Schine Chain Theatres, Inc. v. United States

334 U.S. 110, 68 S. Ct. 947, 92 L. Ed. 2d 1245, 92 L. Ed. 1245, 1948 U.S. LEXIS 2816, 1948 Trade Cas. (CCH) 62,245
CourtSupreme Court of the United States
DecidedMay 3, 1948
Docket10
StatusPublished
Cited by230 cases

This text of 334 U.S. 110 (Schine Chain Theatres, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of the United States primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schine Chain Theatres, Inc. v. United States, 334 U.S. 110, 68 S. Ct. 947, 92 L. Ed. 2d 1245, 92 L. Ed. 1245, 1948 U.S. LEXIS 2816, 1948 Trade Cas. (CCH) 62,245 (1948).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Douglas

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This is a companion case to No. 64, United States v. Griffith, ante, p. 100, and is here by way of appeal from the District Court. The appellants, who were defendants below, are a parent company, three of its officers and directors, and five of its wholly owned subsidiaries— to whom we refer collectively as Schine. As of May 19, 1942, Schine owned or had a financial interest in a chain .of approximately 148 motion picture theatres 1 located in 76 towns in 6 states, 2 the greater portion being 78 theatres in 41 towns in New York and 36 theatres in 17 towns in Ohio. Of the 76 towns, 60 were closed towns, i. e., places where Schine had the only theatre or *114 all the theatres in town. 3 This chain was acquired beginning in 1920 and is the largest independent theatre circuit in the country. Since 1931 Schine acquired 118 theatres. Since 1928 the closed towns increased by 56. In 1941 there were only three towns in which Schine’s competitors were playing major film products.

The United States sued to prevent and restrain appellants from violating §§ 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. 26 Stat. 209, 50 Stat. 693, 15 U. S. C. §§ 1, 2. The complaint charged that the Schine interests by pooling their entire circuit buying power in the negotiation of films from the distributors so as to combine its closed and open towns got advantages for itself and imposed restrictions on its competitors which otherwise would not have been possible. It charged that the distributors granted certain favors to Schine which were withheld from Schine’s competitors, e. g., giving Schine the first run, refusing at times second runs to Schine’s competitors, charging Schine with lower rentals than it charged others, licensing to Schine films in excess of Schine’s reasonable requirements.

The complaint also charged that Schine had forced or attempted to force competitors out of business and where competitors would not sell out to Schine had threatened to build or had built an opposition theatre, had threatened to deprive or had deprived competitors of a desirable film or run, had cut admission prices, and had engaged in other unfair practices. In these and other ways it was charged that Schine had used its circuit buying power to maintain its monopoly and to *115 restrain trade. The conspiracy charged was between the Schine defendants themselves and between them and the distributors.

The District Court found that the appellants had conspired with each other and with the eight major film distributors 4 to violate § 1 and § 2 of the Sherman Act. Its findings may be summarized as follows:

The entire circuit buying power was utilized to negotiate films for all the theatres from the distributors, the negotiations ending in master agreements between a distributor and the exhibitor. This large buying power 5 gave Schine the “opportunity to exert pressure on the distributors to obtain preferences.” Moreover, Schine by combining its closed and open towns in its negotiations for films was able “to dictate terms to the distributors.” Schine bought films for some theatres in which it had no financial interest (but as respects most of which it had an option to purchase). It also performed the service (under so-called pooling agreements) for groups of theatres in which it and others were interested. Through the use of such buying power Schine arbitrarily deprived competitors of first- and second-run pictures, was able in many towns to secure unreasonable clearances 6 year after year of from 90 to 180 days, obtained long-term agreements for rental of film (franchises) which gave it preferences not given independent operators, 7 and re *116 ceived more advantageous concessions from the distributors respecting admission prices than competitors were able to get. Schine made threats to build or to open closed theatres in order to force sales of theatres in various towns or to prevent entry by an independent operator. Schine cut admission prices. Schine obtained from competitors whom it bought out agreements not to compete for long terms of years which agreements at times extended to other towns as well. Schine obtained film-rental concessions not made available to independents. The District Court entered a decree enjoining these practices and requiring a divestiture by Schine of various of its theatres. 63 F. Supp. 229.

First. For the reasons stated in United States v. Griffith, ante, p. 100, the combining of the open and closed towns for the negotiation of films for the circuit was a restraint of trade and the use of monopoly power in violation of § 1 and § 2 of the Act. The concerted action of the parent company, its subsidiaries, and the named officers and directors in that endeavor was a conspiracy which was not immunized by reason of the fact that the members were closely affiliated rather than independent. See United States v. Yellow Cab Co., 332 U. S. 218, 227; United States v. Crescent Amusement Co., 323 U. S. 173. The negotiations which Schine had with the distributors resulted in the execution of master agreements between the distributors and exhibitors. This brought the distributors into unlawful combinations with the Schine defendants. See United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., post, p. 131. The course of business makes plain that the commerce affected was interstate. United States v. Crescent Amusement Co., supra, pp. 180, 183-184.

Second. Appellants object to admission in evidence of numerous inter-office communications between officials of the distributors with whom Schine dealt. The District Court placed considerable reliance on them in mak *117 ing its findings. We will advert later to the use of these documents to prove the unreasonableness of clearances. It is sufficient at this point to say that since a conspiracy between Schine and each of the named distributors was established by independent evidence, these inter-office letters and memoranda were admissible against all conspirators as declarations of some of the associates so far as they were in furtherance of the unlawful project. Hitchman Coal & Coke Co. v. Mitchell, 245 U. S. 229, 249; United States v. Crescent Amusement Co., supra, p. 184;

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Bluebook (online)
334 U.S. 110, 68 S. Ct. 947, 92 L. Ed. 2d 1245, 92 L. Ed. 1245, 1948 U.S. LEXIS 2816, 1948 Trade Cas. (CCH) 62,245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schine-chain-theatres-inc-v-united-states-scotus-1948.