US Reports: Copperweld Corp. V. Independence Tube Corp
OCTOBER TERM, 1983 Syllabus 467 U. S. COPPERWELD CORP. ET AL. v. INDEPENDENCE TUBE CORP. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT No. 82-1260. Argued December 5, 1983-Decided June 19, 1984 Petitioner Copperweld Corp. purchased petitioner Regal Tube Co., a man- ufacturer of steel tubing, from Lear Siegler, Inc., which had operated Regal as an unincorporated division, and which under the sale agree- ment was bound not to compete with Regal for five years. Copperweld then transferred Regal's assets to a newly formed, wholly owned subsid- iary. Shortly before Copperweld acquired Regal, David Grohne, who previously had been an officer of Regal, became an officer of Lear Siegler, and, while continuing to work for Lear Siegler, formed respond- ent corporation to compete with Regal. Respondent then gave Yoder Co. a purchase order for a tubing mill, but Yoder voided the order when it received a letter from Copperweld warning that Copperweld would be greatly concerned if Grohne contemplated competing with Regal and promising to take the necessary steps to protect Copperweld's rights under the noncompetition agreement with Lear Siegler. Respondent then arranged to have a mill supplied by another company. Thereafter, respondent filed an action in Federal District Court against petitioners and Yoder. The jury found, inter alia, that petitioners had conspired to violate § 1 of the Sherman Act but that Yoder was not part of the con- spiracy, and awarded treble damages against petitioners. The Court of Appeals affirmed.
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