(The material filed in this connection is as follows:) IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Civil No. THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT TIRE DEALERS, INC., 1302 18th St., NW., Washington, D. C. (assignee of claims of BUCHANAN SERVICE, INC., 207 S. Gov. Ave., Dover, Del.; LINCOLN TIRE & APPLIANCE COMPANY, 216 S. Kickapoo St., Lincoln, Ill.; W. W. MARSH, doing business as MARSH-SCHNEIDER COMPANY, 10 Market St., Hamilton, O.; RALPH W. ROBINSON, doing business as ROBINSON TIRE & RECAP COMPANY, 805 3rd Ave., So., Minneapolis, Minn.; EARL STOWE TIRE COMPANY, INC., 340 W. Washington St., Phoenix, Ariz.); ASHBY L. LEETH, doing business as LEETH BROTHERS, 1220 13th St., NW., Washington, D. C.; DAVID R. LEHMAN, doing business as LEHMAN'S TIRE COMPANY, 1525 New York, Ave., NE., Washington, D. C.; ALLWEATHER TIRE COMPANY, INC., 231 Broad St., Jacksonville, Fla.; CATTO & PUTTY, 510 Soledad St., San Antonio, Tex.; R. A. DEAN, doing business as DEAN'S TIRE SERVICE, 717 S. 5th St., Louisville, Ky.; JOE T. DEHMER, doing business as 555 AUTO HOTEL, 142-146 E. Pearl St., Jackson, Miss.; W. J. FINDLEY, doing business as FINDLEY TIRE SHOP, 183 Dakota Ave., So., Huron, S. D.; ABE GOLDSTEIN, doing business as PRIOR TIRE COMPANY, 458 Peachtree St., NE., Atlanta, Ga.; RAY GRIMSHAW, 525 S. E. Union Ave., Portland, Ore.; HAWKINS TIRE & BATTERY COMPANY, INC., 610 Jackson St., Dallas, Tex.; C. E. KIMMEL & COMPANY, INC., 2700 Remington Ave., Baltimore, Md.; KNOERLE TIRE COMPANY, INC., 2421 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, Ind.; MARLOWE TIRE COMPANY, INC., 2701 W. Broad St., Richmond, Va.; J. WALTER MARTIN, doing business as MARTIN TIRE & SUPPLY COMPANY, 154 N. Emporia Ave., Wichita, Kan.; CARL E. MCCAGUE, 10237 Lorain Ave., Cleveland, Ohio;, TOM P. MCDERMOTT, INC., 1400 S. Boston St., Tulsa, Okla.; W. D. MCGEE, JR., doing business as S & M TIRE COMPANY, 302 N. Third St., Monroe, La.; I. R. MORRISON, doing business as DICK MORRISON TIRE COMPANY, 860 S. Main St., Salt Lake City, Utah; PANGBORN'S, INC., 827 E. Main St., Ottumwa, Ia.; C. J. RAMUS, doing business as C. J. RAMUS COMPANY, 256 W. Maumee Ave., Adrian, Mich.; LESLIE S. SANDERS, doing business as DEMPSEY & SANDERS, 24th and Harrison Sts., Oakland, Calif.; SHELLY'S, INC., Snowden Pl., Brownsville, Pa.; LOUIS F. VOIGT, doing business as PEAT & VOIGT SERVICE, 362 Crown St., New Haven, Conn.; C. V. WARD, doing business as C. V. WARD'S TIRE SALES, 534 W. Main St., Alhambra, Calif.; WILBANK'S MOTOR SERVICE, 415 Madison Ave., Montgomery, Ala.; THE ZOOK COMPANY, 431 W. Colfax, Denver, Colo., Plaintiffs v. RUBBER MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION, INC., 444 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y.; THE FIRESTONE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY, 1200 Firestone Parkway, Akron, Ohio; THE GENERAL TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY, 1708 Englewood Ave., Akron, Ohio; THE B. F. GOODRICH COMPANY, 500 S. Main St., Akron, Ohio; THE GOODYEAR TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY, 1144 E. Market St., Akron, Ohio; LEE RUBBER AND TIRE CORPORATION, Conshohocken, Pa.; UNITED STATES RUBBER COMPANY, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N. Y., Defendants COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF COUNT I 1. This complaint is filed and these proceedings are instituted under Title 28, United States Code, Section 1337 and Sections 4, 12, and 16 of the Clayton Act, as amended (15 U. S. C. Secs. 15, 22, and 26). 2. Each of the defendants has agents and transacts business in the District of Columbia. A. The Plaintiffs DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTIES 3. The names of the plaintiffs in this action and their principal places of business, together with the trade names of the individual plaintiffs and the states of incorporation of the corporate plaintiffs, are as follows: 4. The National Association of Independent Tire Dealers, Inc., hereinafter sometimes referred to as NAITD, is a trade association of independent tire dealers with a membership of thousands of such dealers. It is the assignee by written instruments of the rights of certain of its members to sue and recover upon the claims for relief alleged in this complaint. The names of the assignors and their principal places of business, together with the trade names of the individual assignors and the states of incorporation of the corporate assignors. are as follows: 5. Each of the plaintiffs in this action, other than NAITD, and each of the aforesaid assignors is an independent tire dealer engaged in the distribution of rubber tires and tubes. Each of said dealers is a member and director of NAITD. Said dealers will sometimes be referred to hereinafter as the plaintiff and assignor dealers. 6. This action is instituted by the plaintiffs on their own behalf and, pursuant to formal resolution of the Board of Directors of NAITD, on behalf of all other members of NAITD similarly situated. The other members are so numerous as to make it impracticable to bring them all before the Court. B. The Defendants 7. The names of the defendants in this action, their principal places of business, and the states of their incorporation are as follows: 8. The defendant Rubber Manufacturers' Association, Inc., hereinafter sometimes referred to as RMA, is a trade association of manufacturers of rubber products, including tires and tubes. Each of the other defendants is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of tires and tubes, and each, except The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, is a member of RMA. Said manufacturers, together with their subsidiary companies engaged in the manufacture and distribution of tires and tubes, will sometimes be referred to hereinafter as the defendant companies. TRADE AND COMMERCE INVOLVED 9. Over 60 million rubber tires, and a comparable number of tubes, are sold annually in the United States to replace tire equipment on automobiles, trucks, busses, trailers, off-the-road equipment, farm implements, tractors, and industrial equipment. All manufacturers of tires and tubes in the United States are engaged in the distribution of such replacement tires and tubes. In excess of 90% of such tires and tubes is manufactured by the defendant companies at plants located in many states of the United States, and over 50% of their production is distributed by said companies under their brand names. Most replacement tires and tubes made by each manufacturer in the United States, including the brand name tires and tubes of each of the defendant companies, are distributed by the manufacturer in interstate commerce from the states in which such tires and tubes are manufactured to purchasers located in other states and, in the case of the defendant companies, to purchasers located in the District of Columbia. 10. The defendant companies sell about 50% of their brand-name tires and tubes in the course of interstate commerce to independent tire dealers for resale to users of tires and tubes on rubber-tired vehicles. To this end, the defendant companies solicit dealers to purchase and resell their tires and tubes and engage such dealers to act as their distributors usually under formal contractual arrangements. Tires and tubes are sold by the defendant companies to dealers at prices determined by deducting stipulated dealer discounts from so-called list prices which the defendant companies regularly establish, publish, and circulate among dealers and which purport to represent prices at which dealers of said companies resell tires and tubes to users. 11. All members of NAITD, including the plaintiff and assignor dealers, are independent dealers engaged in the distribution of tires and tubes in the manner described above. All of said dealer members, except those supplied exclusively by The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, are supplied with tires and tubes by tire manufacturer members of RMA; most of said dealer members, including most of the plaintiff and assignor dealers, are supplied by the defendant companies. Members of NAITD distribute not less than 50% of all tires and tubes sold through independent dealers in the United States, nonmember gasoline service station operators excepted. 12. In addition to selling to independent dealers for resale, the defendant companies sell in the course of interstate commerce approximately 50% of their brand-name tires and tubes directly to users. Most of such sales are made by the defendant companies through sales organizations maintained by them in their factories and wholesale branches and, except United States Rubber Company and Lee Rubber and Tire Corporation, through company retail stores owned and operated by the defendant companies and located in various cities throughout the United States. The rest of such direct sales are made in transactions in which independent dealers act as commission agents of the defendant companies and A. The Plaintiffs DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTIES 3. The names of the plaintiffs in this action and their principal places of business, together with the trade names of the individual plaintiffs and the states of incorporation of the corporate plaintiffs, are as follows: 4. The National Association of Independent Tire Dealers, Inc., hereinafter sometimes referred to as NAITD, is a trade association of independent tire dealers with a membership of thousands of such dealers. It is the assignee by written instruments of the rights of certain of its members to sue and recover upon the claims for relief alleged in this complaint. The names of the assignors and their principal places of business, together with the trade names of the individual assignors and the states of incorporation of the corporate assignors, are as follows: 5. Each of the plaintiffs in this action, other than NAITD, and each of the aforesaid assignors is an independent tire dealer engaged in the distribution of rubber tires and tubes. Each of said dealers is a member and director of NAITD. Said dealers will sometimes be referred to hereinafter as the plaintiff and assignor dealers. 6. This action is instituted by the plaintiffs on their own behalf and, pursuant to formal resolution of the Board of Directors of NAITD, on behalf of all other members of NAITD similarly situated. The other members are so numerous as to make it impracticable to bring them all before the Court. B. The Defendants 7. The names of the defendants in this action, their principal places of business, and the states of their incorporation are as follows: 8. The defendant Rubber Manufacturers' Association, Inc., hereinafter sometimes referred to as RMA, is a trade association of manufacturers of rubber products, including tires and tubes. Each of the other defendants is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of tires and tubes, and each, except The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, is a member of RMA. Said manufacturers, together with their subsidiary companies engaged in the manufacture and distribution of tires and tubes, will sometimes be referred to hereinafter as the defendant companies. TRADE AND COMMERCE INVOLVED 9. Over 60 million rubber tires, and a comparable number of tubes, are sold annually in the United States to replace tire equipment on automobiles, trucks busses, trailers, off-the-road equipment, farm implements, tractors, and industrial equipment. All manufacturers of tires and tubes in the United States are engaged in the distribution of such replacement tires and tubes. In excess of 90 of such tires and tubes is manufactured by the defendant companies at plants located in many states of the United States, and over 50% of their production is distributed by said companies under their brand names. Most replacement tires and tubes made by each manufacturer in the United States, including the brand name tires and tubes of each of the defendant companies, are distributed by the manufacturer in interstate commerce from the states in which such tires and tubes are manufactured to purchasers located in other states and, in the case of the defendant companies, to purchasers located in the District of Columbia. 10. The defendant companies sell about 50% of their brand-name tires and tubes in the course of interstate commerce to independent tire dealers for resale to users of tires and tubes on rubber-tired vehicles. To this end, the defendant companies solicit dealers to purchase and resell their tires and tubes and gage such dealers to act as their distributors usually under formal contractua arrangements. Tires and tubes are sold by the defendant companies to deter at prices determined by deducting stipulated dealer discounts from sled S prices which the defendant companies regularly establish, publish among dealers and which purport to represent prices at whi companies resell tires and tubes to users. 11. All members of NAITD, including the plaintiff and independent dealers engaged in the distribution of tires an described above. All of said dealer members, except the The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, are supp tire manufacturer members of RMA; most of said of the plaintiff and assignor dealers, are supplie Members of NAITD distribute not less than through independent dealers in the United S station operators excepted. 12. In addition to selling to independe panies sell in the course of interstate brand-name tires and tubes directi the defendant companies through factories and wholesale branch and Lee Rubber and Tire Corp operated by the defendant e United States. |