Central Garden & Pet Co. v. Scotts Co.

MEMORANDUM *

Central Garden & Pet Company (“Central”) appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to The Scotts Company (“Scotts”) on the ground of res judicata. We review de novo the district court’s grant of summary judgment. See Albano v. Norwest Fin. Hawaii, Inc., 244 F.3d 1061, 1063 (9th Cir.2001). We review the preclusive effect of the Ohio judgment in this case under Ohio state law. See Semtek Int’l Inc. v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 531 U.S. 497, 508-09 , 121 S.Ct. 1021 , 149 *634 L.Ed.2d 32 (2001). Because we conclude that Central’s California antitrust claims and its Ohio contract claims (asserted as counterclaims) arose out of the same transactions, we affirm.

At the heart of both Central’s Ohio contract claims and its California antitrust claims are agreements made between Scotts and the Monsanto Company (“Monsanto”) for the distribution and marketing of Monsanto’s RoundUp and Ortho products. Those agreements form the basis of the alleged destruction of competition in the lawn and garden, insecticide, herbicide, and fertilizer markets in the United States and they also form the basis of Central’s contract claims against Scotts. 1 This identity of underlying…