Carr Electronics Corp. v. Sony Corp. of America

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Plaintiff Carr Electronics Corporation (“Carr”) filed this suit against Sony Corporation of America (“Sony”), alleging that the latter had violated section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. section 1 , by unlawfully engaging in a scheme to maintain the retail prices of color television sets that it manufactured and distributed to its dealers, including Carr. With discovery closed and trial less than three weeks away, Sony has moved the court for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s antitrust allegations. For the reasons hereinafter stated, the court grants Sony’s motion for summary judgment.

Prior to July 31, 1977, Carr was a dealer of Sony products. In the years preceding 1976, Sony availed itself of California’s Fair Trade statutes, which permitted a manufacturer to dictate the minimum retail prices that dealers of its products might charge their customers. Effective January 1, 1976, the California Legislature repealed these statutes, making vertical price restraints subject to the general constraints of the antitrust laws. On and after that date, Carr and several other dealers whose operations were characterized by…