Powell v. St. Louis Dairy Company
Citation | 276 F.2d 464 |
Decision Date | 01 April 1960 |
Docket Number | No. 16345.,16345. |
Parties | George F. POWELL et al., Appellants, v. ST. LOUIS DAIRY COMPANY, a Corporation, et al., Appellees. |
Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) |
William H. Biggs, St. Louis, Mo., presented oral argument in behalf of appellants.
Jacob M. Lashly, St. Louis, Mo., presented oral argument in behalf of appellee St. Louis Dairy Co.
Oral argument waived on behalf of appellees Pevely Dairy Co., Quality Dairy Co. and Milk Wagon Drivers and Inside Dairy Workers Local Union No. 603.
Before GARDNER, VOGEL and VAN OOSTERHOUT, Circuit Judges.
These six consolidated actions were brought under § 4 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 15, for treble damages by individuals against named dairies and a union. All suits were filed in the District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on June 17, 1955, and alleged that certain conspiracies were entered into by the defendants on or about July 1, 1950. Defendants moved jointly to dismiss the complaints for the reason that on their face the claims sued on arose more than three years prior to the filing of the actions and were accordingly barred by the applicable statutes of limitations. The District Court granted the motions and a judgment of dismissal was entered. This appeal resulted.
It is conceded that at the time in question there was no federal statute of limitations applicable to § 4 of the Clayton Act.1 It is also conceded that in the absence of such a federal statute, the statutes of the state where the suit is brought apply. The Missouri statutes, insofar as they may possibly be applicable, are as follows: Section 516.130(2), Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1949, V.A.M.S.:
If the causes of action herein come within the purview of either § 516.130 or § 516.400, they are barred as having been commenced more than three years after the commission of the alleged offenses. If § 516.120 is applicable, the actions are not barred. The sole issue, then, is whether or not, for purposes of applying the Missouri statute of limitations, the treble damage provision of the Clayton Act is penal or remedial.
The District Court, after citing the Missouri statutes and analyzing the decisions of the Missouri courts, stated:
In appealing to this court for reversal of the judgment of dismissal, appellants contend that the court erred in holding controlling the decisions of the Missouri courts interpreting their three-year statute of limitations and urge that federal decisions should govern the characterization of § 4 relief.
While there are some District Court holdings to the contrary, we think the correct rule is that, where a state statute of limitations applies to a federal cause of action, the federal courts are bound by the state court construction of those statutes. Chattanooga Foundry & Pipe Works v. City of Atlanta, 1906, 203 U.S. 390, 27 S.Ct. 65, 51 L.Ed. 241, cited by both parties to the instant controversy, involved an action by the City of Atlanta against members of an unlawful trust to recover three-fold damages. Mr. Justice Holmes, speaking for the court, stated, 203 U.S. at page 397, 27 S.Ct. at page 66:
The court also stated, 191 F.2d at page 914:
The Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit met the issue squarely in Gordon v. Loew's, Inc., 3 Cir., 1957, 247 F.2d 451, wherein, in an excellent opinion by Judge Maris, it held, at pages 455, 457:
The 3rd Circuit has on two...
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Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co.
...statute of limitations pertaining to penal provisions was applicable (Burns' Ann.St. § 2-602). The Eighth Circuit in Powell v. St. Louis Dairy Company, 276 F.2d 464 (1960), concluded that under the Missouri law an action brought under the Clayton Act for treble damages is penal. The Skouras......
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Leh v. General Petroleum Corporation
...treble-damage antitrust claims. See: North Carolina Theatres, Inc. v. Thompson, 277 F.2d 673 (4th Cir. 1960); Powell v. St. Louis Dairy Co., 276 F.2d 464 (8th Cir. 1960); Bertha Building Corp. v. National Theatres Corp., supra, 269 F.2d 785; Gordon v. Loew\'s Inc., 247 F.2d 451 (3rd Cir. 19......
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Adams Dairy Company v. National Dairy Products Corp.
...out of the commission of a tortious act, within the meaning of Section 506.500, is based on a tortured reading of Powell v. St. Louis Dairy Co., (8th Cir. 1960) 276 F. 2d 464. Judge Ridge settled that question against defendant Wise's contention in Electric Theatre Co. v. Twentieth Century ......
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Leh v. GENERAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION
...treble-damage antitrust claims. See: North Carolina Theatres, Inc. v. Thompson, 277 F.2d 673 (4th Cir. 1960); Powell v. St. Louis Dairy Co., 276 F.2d 464 (8th Cir. 1960); Bertha Building Corp. v. National Theatres Corp., supra, 269 F.2d 785; Gordon v. Loew's Inc., 247 F.2d 451 (3rd Cir. 195......