C. O. Hanson v. Shell Oil Company

541 F.2d 1352 1976-2 Trade Cases 61,052 C. O. HANSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SHELL OIL COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee. No. 74-1034. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Sept. 3, 1976. John H. Boone (argued), San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant. William Simon (argued), of Howrey, Simon, Baker & Murchison, Washington, D. C., for defendant-appellee. Before DUNIWAY and WRIGHT, Circuit Judges, and LUCAS, * District Judge. DUNIWAY, Circuit Judge: 1 In this action appellant Hanson charged appellee Shell Oil Company and defendants Standard Oil Company of California and Gulf Oil Company with violations of § 7 of the Clayton Act, a vertical restraint of trade and horizontal restraint of trade, both under § 1 of the Sherman Act, and attempt and conspiracy to monopolize under § 2 of the Sherman Act. The trial court granted summary judgment to all defendants based on all acts occurring before December 23, 1964, and to Gulf on the § 7 Clayton Act charge. At trial, directed verdicts were entered for all defendants on all remaining claims except for the horizontal restraint charge under § 1 and the conspiracy charges under § 2 of the Sherman Act…

In this action appellant Hanson charged appellee Shell Oil Company and defendants Standard Oil Company of California and Gulf Oil Company with violations of § 7 of the Clayton Act, a vertical restraint of trade and horizontal restraint of trade, both under § 1 of the Sherman Act, and attempt and conspiracy to monopolize under § 2 of the Sherman Act. The trial court granted summary judgment to all defendants based on all acts occurring before December 23, 1964, and to Gulf on the § 7 Clayton Act charge. At trial, directed verdicts were entered for all defendants on all remaining claims except for the horizontal restraint charge under § 1 and the conspiracy charges under § 2 of the Sherman Act against Shell and Standard. The jury returned a verdict on those two charges for Hanson and awarded damages of $363,-181.31, which when trebled would exceed $1 million. Defendants Shell and Standard moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial. The court denied the motions for judgment n.o.v., but granted a new trial on the two issues that had been submitted to the first jury. At the new trial, against Shell alone, the second jury found for the defendants.…

(concurring):

I concur, but would prefer to dispose of the appeal on the basis that the plaintiff in *1363 this private antitrust action should fail because he has not established the necessary “reasonable probability” of some causal connection between the defendant’s wrongful act and some injury to the plaintiff. Flintkote v. Lysfjord, 246 F.2d 368, 392 (9th Cir. 1957). See also Pacific Coast Agricultural Export Ass’n v. Sunkist, 526 F.2d 1196, 1205-06 (9th Cir. 1975); Gray v. Shell Oil Co., 469 F.2d 742, 749 (9th Cir. 1972); Siegel v. Chicken Delight, Inc., 448 F.2d 43, 52 (9th Cir. 1971).