Uniform Oil Company v. Phillips Petroleum Company, a Delaware Corp.

Appellant Uniform Oil Company, plaintiff below, brought suit in the District Court against the appellees, alleging violations of sections one and two of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 , 2, and seeking injunctive relief, 15 U.S. C. § 26, and treble damages, 15 U.S.C. § 15 . The District Court granted the defendants’ motion for a directed verdict, and Uniform Oil appeals. We affirm.

Uniform Oil is a Montana corporation which operated a single retail gasoline and service station in Helena, Montana. Appellee Phillips Petroleum Company is a major oil producer and petroleum products retailer. Appellee Bridges is Phillips’ jobber in Helena. He performs the function of Phillips’ agent. He leases four service stations from Phillips in Helena, operating one himself and subleasing the others to appellees Cullen, Gardner, and Norwood, who each operates the station leased by him. Bridges purchases Phillips’ products from Phillips and in turn sells them to his lessees. He receives no commissions from Phillips for performing the function of jobber. Phillips owns all the permanent fixtures which comprise the four stations in Helena, but the individual lessees own their respective…