In Re Master Key Litigation. States of Illinois, and v. Edward H. McCulloch Witness-Appellee And

This appeal arises from the refusal of a witness, on grounds of self-incrimination, to answer questions upon an oral deposition taken in a civil antitrust action. Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 37, plaintiffs filed a motion to compel the testimony of the witness, Edward H. McCulloch. Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(c) and 30(d), McCulloch moved for a protective order terminating the deposition entirely. The district court denied both motions and both parties appealed. We affirm the denial of both motions.

Brought against four manufacturers of contract hardware, the antitrust suit alleges that the defendants illegally conspired to fix prices at inflated levels by allocating jobs, territories, and customers, and by jointly enforcing such restrictions through their distributors. During the years 1954-1965, McCulloch was national sales manager and later vice-president of sales for Russwin, a division of Emhart Corp., one of the defendants.

Plaintiffs first contend that McCul-loch has no right to assert his privilege against self-incrimination because there is not the remotest chance that he could be criminally prosecuted for his part in the antitrust violations committed by his…