Weyerhaeuser Co. v. Ross-Simmons Hardwood Lumber Co., Inc. (U.S. Supreme Court)

Respondent sued our client, Weyerhaeuser Co., alleging “predatory buying” in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. A jury returned a verdict against Weyerhaeuser Co. and the Ninth Circuit affirmed. Taking over the case, we successfully petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari and successfully obtained a unanimous reversal. The Court accepted our client’s argument that to succeed on a claim of “predatory buying,” a plaintiff must show that a defendant is operating at a loss, and has a “dangerous probability” of recouping losses incurred in bidding up input prices through exercise of monopsony power