In Re Multidistrict Vehicle Air Pollution. State of Washington v. Automobile Manufacturers Association

In these consolidated cases, appellants appeal from the dismissal of their actions charging violations of § 1 of the Sherman Act and seeking equitable relief under § 16 of the Clayton Act. The district court based the dismissal on the ground that the remedies sought under § 16 are not available under the unique facts of these cases. We affirm.

I. The Factual Background.

Appellants charge that, beginning in 1953 and continuing into 1969, the nation’s four largest automobile manufacturers, who are defendants, conspired through their trade association, also a defendant, to suppress the development of automobile antipollution technology and thereby to eliminate competition among themselves in the research, development, manufacture, installation, and patenting of automobile.pollution control devices. Appellants claim that this conspiracy has resulted in millions of automobiles being driven without effective emission control devices, which in turn has been the most significant cause of the nation’s air pollution problem.

The United States, through the Department of Justice, first brought an action in 1969, claiming that there was cooperation among the automakers and their association…