Rebel Oil Co. v. Atlantic Richfield Co.

This case presents three antitrust claims arising from the defendant’s conduct in the retail gasoline market in Las Vegas, Nevada. The plaintiffs contend that the defendant engaged in predatory pricing between 1985 and 1989, selling self-serve, cash-only gasoline below marginal cost. The plaintiffs claim that the alleged predatory pricing was an attempt by the defendant to monopolize the market, in violation of Sherman Act § 2. The plaintiffs also claim that the predatory pricing scheme involved a conspiracy to restrain trade, in violation of Sherman Act § 1, and primary-line price discrimination, in violation of Clayton Act § 2, as amended by the Robinson-Patman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 13 (a).

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant on all three antitrust claims, concluding that the defendant did not possess enough power in the market to allow the predatory scheme to *1430 succeed, and therefore that the plaintiffs had not suffered any injury cognizable under the antitrust laws. We have jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ timely appeal. 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

I

The evidence before the district court on summary…