David Orgell, Inc. v. Geary's Stores, Inc. Baccarat, Inc. Buccelatti, Inc., and Ceralene, Inc., and Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, Inc.

David Orgell, Inc. (Orgell) appeals from a summary judgment for Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, Inc. (Wedgwood). We affirm.

Orgell owns several retail stores which sell silver, china, and crystal in the Los Angeles area. Wedgwood sells china, dinnerware, and jasperware to retail stores in many parts of the world. Orgell’s principal competitor in Beverly Hills is Geary’s Stores, Inc. (Geary’s), one of Wedgwood’s customers. Orgell contends that Wedgwood refused to sell to Orgell as the result of a conspiracy between Wedgwood and Geary’s.

Wedgwood first refused to sell to Orgell in 1965. It again refused to sell to Orgell in 1968. In 1972, Orgell retained a well-known Los Angeles law firm which wrote Wedgwood that its refusal to sell to Orgell had antitrust implications. Wedgwood’s attorney denied that Orgell had any grounds for complaint. On at least two occasions in 1976 and 1977, Orgell requested the opportunity to buy the Wedgwood line, but both times Wedgwood refused to sell.

On April 16, 1978, Orgell filed this action in the district court. It alleged that Wedgwood together with Geary’s had violated Sections 4 and 16 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 15 , 26, and Section 1 of the…