Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corporation (1985)
- Docket
- 83-2004
- Decided
- 1985-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the Court of Appeals apply the proper standards in evaluating the decision of the district court? Conclusion: No. Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. delivered the opinion for the 5-4 majority. The Supreme Court held that evidence of alleged conspiracies is not sufficient to prove allegations of violating antitrust legislation unless there is evidence that the conspiracies in question injured American companies. To effectively oppose the motion for summary judgment, the evidence must show that the respondents suffered harm as a result of the petitioners’ illegal activity and that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. The Court also held that all inferences drawn in a motion for summary judgment must be construed in the light most favorable to the side opposing the motion, but in antitrust cases those inferences are constrained by economic factors. In this case, the alleged conspiracy would be economically irrational and therefore cannot be inferred to exist. Justice Byron R. White wrote a dissenting opinion where he argued that the majority’s opinion unnecessarily confuses the standard by which a motion for summary judgment should be adjudicated. In an antitrust summary judgment hearing, it is not the job of the judge to determine whether an inference of a conspiracy is more probable than not. In doing so, the Court invades the role of the finder of fact. He also argued that the Third Circuit was correct in holding that the evidence demonstrated a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., Justice Harry A. Blackmun, and Justice John Paul Stevens joined in the dissent.