Joseph Segal, and Western States Telephone Co., Inc., Etc. v. American Telephone and Telegraph Company, Inc., Etc.
Opinion
Opinion
Western States Telephone Company appeals from a summary judgment for the defendants in a treble-damage action based on alleged violations of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 2. The district court held that principles of res judicata deprived the court of subject matter jurisdiction, and, alternatively, that the statute of limitations barred Western States’ action. We affirm the district court’s holding on the jurisdictional issue, but we vacate summary judgment and remand with directions to stay this antitrust case pending completion of the FCC proceedings.
In February 1964, Western States filed an antitrust complaint against defendants American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) and other telephone companies. Western States at that time sold “antique French” cradle phones that could be plugged into the jacks used by the defendant telephone companies to connect their own equipment to the telephone system. Western States contended that although its equipment was compatible for use in the system, defendants had conspired to prevent it from selling its telephones by filing tariffs that permitted only their own equipment to be used in the telephone network.