Paceco, Inc. v. Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co.

ORDER

This case involves the jurisdictional requirements of Sections 2(a) and 2(f) of the Robinson-Patman Act that deal with buyer and seller liability for acts of price discrimination. The imprecise language of the statute and the incompleteness of the case law has left undetermined the jurisdictional reach of those sections. Plaintiff’s unique factual allegations touch upon several open questions that require determination by this Court.

Plaintiff, Paceco, Inc., initially filed this antitrust action on April 25, 1978, against defendants Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (“IHI”), Nissho Iwai American Corp., Hitachi, Ltd. (“Hitachi”), Hitachi America, Ltd., I.H.I. Inc., and Does 1-100. The original complaint alleged several federal antitrust violations and violations of various state statutes. Jurisdiction of this Court was invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1337 , Sections 4 and 12 of the Clayton Act ( 15 U.S.C. §§ 15 and 22), and the doctrine of pendent jurisdiction.

On July 24, 1978, the named defendants filed motions pursuant to Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure seeking to dismiss Counts III, IV, and V of the complaint and to strike references to…