Fontana Pipe & Fabrication v. Ameron, Inc.

993 F.2d 882 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. FONTANA PIPE & FABRICATION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. AMERON, INC., Defendant-Appellee. No. 91-35761. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Nov. 2, 1992. Decided May 14, 1993. Before TANG, BRUNETTI and FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM * 2 Plaintiff/appellant Fontana Pipe and Fabrication, Inc. ("Fontana") appeals the Magistrate's grant of defendant/appellee Ameron, Inc.'s ("Ameron") motion for a directed verdict and dismissal of Fontana's Sherman Act antitrust claims. We reverse and remand for a new trial. 3 * Fontana's parent company, Northwest Pipe & Casing Co. ("Northwest"), manufactures steel pipe, including large-diameter welded steel pipe used in water transmission projects. Northwest wanted to enter the southern California market, but high transportation costs made it impossible for its Portland, Oregon facility to compete there. 4 In early 1987, therefore,…