Eagle Lion Classics v. Loew's Inc.

• Decision Date: 05 May 1954
• Citation: 121 F. Supp. 128
• Parties: EAGLE LION CLASSICS, Inc. et al. v. LOEW'S Inc. et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

121 F. Supp. 128

EAGLE LION CLASSICS, Inc. et al. v. LOEW'S Inc. et al.

United States District Court, S. D. New York.

May 5, 1954.

Morris Gutt, New York City, for plaintiffs; William L. McGovern, Seymour Krieger, and Robert L. Wright, Washington, D.C., of counsel.

Davis, Polk, Wardwell, Sunderland & Kiendl, New York City, for defendant Loew's Inc.; S. Hazard Gillespie, Jr., Francis W. Phillips and H. L. King, New York City, of counsel.

O'Brien, Driscoll & Raftery, New York City, for defendants RKO Theatres, Inc. and RKO Film Booking Corp.; Edward C. Raftery and George A. Raftery, New York City, of counsel.

Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine, New York City, for defendants RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., and Radio-Keith Orpheum Corp.; Ray McDonald, Buffalo, N. Y., and Thomas K. Fisher, New York City, of counsel.

Dwight, Royall, Harris, Koegel & Caskey, New York City, for defendant Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.; John F. Caskey and Barbara A. Scott, New York City, of counsel.

Schwartz & Frohlich, New York City, for defendant Columbia Pictures Corp.; Everett A. Frohlich and Myles J. Lane, New York City, of counsel.

Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, New York City, for defendants Warner Bros. Pictures Distributing Corp., United Artists Corp., Paramount Film Distributing Corp., and Big U Film Exchange, Inc., (Universal); A. C. Bickford, Cyrus R. Vance and Hardin Holmes, New York City, of counsel.

AUGUSTUS N. HAND, Circuit Judge.

This is an anti-trust suit in which the plaintiffs demand treble damages for injury caused by an alleged conspiracy carried on by the defendants during the period 1946-1950. An injunction is also sought against the continuation of the conspiracy in the future by these same defendants. Specifically the violation of the anti-trust laws concerns an alleged conspiracy to monopolize the film business in metropolitan New York among the eight distributor defendants and exhibitor defendants, Loews and RKO. The plaintiffs allege that the effect of this conspiracy in the past has been to exclude the plaintiffs from the prior run market in New York in the distribution of pictures, to cause a loss in the sale of their distribution business, and to drive one of the plaintiffs, "Eagle Lion Films", out of the motion picture distribution business. Damages for this injury are sought only against the exhibitor defendants, Loews and RKO, while injunctive relief is sought against all the defendants.

To secure equitable relief the plaintiffs must show that in regard to them there is a "threatened loss or damage by a violation of the antitrust laws." 15 U.S.C.A. § 26. Schwartz v. General Electric Co., D.C.S.D.N.Y., 107 F.Supp. 58. In the complaint threatened injury is alleged only as to Eagle Lion Classics, Inc., a distributor of motion pictures, but Eagle Lion Classics was sold to the defendant United Artists in 1951 and has withdrawn from this suit. No other threatened injury is alleged and indeed plaintiffs' counsel admit that none of the plaintiffs are presently engaged in distributing motion pictures. As such, I...