United States v. Shubert

11 F.R.D. 528, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3503, 1951 Trade Cas. (CCH) 62,827
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedApril 27, 1951
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 11 F.R.D. 528 (United States v. Shubert) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Shubert, 11 F.R.D. 528, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3503, 1951 Trade Cas. (CCH) 62,827 (S.D.N.Y. 1951).

Opinion

LEIBELL, District Judge.

On February 21, 1950 the United States commenced the within action, charging that the named defendants had combined and conspired to restrain and monopolize trade and commerce in the legitimate the-atre industry, in violation of the provisions of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C.A. §§ 1, 2. The specific offenses charged, to which the defendants have entered a general denial, appear in paragraphs 50, 51 and 52 of the complaint, which read as follows:—

“50. The defendants, for many years last past, have been and now are engaged in a combination and conspiracy in restraint of the aforesaid interstate trade and commerce in the production, booking and presentation of legitimate attractions, and have combined and conspired to mo[531]*531nopolize, and have attempted to monopolize and have monopolized the aforesaid interstate trade and commerce in the booking of legitimate attractions throughout the United States and in the presentation of legitimate attractions in Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; New York City, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D. C. in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. The defendants threaten to continue such offenses, and will, continue them, unless the relief hereinafter prayed for in this complaint is granted.
“51. The aforesaid combinations and conspiracies to unreasonably restrain and to monopolize trade and commerce, the attempts to monopolize and monopolizations of trade and commerce have consisted' of a continuing concert of action among the defendants, the substantial terms of which have been that the defendants: '(a) compel producers to book their legitimate attractions exclusively through the defendants; (b) exclude others from booking legitimate attractions; (c) prevent competition in the presentation of legitimate attractions; (d) discriminate in favor of their own productions with respect to booking and presentation; and (e) combine their power in booking and presentation in order to maintain and strengthen their domination in each of these fields.
“52. Pursuant to said combinations and conspiracies, attempts to monopolize and monopolizations, the defendants have done the things they agreed to do, by the following means, among others:
• “(a) Conditioned their investments in the productions of legitimate attractions by others upon agreements by the producers to book each of those attractions exclusively through the defendants;
“(b) Booked substantially all legitimate attractions produced by the defendants;
“(c) Forced producers to grant to the defendants the exclusive right to book the legitimate attractions of said producers for an entire theatrical season;
“(d) Conditioned the booking of legitimate attractions into theatres in try-out towns upon agreements by' producers to book each of those attractions exclusively through the defendants thereafter;
“(e) Conditioned the booking of legitimate attractions into Shubert-operated theatres in New York City upon agreements by the producers to book each of those attractions exclusively ■ through the defendants thereafter;
“(f) Coerced producers who had booked independently of the defendants to pay penalties or to accept unfavorably discriminatory booking terms, as a condition of obtaining bookings through them;
“(g) Entered into agreements with operators whereby said operators agreed to present only attractions booked through the defendants and defendants agreed not to book for competing operators;
“(h) Excluded legitimate attractions booked independently of the defendants from theatres operated by them and from affiliated theatres;
“(i) Excluded legitimate attractions booked through the defendants from the-atres competing with affiliated theatres or with those operated by the defendants;
“(j) Harassed operators of competing theatres;
“(k) Coerced and intimidated independent theatre operators located in towns where the defendants operated theatres, or where they desired to operate theatres, to relinquish control of their theatres or a share of the profits thereof, by expressed or implied threats to deprive them, by virtue of the defendants’ control of booking, of access to legitimate attractions;
“(1) Acquired control of the operation of competing theatres.”

The effects of the concerted acts of the defendants are alleged in paragraph 53 of the complaint, as follows:—

“53. The concerted action of the defendants pursuant to and in furtherance of the violations of law alleged in this complaint have had, among others, the following effects:
“(a) Producers have been forced to book exclusively with the defendants, on non[532]*532competitive terms, in order to obtain access to suitable theatres;
“(b) Persons have been denied the right to engage in the business of operating a booking office in competition with the defendants ;
“(c) Operators of independent theatres in cities where the defendants operate theatres, or where affiliated, theatres are located, have been systematically excluded from obtaining legitimate attractions;
“(d) In many cities where the defendants operate theatres, or where affiliated theatres are located, operators of independent theatres, have been forced out of the business of presenting legitimate attractions;
“(e) Persons have been denied the right to engage in the business of presenting legitimate attractions in cities where the defendants operate theatres, or where affiliated theatres are located;
“(f) In cities where the defendants operate theatres, or where affiliated theatres are located, the public has been deprived access to legitimate attractions and the' benefits which flow from free enterprise and open competition;
“(g) The interstate commerce in production, booking, and presentation has been unreasonably restrained and the interstate commerce in booking and presentation has been monopolized.”

On September 6, 1950 the defendants served upon the United States a set of interrogatories pursuant to Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S. C.A. The interrogatories are twenty-five in number; each numbered interrogatory, with a few exceptions, contains several subdivisions. On October 13, 1950 the United States served upon the defendants written objections to certain of the defendants’ interrogatories. Objections were made to interrogatories' No. 8 (e to h inclusive), No. 11 (a to e inclusive), No. 12 (a to k inclusive), No.13 (a to f inclusive), No. 14 (a to e inclusive), No. 15 (a to c inclusive), and Nos. 18, 19 and 20.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Boone v. Amazon Services, LLC
E.D. California, 2024
Dvorak v. Commissioner
64 T.C. 846 (U.S. Tax Court, 1975)
Texas Department of Corrections v. Herring
513 S.W.2d 6 (Texas Supreme Court, 1974)
United States v. Carter Products, Inc.
28 F.R.D. 373 (S.D. New York, 1961)
United States v. Renault, Inc.
27 F.R.D. 23 (S.D. New York, 1960)
United States v. Jerrold Electronics Corp.
168 F. Supp. 146 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1958)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
11 F.R.D. 528, 1951 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3503, 1951 Trade Cas. (CCH) 62,827, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-shubert-nysd-1951.