issue of anti-competitive effect (see Brown Shoe Co. v. United States, 370 U.S. 294, 320, 82 S.Ct. 1502, 8 L.Ed.2d 510), the termination issue was properly left to the jury. We also agree with the district judge's decision not to grant a directed verdict on the Robinson-Patman Act issues because certain defenses are available under Sections 2(d) and 2(e) thereof and plaintiff would still have to show damages and causal connection. 59 Defendant asserts that the instructions did not discuss anti-competitive purpose, causal connection and conduct tainted by a contract and conspiracy, but our study of the court's charge indicates that it was replete as to each such subject. We imply no view on contentions of the parties not expressly discussed in this opinion. 60 Plaintiff did not cross-appeal as to the $192,598.25 judgment against it on defendant's first counterclaim, so that said judgment must stand. The judgment for plaintiff is reversed and remanded for new trial.