American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Inc. v. Hydrolevel Corporation
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
635 F.2d 118 (1980)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Inc. (ASME) (defendant) was a nonprofit organization that set engineering standards for the industry. The standards were voluntary but were widely accepted and used. One ASME standard was for low-water fuel cutoffs in water boilers. McDonnel & Miller, Inc. (M&M) was the longtime leading manufacturer for cutoffs. Hydrolevel Corporation (plaintiff) developed new technology for a cutoff that was gaining traction in the industry. Hardin was closely associated with M&M and was also the chair of an ASME subcommittee that interpreted the application of ASME code to products. Hardin arranged for a misleading letter to be issued on ASME letterhead that discouraged the use of Hydrolevel’s new technology. M&M used the letter to its advantage, and ultimately Hydrolevel went out of business. Hydrolevel sued ASME for unlawful restraint of trade. The district court instructed the jury that to find ASME guilty, it had to find either that ASME had ratified its agent Hardin’s conduct or that Hardin had acted on ASME’s behalf. The jury returned a $7.5 million verdict for Hydrolevel, instituting treble damages under antitrust laws. ASME appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lumbard, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 814,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.