Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. v. Commonwealth Edison Co.
| Decision Date | 26 April 1963 |
| Docket Number | No. 13903.,13903. |
| Citation | 315 F.2d 558 |
| Parties | ALLIS-CHALMERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY et al., Appellants, v. COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY et al., Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Hammond E. Chaffetz, William H. Van Oosterhout, William R. Jentes, George D. Newton, Jr., Jack S. Levin, Kirkland, Ellis, Hodson, Chaffetz & Masters, Chicago, Ill., Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Ralph L. McAfee, David L. Foster, Victor M. Earle, III, New York City, of counsel, for Westinghouse Electric Corporation.
John Paul Stevens, Richard L. McIntire, Rothschild, Hart, Stevens & Barry, Chicago, Ill., for A. B. Chance Co. and Foster Wheeler Corporation.
Edward R. Johnston, Thompson, Raymond, Mayer & Jenner, Chicago, Ill., for Allan Bradley Co., Clark Controller Co., Cutler-Hammer, Inc., Lapp Insulator Co., Inc., McGraw-Edison Co., Ohio Brass Co., and Square D Co.,
Holmes Baldridge, John M. Kerwin, Stiefel, Greenberg, Burns & Baldridge, Chicago, Ill., for Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co.
Earl E. Pollock, Frederic S. Lane, Sonnenschien, Lautman, Levinson, Rieser, Carlin & Nath, Chicago, Ill., for Cornell-Dubilier Electric Corporation, Federal Pacific Electric Co., Moloney Electric Co. in Nos. 62 C 87, 62 C 88, 62 C 184 and 62 C 188 and Wagner Electric Corporation in Nos. 62 C 87, 62 C 88, 62 C 184 and 62 C 188.
John T. Chadwell, Richard M. Keck, Richard Calkins, David L. Aufderstrasse, Chadwell, Keck, Keyser, Ruggles & McLaren, Chicago, Ill., for General Electric Co.
Jacob H. Martin, Sydney G. Craig, Martin Bogot, Martin, Craig, Chester & Sonnenschien, Chicago, Ill., for H. K. Porter Co., Inc.
Charles M. Price, Robert C. Keck, Valentine A. Weber, Jr., MacLeish, Spray, Price & Underwood, Chicago, Ill., for Carrier Corporation and C. H. Wheeler Mfg. Co.
Timothy G. Lowry, Owen Rall, Elroy C. Sandquist, Jr., Peterson, Lowry, Rall, Barber & Ross, Chicago, Ill., for I-T-E Circuit Breaker Co.
Harold T. Halfpenny, Halfpenny, Hahn & Ryan, Chicago, Ill., for Ingersoll-Rand Co.
Roland D. Whitman, Joseph A. Conerty, Ross, McGowan & O'Keefe, Chicago, Ill., for Joslyn Mfg. & Supply Co. and Porcelain Insulator Corporation.
Lloyd M. McBride, McBride, Baker, Wienke & Schlosser, Chicago, Ill., for Kuhlman Electric Co. Neil McKay, Winston, Strawn, Smith & Patterson, Chicago, Ill., for Hubbard & Co.
W. Donald McSweeney, Mitchell S. Rieger, John A. Pigott, Dallstream, Schiff, Hardin, Waite & Dorschel, Chicago, Ill., for Moloney Electric Co., Sangamo Electric Co. and Wagner Electric Corporation.
Edward R. Adams, Miller, Gorham, Wescott & Adams, Chicago, Ill., for Southern States, Inc.
Brainerd Chapman, Pritchard, Chapman, Pennington, Montgomery & Sloan, Chicago, Ill., for Worthington Corporation.
Martin R. Paulsen, Milwaukee, Wis., Charles A. Bane, Thomas L. Nicholson, George B. Beall, Richard E. Powell, A. Daniel Feldman, Peter A. Tomei, Isham, Lincoln & Beale, Chicago, Ill., Max Swiren, Neil Flanagin, Chicago, Ill., for Central Illinois Electric & Gas Co., Central Illinois Light Co., Central Illinois Public Service Co., Commonwealth Edison Co., Commonwealth Edison Co. of Indiana, Inc., Iowa Electric Light & Power Co., Iowa-Illinois Gas & Electric Co., Iowa Power & Light Co., Northern Indiana Public Service Co., and Public Service Co. of Indiana, Inc.
George H. Jirgal, Chapman & Cutler, Chicago, Ill., for Central Illinois Electric & Gas Co. and Iowa Electric Light & Power Co.
Harry E. Witherell, Davis, Morgan & Witherell, Peoria, Ill., for Central Illinois Light Co.
William B. Waterman, Davenport, Iowa, for Iowa-Illinois Gas and Electric Co.
Ove B. Dendtler, Stevenson, Dendtler & McCabe, Chicago, Ill., for Central Illinois Public Service Co.
Thomas C. McConnell, Francis J. McConnell, George A. Lane, Chicago, Ill., for Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago.
Daniel P. Ward, State's Atty. of Cook County, Ill., by Thomas A. Hett, Ronald W. Olson, Chicago, Ill., for Cook County.
Howard A. Steele, Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, Des Moines, Iowa, for Iowa Power & Light Co.
John C. Lawyer, Lawyer, Schroer & Eichhorn, Hammond, Ind., for Northern Indiana Public Service Co.
Paul G. Jasper, Plainfield, Ind., for Public Service Co. of Indiana, Inc.
Clement F. Springer, James O. Smith, Chicago, Ill., for Interstate Power Co.
Lee A. Freeman, James J. Costello, Chicago, Ill., James E. Harmon, Urbana, Ill., for Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
Charles S. Rhyne, Washington, D. C., Seymour F. Simon, Chicago, Ill., Brice W. Rhyne, Lenox G. Cooper, Washington, D. C., for City of Chicago, City of Milwaukee, Austin Utilities and City of Austin, Minn., City of Jasper, Indiana, City of Springfield, Mo., City of Grand Island, Neb., Board of Water and Light, Trustees of City of Muscatine, Iowa, City of Springfield, Ill., City of Highland, Ill., City of Tallahassee, Fla., City of Independence, Mo., City of Richmond, Ind., City of Lincoln, Neb.
John C. Melaniphy, Chicago, Ill., for City of Chicago, Ill.
John J. Fleming, George A. Bowman, Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., for City of Milwaukee, Wis.
Kermit Hoversten, Austin, Minn., for Austin Utilities and City of Austin, Minn.
Clemence A. Nordoff, Jasper, Ind., for City of Jasper, Ind.
J. Weston Miller, John F. Carr, Ralph E. Hunt, Springfield, Mo., for City of Springfield, Mo.
Paul C. Holmberg, Ernest G. Kroger, Grand Island, Neb., for City of Grand Island, Neb.
Barnabas F. Sears, Chicago, Ill., for City of Jacksonville, Ill.
C. J. Rosenberger, Muscatine, Iowa, for Board of Water and Light Trustees of City of Muscatine, Iowa.
I. J. Feuer, Springfield, Ill., for City of Springfield, Ill James M. Byrne, Highland, Ill., for City of Highland, Ill.
James Messer, Jr., Tallahassee, Fla., for City of Tallahassee, Fla.
John F. Thice, Gilbert R. Titus, Independence, Mo., for City of Independence, Mo.
Andrew C. Cecere, Richmond, Ind., for City of Richmond, Ind.
Ralph D. Nelson, Lincoln, Neb., for City of Lincoln, Neb.
Robert W. Bergstrom, Charles O. Brizius, Chicago, Ill. for Wisconsin Power & Light Co., Northern States Power Co., a Minnesota Corporation, Northern States Power Co., a Wisconsin corporation, Iowa Southern Utilities Co., Lake Superior District Power Co., Northwestern Public Service Co., Madison Gas & Electric Co., Otter Tail Power Co., Black Hills Power & Light Co., and Illinois Power Co.
Robert J. Sutherland, Petersen, Sutherland, Axley & Brynelson, Madison, Wis., for Wisconsin Power & Light Co.
Donald E. Nelson, General Counsel Northern States Power Co., Minneapolis, Minn., for Northern States Power Co., a Minnesota corporation, and Northern States Power Co., a Wisconsin corporation.
Robert Valentine, Valentine, Greenleaf & Griffing, Centerville, Iowa, for Iowa Southern Utilities Co.
George G. Blake, Aberg, Bell, Blake & Metzner, Madison, Wis., for Lake Superior District Power Co.
George E. Hale, Wilson & McIlvaine, Chicago, Ill., for Illinois Power Co.
Van B. Wake, Wake, Prosser, Zimmerman & Quale, Milwaukee, Wis., for Wisconsin Electric Power Co. and Wisconsin Michigan Power Co.
Ralph Mauch, Huron, S. D., for Northwestern Public Service Co.
William T. Rieser, Rieser, Stafford, Rosenbaum & Smith, Madison, Wis., for Madison Gas & Electric Co.
Cyrus A. Field, Field, Arvesen, Donoho & Lundeen, Fergus Falls, Minn., for Otter Tail Power Co.
William Porter, Hanley, Costello & Porter, Rapid City, S. D., for Black Hills Power & Light Co.
William J. Froelich, Froelich, Grossman, Teton & Tabin, Chicago, Ill., for Wisconsin Public Service Corporation.
Before HASTINGS, Chief Judge, and KNOCH and SWYGERT, Circuit Judges.
Rehearing Denied April 26, 1963, en banc.
Since July 31, 1961, a large number of privately owned utilities, municipalities and public corporations have filed a total of 226 treble damage actions in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against 28 electrical equipment manufacturers from whom they purchased such equipment. Approximately 1,800 cases of this character have been filed in federal courts throughout the United States.
These actions were brought under Section 4 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 15,1 for alleged violations of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C.A. §§ 1 and 2.
The complaints allege that defendants conspired to fix prices, rig bids and allocate customers in the sale of about 23 categories of electrical equipment to plaintiffs. Most of the complaints allege that the conspiracies began in 1948 and continued until sometime in 1960. Several of the complaints allege a time period beginning prior to 1948.
The complaints further allege that such violations were fraudulently concealed by defendants from plaintiffs and that plaintiffs did not learn of their causes of action until grand jury hearings resulted in criminal and injunctive proceedings brought by the United States against these defendants in 1960 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Defendants moved the district court for an order striking all claims for damages accruing prior to the four year period of limitations provided in Section 4B of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 15b.2 The motion further sought to strike from the complaints all allegations of alleged fraudulent concealment of the causes of action,3 or in the alternative, to dismiss all time barred claims.
Defendants contended below that the four year limitations period in the Clayton Act, Section 4B and its related Section 5(b),4 constitute an absolute bar against any action commenced more than four years after the cause of action accrued and that in the absence of a specific exception therein the limitations statute is not subject to tolling on the ground of fraudulent concealment.
Plaintiffs below argued that fraudulent concealment tolls the period of limitations provided in Section 4B.
In a well considered opinion, the district court, Honorable Edwin A. Robson presiding, denied defendants' motion to...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Baker v. F & F INVESTMENT
...secret nature of the conspiracy involved and its necessity as an element in the cause of action. Cf. Allis-Chalmers Mfg. v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 315 F.2d 558, 562 (7th Cir. 1963). In order to obtain the shelter of the federal doctrine of fraudulent concealment, plaintiffs must be prepar......
-
Harold Friedman Inc. v. Thorofare Markets Inc.
...of the cause of action. E. g., Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co., 210 F.Supp. 557 (N.D.Ill., 1962), Aff'd 315 F.2d 558 (7th Cir. 1963).42 Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 401 U.S. 321, 339, 91 S.Ct. 795, 806, 28 L.Ed.2d 77 (1971). See also Continental-Wirt El......
-
In re Lyons
...by decisions from the district court in Ohio. Rather, Bailey has been followed by the Seventh Circuit in Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 315 F.2d 558 (7th Cir.1963), by which this Court is bound to The Seventh Circuit has held that the doctrine tolls the running of the s......
-
Ohio Valley Electric Corp. v. General Electric Co.
...1964) (per curiam); Westinghouse Elec. Corp. v. Pacific Gas and Elec. Co., 326 F.2d 575 (9th Cir. 1964); Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 315 F.2d 558 (7th Cir. 1963); Public Serv. Co. v. General Elec. Co., 315 F.2d 306 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 374 U.S. 809, 83 S.Ct. 16......
-
Statute of Limitations
...are subject to the doctrine of fraudulent concealment . . .) (emphasis in original); Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 315 F.2d 558, 561 (7th Cir. 1963) (holding that “fraudulent concealment does toll the period of limitation provided in Section 4B of the Clayton Act”); Ka......
-
Table of Cases
...& Auto Parts Co. v. Gen. Motors Corp., 901 F.2d 1322 (6th Cir. 1990), 314, 324 Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. v. Commonwealth Edison Co., 315 F.2d 558 (7th Cir. 1963), 71 Alton Ochsner Med. Found. v. Fischbach & Moore, Inc., No. 89-cv-2353, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10499 (E.D. La. 1990), 45 Aluminum ......