Ohio-Sealy Mattress Manufacturing Co. v. Kaplan

90 F.R.D. 11
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 1, 1980
DocketNo. 76 C 0810
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 90 F.R.D. 11 (Ohio-Sealy Mattress Manufacturing Co. v. Kaplan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ohio-Sealy Mattress Manufacturing Co. v. Kaplan, 90 F.R.D. 11 (N.D. Ill. 1980).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ASPEN, District Judge:

This case comes before the Court for review of the Report and Recommendation issued by Magistrate Cooley on April 7, 1980, with respect to nine separate motions filed by the various parties.1 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), the parties have filed comments on and objections to certain of the magistrate’s findings and conclusions. Upon examination of the magistrate’s recommendation and independent consideration of the arguments posed by the parties, the Court adopts Magistrate Cooley’s recommended denial of (1) Ohio’s motion for summary judgment based on collateral es-toppel; and (2) Sealy’s motion to strike the Clayton Act allegation contained in Count VI of the Amended Complaint.2 For the reasons stated herein, however, the Court must reject the magistrate’s recommendation (1) that defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to post-verdict damages stemming from pre-verdict acts be denied; (2) that Ohio’s motion to sever Count VI of the complaint be granted; (3) that Michigan-Sealy’s motion to file a cross-claim against Sealy be granted; and (4) that Ohio’s motion to consolidate the 1976 and 1979 cases be granted.3

1. Ohio’s Motion For Summary Judgment Based On Collateral Estoppel

Although the Court is in agreement with the magistrate’s recommendation that this motion be denied, the Court nonetheless deems it appropriate to clarify its view on this matter and to address certain prece[13]*13dent not discussed by the magistrate. Contrary to the view expressed by the magistrate, the Court does net believe that White v. Finkbeiner, 570 F.2d 194, 201 (7th Cir. 1978), forecloses the possibility that an appellate court decision, by extrapolating from the trial court record, may provide the factual predicate necessary to accord a general jury verdict collateral estoppel effect. Rather, as the magistrate also concluded, the Court finds that the Seventh Circuit opinion in Ohio-Sealy Mattress Manufacturing Co. v. Seaily, Inc., 585 F.3d 821 (7th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 930, 99 S.Ct. 1267, 59 L.Ed.2d 486 (1979) (“Ohio-Sealy”), simply did not provide such a predicate. With the exception of the findings that the jury “necessarily found that Sealy had allocated markets,” id. at 827; and that “at least one of Sealy’s first-refusal acquisitions ... violated the antitrust laws,” id. at 844, the court declined to hold that any particular practice attacked by Ohio was found by the jury to violate the antitrust laws. Id. at 844. Thus, beyond the holding that the jury found the existence of an illegal market allocation scheme, the Seventh Circuit opinion cannot collaterally estop defendants from litigating the legality of the practices attacked in this action.

Nor can the jury foreman’s notes and affidavit be used to embellish the general jury verdict. The Court agrees that to allow such inquiry into the deliberative process would be contrary to the policy considerations underlying Fed.R.Evid. 606(b).4 The decision in Katz v. Eli Lilly & Co., 84 F.R.D. 378, 380-382 (E.D.N.Y.1979), which permitted defendants to depose jury members for the purposes of determining the collateral estoppel effect to be accorded to a prior jury verdict, is factually distinguishable from this case in several important respects. First, the prior jury verdict in that case was rendered in New York state court, under whose law such examination of jurors apparently was permissible. 84 F.R.D. at 381 n.5. Second, the court found it appropriate to permit the defendants to inquire into the jury verdict in order to afford them an opportunity to meet the plaintiffs’ attempt to use the jury verdict in an offensive application of collateral estoppel. Id. at 382. Here, on the other hand, it is the parties seeking to inquire into the jury’s deliberations who are attempting to apply the collateral estoppel doctrine. Thus, on the facts, the Court does not believe that Katz provides compelling authority for Ohio’s position. Moreover, to the extent that Katz might be considered applicable to this situation, the Court declines to follow that precedent. Thus, Ohio’s motion for summary judgment based on collateral es-toppel is denied.5

II. Defendants’ Motion To Strike The Clayton Act Allegation Of Count VI

III. Defendants' Motion For Summary Judgment

In this motion — the most significant of those addressed by the magistrate in his report and recommendation — the defendants seek to preclude Ohio from recovering post-verdict damages resulting from pre-verdict acts alleged in Counts I-IV and VI of the Amended Complaint.6 Sealy argues that Ohio could have sought all past and future damages arising from defendants’ pre-verdict conduct in the trial of the 1971 case. Thus, Sealy contends that because there was a final judgment as to Ohio’s damages from those acts, Ohio is barred by res judicata from now recovering any damages it failed to seek in the 1971 action.7 The director-defendants seek summary judgment on the same ground, conceding for the purpose of the summary judgment motion the existence of privity with Sealy.8 In addition, the director-defendants contend that Ohio is barred by the doctrine of satisfaction of judgment from seeking recovery.

The magistrate recommended that the defendants’ motion be denied. In reaching this conclusion, the magistrate determined that res judicata — as well as satisfaction of judgment — would not be applicable to post-verdict damages for the reason that such damages are equitable in nature, and that there has been no final judgment in the 1971 case on the equitable relief sought by [15]*15Ohio. Neither Ohio nor the defendants, however, agree with this characterization of Ohio’s request for post-verdict damages. Nor does this Court.

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Bluebook (online)
90 F.R.D. 11, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ohio-sealy-mattress-manufacturing-co-v-kaplan-ilnd-1980.