Opinion ID: 789495
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Appellants' Allegations and Procedural History

Text: 3 Appellants allege as follows: Monsanto wished to extract the monopoly profits it would have earned from certain genes it had patented, which could be used to develop genetically modified corn and soybean seeds (GM seeds). 2 But Monsanto had surrendered its monopoly over the genes by giving broad licenses to Pioneer and Syngenta. Monsanto therefore secured the agreement of Pioneer and Syngenta to inflate the prices of their own GM corn and soybean seeds, to support Monsanto's technology fees (for inclusion of the patented genes in seeds Monsanto sold) rather than to undercut the fees through normal price competition. Monsanto propped up its technology fee also by securing the agreement of Appellee Aventis to limit its production of LibertyLink soybean seeds, which competed with the GM soybean seed sold by Monsanto, Pioneer, and Syngenta. The parties to the conspiracy performed their obligations under their illegal agreement to an extent sufficient to injure all members of the proposed classes. 4 Appellants moved for certification of two classes. The first class consisted of farmers (other than as distributors) who, from 1996 to present, purchased Roundup Ready soybean seeds or the right to grow the seeds directly from one of the defendants. The second class consisted of farmers (other than as distributors) who, from 1996 to present, purchased Yieldgard corn seeds or the right to grow the seeds directly from one of the defendants. Appellants sought certification of these classes under Fed. R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3), which provides for class certification if questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominate over any questions affecting only individual members and a class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy. 5 To recover damages under section four of the Clayton Act, plaintiffs must prove defendants violated the antitrust laws and that plaintiffs suffered some resulting injury, and plaintiffs must estimate the measure of damages. Amerinet, Inc. v. Xerox Corp., 972 F.2d 1483, 1490 (8th Cir.1992). Appellants allege a price-fixing conspiracy in violation of section one of the Sherman Act. For a class to be certified, plaintiffs need to demonstrate that common issues prevail as to the existence of a conspiracy and the fact of injury. See In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litig., 280 F.3d 124, 135-40 (2d Cir.2001). The district court found that plaintiffs satisfied the Rule 23(a) prerequisites to a class action, but that common questions do not predominate over individual questions. The district court held that neither the existence of a conspiracy to fix prices, nor the existence of some resultant harm constitute questions common to the class. 6