Rsr Corporation v. Federal Trade Commission
Opinion
Opinion
Pregerson, J.
INTRODUCTION
RSR Corporation (RSR) appeals from a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order requiring divestiture of three lead smelting plants acquired through a 1972 merger with Quemetco, Inc. (Quemetco). The FTC adopted, with some modifications, the findings of the administrative law judge (ALJ) that the merger violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18 . RSR asserts that the following FTC findings were not supported by substantial evidence and were made through the application of erroneous standards of law:
We affirm.
FACTS
Before the RSR/Quemetco merger, RSR operated two lead smelting plants, one in Dallas and the other in Newark. These plants produced secondary lead, which is lead that is recycled from scrap automobile batteries and tetraethyl slag, as distinguished from primary lead, which is lead that is processed from raw lead ore. RSR’s principal product was “hard” lead, which is lead containing other metals, such as antimony or cadmium. RSR also produced some “soft” lead, which is relatively pure. In 1972 RSR, the country’s second largest producer of secondary lead, produced 12.16% of the secondary lead in the United States.