RLH Industries, Inc. v. SBC Communications, Inc.

RLH Industries, Inc. (RLH), appeals from summary judgment granted to defendants SBC Communications Inc. (SBC), and Pacific Bell Telephone Company (PacBell). RLH alleged the defendants violated California antitrust law by requiring their local telephone service customers to obtain high voltage protection (HVP) from defendants or, in PacBell’s case, from approved HVP device makers other than RLH. RLH contended defendants’ HVP policies constituted an illegal tying arrangement impairing its ability to compete in the HVP market.

We conclude the court correctly granted summary judgment to PacBell. RLH failed to raise a triable issue as to whether PacBell illegally tied its HVP service to its local telephone service, because the undisputed evidence showed PacBell offered its customers a choice between leasing PacBell’s HVP services or buying their own HVP devices from two independent suppliers. Since PacBell’s HVP policy does not threaten competition, the court correctly granted summary judgment to PacBell.

On the other hand, we conclude the court erred in granting summary judgment to SBC. A triable issue exists as to whether SBC perpetrated an illegal tying arrangement; the…