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Antitrust Keyed to Gavil, 5th Ed.
United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co.
Citation:
310 U.S. 150, 60 S.Ct. 811, 84 L.Ed. 1129 (1940)Facts
During the early 1930s, the oil industry faced severe problems including overproduction, “hot oil” (illegally produced oil), and “distress gasoline” that was sold at extremely low prices, destabilizing the market. After the National Industrial Recovery Act was declared unconstitutional in 1935, major oil companies, including Socony-Vacuum, implemented coordinated buying programs to purchase surplus gasoline from independent refiners. These programs involved regular meetings where major companies would be assigned specific independent refiners as “dancing partners” and would purchase their distress gasoline at “fair going market prices.” The major companies established a Tank Car Stabilization Committee and a Mechanical Sub-Committee to coordinate these purchases. The buying programs successfully raised and stabilized spot market prices, which directly affected prices paid by jobbers and consumers in the Mid-Western area through price formulas in supply contracts that were tied to published spot market quotations. The defendants argued that their actions were reasonable responses to destructive market conditions and were known to government officials.
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