Affirmed Defense Trial Verdict in Manufacturing Antitrust Action

Represented a manufacturer in a multi-defendant Sherman Act antitrust action involving allegations of supply-chain coordination among industry competitors. The trial in the Northern District of California concluded with a defense verdict on the conspiracy allegations and a substantial damages award on the manufacturer's counterclaims. The Ninth Circuit affirmed, preserving both halves of the verdict and clarifying Sherman Act framework analysis for horizontal coordination claims in manufacturing supply chains.

The Antitrust Posture

The action alleged that several defendants, including the client, coordinated supply terms and competitive conduct in violation of Sherman Act § 1. The client denied participation in any conspiracy and asserted counterclaims against the plaintiff, alleging that the plaintiff's own conduct distorted competition in the relevant market. The case proceeded to trial on parallel tracks: defendants' liability on the alleged conspiracy and the client's counterclaim recovery for documented competitive harm.

Trial

The team built a trial narrative grounded in the documentary record of the client's independent competitive decision-making. Three threads of evidence carried the case to verdict.

• Internal pricing, capacity, and supply decisions documented through contemporaneous records that pre-dated and excluded the alleged conspiracy meetings.
• Expert economic testimony showing observed market behavior was consistent with independent rational competition and lacked the plus-factor evidence required for Sherman Act § 1 liability.
• A counterclaim evidentiary record establishing the plaintiff's own market conduct as a measurable cause of harm to the client.

Ninth Circuit Affirmance

On appeal, the team defended the verdict against challenges to evidentiary rulings, jury instructions, and the sufficiency of the counterclaim record. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the verdict in its entirety. The opinion preserved the damages recovery for the client and confirmed the trial court's application of Sherman Act framework analysis to industry-coordination claims arising in manufacturing supply chains.