Court Opinion

ID: 9636975
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:51:13.881902+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:51.778472
License: Public Domain

GOODRICH, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
The reason for this dissent is that the majority does not give the findings of fact made by the Trial Judge the effect which, it seems to me, Rule 52 requires. If those findings are accepted there is nothing to the plaintiff’s case. I think on this point there is no dispute among the parties, their counsel, or the members of the Court.
There is no disagreement among us in rejecting the “cloak and dagger” requisites to prove conspiracy. Nor is there any doubt that the fact that this plaintiff failed to get first run pictures from any of the distributors is certainly a circumstance to be considered in the question whether there was an agreement among them to act together to freeze the plaintiff out, or at *322least a knowing participation in such a scheme. Nor could I quarrel with the majority’s allusion to the Supreme Court opinion in which reference is made to the “proclivity to unlawful conduct” by some of the defendants here. The mistake which it seems to me the majority makes, is to substitute its judgment for that of the Trial Court in saying what conclusions are to be drawn from all the evidence. This is not a case where a plaintiff sets out a set of facts and circumstances and the question is whether they will warrant a finding of conspiracy on the part of the defendants. The defendants fully presented their side of the case which completely contradicts the facts relied upon by the plaintiff. The simple question of fact is whether those witnesses told the truth or whether they lied.
The majority opinion quotes the plaintiff as claiming that one of the defendants, in removing fixtures from the theatre which the plaintiff had bought, maliciously wrecked it. The plaintiff did make that charge, but it was vigorously denied by witnesses who were the very people who did the job and the Trial Court’s finding on the point is squarely against the plaintiff. He said: “26. Pennware caused its furnishing and equipment to be removed from the Penn Theatre from April 27, 1944. [sic] to April 30, 1944. The removal was accomplished in a careful and workmanlike manner, without malice, or any intent to delay operation of the Penn Theatre by plaintiff (R. Notopoulos Exhibits Nos. 7-12, and 14-25, R. 1079, 1086, 1116).”
But this is not the only instance in which an important finding is ignored. It is still the law that if one is not engaged in public utility or a similar activity he may pick and choose his customers as he pleases. If one of these defendants decided he did not want to do business on the plaintiff’s terms, there was nothing to compel him to do so. Of course, if he agrees with other people not to do business with the plaintiff or knowingly enters into a plan not to do business with the plaintiff, an entirely different kind of question is presented, and if such is found and the subject-matter is interstate commerce there is a violation of the Sherman Act. No one doubts this, least of all the defendants themselves.
Now on this point the Trial Judge made specific, direct, clear, and forthright findings of fact. Here they are:
“32. In licensing Pennware for first run exhibition of motion pictures in the State Theatre, each distributor acted independently without consulting any other distributor and without concert of action. No representative of Paramount had any active part in obtaining such licenses.”
“33. (In obtaining licenses for first run exhibition of motion pictures in the State Theatre, neither Pennware nor Notopoulos combined or conspired with any of the defendants in restraint of trade or commerce.”
“34. Loew’s R.K.O. and 20th Century Fox each had knowledge that Paramount Pictures, Inc., had an interest in the Penn-ware Theatre, but had dealt only with Notopoulos, or his sons in licensing pictures to that theatre. When each of them decided to license the State Theatre, as opposed to the application of plaintiff for the Penn Theatre, it did not know of the intention of the others to license the State Theatre. In concluding to license the Penn-ware Theatre each considered the fact that that theatre was managed by an experienced exhibitor of moving pictures, whose credit had been good over a number of years, and who had a theatre equally located and considerably larger than the Penn Theatre, and which promised greater revenue, while the Penn Theatre was to be operated by a stranger in Ambridge whose ability and credit was unknown. Neither Loew’s, R.K.O., nor 20th Century Fox, in their respective decisions to license the State Theatre were influenced by Paramount Pictures, Inc., or its power in the moving picture industry.”
The very able and experienced Trial Judge did not pull these conclusions out of thin air. The defendants took their case seriously. They called top executives of their respective companies and by direct testimony traced the course of dealings in the licensing of motion pictures in general and in particular as to this plaintiff and the former occupant of the Penn Theatre in Ambridge. All that testimony made categorical denials of any arrangement, express or implied, intimation, or understanding among the defendants with regard to selling *323or not selling to the plaintiff. A conversation outlined at some length in the majority-opinion about how Paramount was alleged to have threatened to use its power to crush the plaintiff was discussed in the defendant’s testimony, too. All of the defendants’ witnesses say that the words came from the mouth of the plaintiff and that at least one of the witnesses said at the time that the plaintiff was building up, or endeavoring to build up, lawsuit material for himself.
Each defendant-distributor was informed of the other defendant-distributors’ conclusion not to furnish first run pictures to the plaintiff, but according to their testimony this information came from the plaintiff himself. Furthermore, it came at a time when their decision not to furnish plaintiff with first run pictures had already been communicated to him. In other words, the testimony which is in the record does not show that one powerful distributor acted with knowledge of what the others had done, but rather supports the conclusion, made by the Trial Judge, that each acted independently and got his information about the others’ action from' the plaintiff, himself, after his own decision had been made.1
The view, stoutly maintained by the defendant-distributors, that each made his own decision with regard to the offerings to be made to the plaintiff, finds corroboration outside the direct testimony of the motion picture officials on this point. For instance, there was ample evidence that Mr. Notopoulos and his Pennware Corporation had been good customers of the various distributors for a good many years. His bills were promptly paid, the kind of theatre run by him through his corporation was a good thing, sales managers thought, for their business. The new theatre which Pennware Corporation occupied following the termination of the lease on the plaintiff’s theatre was a larger building than the former building is. There is dispute as to which location was the better. There was no dispute, however, that the distance between the two was short and that the business section of the community was not such as to exhaust anyone in the walking from one end to the other of the whole area.
The above pieces of evidence are not related to prove that the defendants were circumspect in this case and the plaintiff was wrong. That, of course, is not a determining factor. They are cited to show that the case presented a conflict in evidence and that the defendants presented testimony on very vital points. I earnestly urge that where a question is that of the credibility of people who testify in a case it takes a very, very strong set of circumstances to reject a conclusion reached as to truthtelling by the trier of the fact. When his conclusion as to which witnesses *324to believe and which witnesses not to believe is backed up by circumstances which show that his conclusion is a rational one, it seems to me that so far as a case turns upon questions of fact the answers given to these questions by the -trier of the fact should be accepted. We should not substitute a hunch, however judicial, for facts advertently found.

 Three of the defendant-distributors by oral testimony stated that their decisions to sell to Pennware rather than Ball were made by certain dates which were previous to the time Ball’s witnesses had stated they communicated the information as to what the others were going to do to a particular distributor. Friedman, witness for plaintiff, stated that he told the officials of Loew’s early in May, 1944. The official to whom Friedman stated that he made the statement denies any knowledge of it. That person, however, says that one of Notopoulos’ sons told him in April, 1944, but the testimony of another witness shows that Loew’s had reached its decision previous to that after discussing the matter among themselves in January, February, March, and the early part of April, 1944.
As to R. K. O.’s knowledge, Ball said he informed its officials of the others’ action in June, 1944, but the officials of R. K. O. stated that the matter had been tentatively settled on April 3,1944 and on May 8, 1944 the top executives communicated their decision to members of their organization. Twentieth Century-Fox, on the other hand, said that its decision was made on April 17, 1944 and that it had notice of what the others had decided to do only through a letter sent to it by Ball under- the date of May 1, 1944.
Plaintiff’s testimony attempts to establish that Pennware had an understanding with Paramount that it would take the first run product to State. This agreement, according to plaintiff, was made even before Pennware’s lease on the Penn had expired. Paramount, however, says its decision was made on May 17, 1944 and that it was not aware of what the other distributors had done or would do. Under either version we must accept the fact that the Trial Judge found that Paramount made its decision without the knowledge of what the others had done.