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Jump to full article: Jones Day, 2007-02-27
Intro: Client(s): R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
Representation: Smith Wholesale Co. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 65-6053, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 4254 (6th Cir. Feb. 27, 2007)
Lead Practice(s): Antitrust Litigation, Distribution & Robinson-Patman
February 2007
Summary: Jones Day successfully defended R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) in response to Robinson-Patman claims filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee by more than 20 cigarette wholesalers. The plaintiffs challenged RJR's wholesale program, which granted discounts and rebates to wholesalers willing to devote a certain percentage of their business to the promotion and sale of RJR savings brands. . . .
The district court, after two years of discovery, granted RJR's motion for summary judgment. In February, 2007, in affirming the district court's decision, the Sixth Circuit found that RJR offered its market share discounts "to all wholesalers using a non-discriminatory formula" (2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 4254 at *71), that "[t]he capacity of plaintiffs to qualify for the [wholesaler program's] best discount was a matter of marketing strategy and brand prioritization, a choice inherent and unavoidable in multi-brand incentive programs," and that RJR’s prices were therefore functionally available.
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