Robertson
Robertson v. Isomedix, Inc.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Canby, J.
Opinion by Judge CANBY.
ORDER
The petition of appellees for rehearing is granted. The case is re-decided on the petition for rehearing, the response thereto, and the briefs and record previously filed in this court. The opinion of this court reported at 3 F.3d 306 is hereby withdrawn, and the attached opinion is hereby adopted.
OPINION
In this ease, we must decide whether bid-rigging and antitrust claims brought by a trustee on behalf of a bankrupt estate are barred by the res judicata effect of a bankruptcy court’s sale order.
BACKGROUND
International Nutronics, Inc., the estate in bankruptcy, was in the business of sterilizing medical instruments and other equipment by gamma radiation. The sterilization process involved the use of cobalt-60, an isotope of cobalt. Cobalt-60 is expensive and difficult to acquire. It is highly radioactive, decaying rapidly and losing its value as a source of gamma radiation. It poses significant health risks.
At the time it filed for bankruptcy, Nu-tronies was in possession of two quantities of partially decayed cobalt-60. One was located at Nutronics’ facility in Irvine, California; the other, at Nutronics’ facility in Palo Alto,…