ed justice.’ ” 368 U.S. at 473, 82 S.Ct. at 491, 7 L.Ed.2d at 464.
The key contested issue in the claims against Distributor is motive or intent, and plaintiff should have an opportunity to let the jury draw its own inferences from the undisputed facts unless all reasonable inferences that could be drawn defeat plaintiff’s claims. Despite cogent evidence of independent business reasons for Distributor’s actions, the fact remains that VW enjoyed a special supplier-purchaser relationship with Distributor and that, in the two model years after VW’s acquisition of Subsidiary, the Subsidiary air conditioners—considered unfit when they were produced by Subsidiary’s predecessor corporation—made substantial inroads into the Distributor market which had been held exclusively by Delta and plaintiff.
Mindful of the Supreme Court’s admonition in Poller v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., supra, and viewing the evidence as a whole and in a light most favorable to Calnetics, we cannot say that no reasonable jury could have found that Distributor participated in a conspiracy in restraint of trade which resulted in a decision to terminate dealings with plaintiff.[1] Thus, a genuine issue of material fact exists and it is for the jury alone to decide whether Distributor’s cessation of business with Calnetics was motivated by independent business reasons or by participation in an illegal conspiracy.[2]
We vacate the summary judgment in favor of Distributor on Calnetics’ antitrust claims, and remand the case for trial.
| B. | Directed Verdict in Favor of VW and Subsidiary on the Clayton Act § 7 Claim for Damages. |
At the conclusion of Calnetics’ case in chief on its claim for damages under § 7 of the Clayton Act, the court granted defendant VW’s motion for a directed verdict. The court based its ruling upon its finding that the jury could not reasonably have found a direct and immediate causal connection between VW’s acquisition of Subsidiary and Calnetics’ alleged damages.
The standard for review of the grant of a directed verdict is identical to that for review of a summary judgment order. The appellate court must view the evidence, including all reasonable inferences of fact, in a light most favorable to the party against whom the motion for directed verdict was made. Continental Ore Co. v. Union Carbide & Carbon Corp., 370 U.S. 690, 696, 82 S.Ct. 1404, 1409, 8 L.Ed.2d 777, 782 (1962); 5A J. Moore, Federal Practice ¶50.02[1], at 2826–27 (2d ed. 1948, as amended 1975).
The order for a directed verdict does not clearly indicate the facts upon which the court based its lack-of-causation finding. Conceivably, the court entered its order upon the belief that the evidence conclusively showed that Distributor’s termination of business dealings with plaintiffs resulted from the exercise of independent business judgment rather than from participation in a conspiracy. But, as pointed out by VW and Subsidiary, at the time the court ordered a directed verdict, there had been only oblique reference to independent busi-
- ↑ As discussed in Part B, infra, another reasonable conspiracy theory that the jury should have an opportunity to consider is that Distributor’s initial decision to drop Calnetics was for independent business reasons, but that once Subsidiary was rehabilitated the unlawful foreclosure commenced and Calnetics was prevented by the conspiracy from re-entering the market. If the jury so finds, damages must be calculated from the moment of foreclosure rather than from the date of the acquisition.
- ↑ The fact that the trial court did not grant summary judgment in favor of VW and Subsidiary on Calnetics’ § 7 claims tends to indicate that the court also concluded that a genuine issue of fact existed as to the reason for Distributor’s dropping of Calnetics as a supplier. In any event, Calnetics’ evidence of conspiracy is not so insubstantial as to warrant summary judgment against it.
To avoid inconsistent results, the district court should bear in mind that the § 7 damage claims and the Sherman Act claims against Distributor, VW, and Subsidiary are all interrelated. Consequently, a jury finding that Distributor made an independent, long-term business judgment to cease doing business with plaintiffs would defeat each and every one of plaintiff’s damage claims.
