Besser Manufacturing Co. et al. v. United States (343 U.S. 444)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 26, 1952 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 343 U.S. 444 · 72 S. Ct. 838
- Docket
- No. 230
- Argued
- April 21, 1952
- Decided
- May 26, 1952
- Term
- October Term 1951
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Jackson (R.H.)
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Minton, Justice Burton, Justice R. H. Jackson (wrote), Justice Douglas, Justice Frankfurter, Justice Reed, Justice Black
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Jackson delivered the opinion of the Court. The United States brought this civil action under § 4 of the Sherman Act charging appellants and others with conspiring to restrain and monopolize interstate commerce in concrete block-making machinery in violation of §§ 1 and 2 of the Act, and charging appellants with monopolizing and attempting to monopolize the same industry in violation of § 2 of the Act. The defendants below were the Stearns Manufacturing Company, second largest producer in the country of concrete block-making machines, Besser Manufacturing Company, the country’s dominant producer of such machinery and substantial stockholder in the Stearns Company, Jesse H. Besser, long-time president and virtually sole stockholder of the Besser Company, and two individuals, Gelbman and Andrus, co-owners of certain important patents in the concrete block-making machine field. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan found the Government’s charges clearly proved, and entered a judgment intended to correct the Sherman Act violations found to exist. Only the Besser Company and Jesse H. Besser have appealed, bringing their case here directly. Appellants assert that the factual conclusions of the trial court are erroneous. Only recently we reiterated the narrow scope of review here with respect to issues of fact in antitrust cases. United…
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