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United States v. American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corp.

United States v. American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corp.

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

September 23, 1970, Filed

Nos. 18182 - 18187

Opinion

 [*180]  Opinion

SEITZ, Circuit Judge:

These are appeals from judgments of conviction entered after jury verdicts finding violations of section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1, by appellants American Radiator & Standard Sanitary, Inc. (American Standard); Joseph J. Decker and Daniel J. Quinn, President and Vice President respectively of American Standard's Plumbing and Heating Division; Kohler Co. (Kohler); Norman R. Held, member of Kohler's board of directors and Sales Manager for Plumbing Fixtures; and Borg-Warner Corp. (Borg-Warner).

Appellants were indicted on October 6, 1966. Also indicted with appellants were five other plumbing fixture manufacturers, Crane Company (Crane), Universal-Rundle Corp. (Universal-Rundle), Rheem Manufacturing Co. (Rheem), Wallace-Murray Corp. (Wallace-Murray), and Briggs Manufacturing Company (Briggs); five other employees of corporate defendants, Robert E. Casner, Vice President and General Manager of Crane's Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning Group; John [**2]  B. Balmer, President of Wallace-Murray; Stanley S. Backner, Universal-Rundle's Vice President for Marketing until December 1963, and Executive Vice President of the Plumbing Fixtures Manufacturers Association thereafter; Robert J. Pierson, Jr., Vice-President for Marketing of Rheem's Home Products Division; George W. Kelch, President and General Manager of Borg-Warner's Intersoll-Humphryes Division; and the Plumbing Fixtures Manufacturers Association (PFMA). The one-count indictment charged that from September 1962 until sometime in 1966 the corporate and individual defendants, together with various unindicted co-conspirators, engaged in an unlawful combination and conspiracy consisting of "a continuing agreement, understanding and concert of action . . . to raise, fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of enameled cast iron and vitreous china plumbing fixtures" in violation of section 1 of the Sherman Act. The indictment further stated that:

"13. In formulating and effectuating the aforesaid combination and conspiracy, the defendants and co-conspirators did those things which they combined and conspired to do, including, among other things, the following:

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433 F.2d 174 *; 1970 U.S. App. LEXIS 7230 **; 1970 Trade Cas. (CCH) P73,331

United States of America v. American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corp., Kohler Co., Crane Co., Wallace-Murray Corp., Universal-Rundle Corp., Rheem Manufacturing Co., Borg-Warner Corp., Briggs Manufacturing Co., Plumbing Fixture Manufacturers Assn., Joseph J. Decker, Daniel J. Quinn, Norman R. Held, Robert E. Casner, John B. Balmer, Stanley S. Backner, Robert J. Pierson, Jr. and George W. Kelch. American Standard, Inc., Appellant in No. 18,182; Kohler Co., Appellant in No. 18,183; Borg-Warner Corp., Appellant in No. 18,184; Joseph J. Decker, Appellant in No. 18,185; Daniel J. Quinn, Appellant in No. 18,186; Norman R. Held, Appellant in No. 18,187

CORE TERMS

prices, conspiracy, enameled, trial judge, plumbing fixture, indictment, cast iron, appellants', china, discounts, witnesses, fixtures, regular, vitreous, manufacturers, resistant, Hotel, acid, cross-examination, hearsay, increased price, handwriting, pages, exhibits, meetings, phase, co-conspirators, documents, bathtubs, charts

Criminal Law & Procedure, Inchoate Crimes, Conspiracy, Elements, General Overview, Antitrust & Trade Law, Sherman Act, Monopolies & Monopolization, Conspiracy to Monopolize, Sherman Act, Trials, Motions for Mistrial, Legal Ethics, Prosecutorial Conduct, Opening Statements, Appeals, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Evidence, Types of Evidence, Documentary Evidence, Civil Procedure, Judicial Officers, Judges, Admissibility, Scientific Evidence, Handwriting, Governments, Courts, Judges, Defendant's Rights, Right to Confrontation, Statements as Evidence, Hearsay, Rule Components, Discretionary Powers, Jury Instructions, Requests to Charge, Discovery & Inspection, Brady Materials, Brady Claims, Racketeering, Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations Act, Penalties, Preliminary Proceedings, Pretrial Motions & Procedures, Suppression of Evidence, Sentencing, Forfeitures, Jencks Act, Scope, Limiting Instructions, Inferences & Presumptions, Presumptions, Conflicting Presumptions