in the united states district court for the - Hoosier Racing Tire

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Case 2:07-cv-01294-TFM Document 263 Filed 09/15/2009 Page 4 of 34 allegations, or mere suspicions in attempting to survive a summary judgment motion. Id. (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325 (1986)). Distilled to its essence, the summary judgment standard requires the non-moving party to create a “sufficient disagreement to require submission [of the evidence] to a jury.” Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 251-52. Several courts have noted that summary disposition of antitrust cases is difficult because of their inherent factual complexity and because motive and intent are paramount considerations. See e.g., Poller v. Columbia Broadcasting Sys., Inc., 368 U.S. 464, 473 (1962). However, complexity does not mean that summary disposition is thereby precluded or even disfavored in antitrust law. Capital Imaging Assoc., P.C. v. Mohawk Valley Medical Assoc., Inc., 996 F.2d 537, 541 (2d Cir. 1993). Rather, summary judgment may be particularly important in antitrust cases to prevent lengthy and drawn-out litigation that has a chilling effect on competitive market forces. Id. The present motions will be considered in light of these standards. Procedural Background Plaintiffs, Race Tires, Inc., a Division of Specialty Tires of America, Inc., and Specialty Tires of America Inc., initiated this lawsuit on September 25, 2007, by the filing of a five-count Complaint against only one defendant, Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. (“Hoosier”). Plaintiffs alleged Monopolization in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act (Count I), Conspiracy to Restrain Trade in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act (Count II), Attempted Monopolization in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act (Count III), Conspiracy 4
Case 2:07-cv-01294-TFM Document 263 Filed 09/15/2009 Page 5 of 34 to Monopolize (Count IV), and Request for A Declaratory Judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201 (Count V). Less than a month later, on October 12, 2007, Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint in which they named Dirt Motor Sports, Inc. d/b/a World Racing Group (“DMS”) as an additional defendant and included allegations specific to DMS. On January 10, 2008, the Court entered a Case Management / Scheduling Order which established a deadline of May 30, 2008, for amending of the pleadings. The parties engaged in discovery, which resulted in a steady stream of disputed discovery motions being filed with the Court. At last count, the Court had ruled on at least ten (10) discovery motions. On March 13, 2008, Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint in which two “sister companies” of Specialty Tires of America, Inc., were added as co-plaintiffs: Specialty Tires of America (Pennsylvania), Inc., and Specialty Tires of America (Tennessee), LLC. On May 30, 2008, the actual deadline for seeking leave to amend the pleadings, Plaintiffs moved to amend their complaint a third time to add a new count which alleged a tying arrangement illegal under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The Court granted Plaintiffs’ request for leave and a Third Amended Complaint was filed on June 23, 2008. On November 19, 2008, well after the expiration of the deadline for amending pleadings, Plaintiffs once again sought leave to amend their Complaint to add a count alleging a concerted refusal to deal (group boycott). Not surprisingly, Defendants strongly opposed Plaintiffs’ request to amend their Complaint a fourth time. On December 16, 2008, the Court denied the request to amend finding that Plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate good cause to amend and that it would be prejudicial to Defendants, fifteen months (15) months after the 5
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in the united states district court for the - Hoosier Racing Tire

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