7-Up Bottling Co. of Jasper Inc. v. Archer Daniels Midland Co.

We must decide whether purchasers were able to establish that a citric acid manufacturer conspired with competitors to fix prices and to allocate market share in violation of the federal antitrust laws.

I

Citric acid is a corn derivative with a wide variety of uses in the manufacture of food, soft drinks, detergents, and pharmaceuticals. Varni Brothers Corp. and 7-Up Bottling Company of Philadelphia, Inc. (collectively “Varni”) filed civil antitrust class actions against Cargill, Incorporated (“Cargill”), Archer Daniels Midland (“ADM”), Haarman & Reimer (“H&R”), Hoffman LaRoche (“HLR”), and Jungbun-zlauer (“JBL”), alleging that these firms conspired to fix citric acid prices and to allocate market share. These cases were consolidated and transferred to the Northern District of California. The district court certified a class consisting of all peo- *1093 pie and entities (other than government purchasers and the defendants themselves and affiliated companies) who had purchased citric acid directly from the defendants.

Conceding the existence of a conspiracy in the citric acid market but denying its participation therein, Cargill moved for summary judgment. ADM, H&R, HLR, and JBL…