MCI Communications Corp. v. American Telephone and Telegraph Co.

MCI Communications Corporation and MCI Telecommunications Corporation (MCI) (plaintiffs) sued American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) (defendant), alleging multiple violations of antitrust laws. After AT&T predicted that the case would take 18 months to try, the district judge ordered each party to submit a witness list including a summary of each witness’s anticipated testimony, along with a revised estimate of the amount of time necessary for a trial. MCI submitted a list of 17 witnesses and predicted that its case-in-chief would last for 26 days. AT&T submitted a list of more than 180 witnesses, many of whose testimony would have been repetitive, and predicted that the entire trial would last eight to nine months. The court reviewed the parties’ submissions and issued an order limiting each party’s case-in-chief to 26 days, not including time for rebuttals and surrebuttals. The order noted that the time limits were subject to extension as the trial progressed and the amount of time each party needed to present its case became clearer. At a pretrial hearing, the judge reiterated that the time limits were flexible. MCI finished its case-in-chief in 15 and a half days. AT&T then requested an extension of its 26-day time limit, which the court denied. The jury found for MCI, awarding $600 million in damages. The award was trebled, resulting in a $1.8 billion verdict. AT&T appealed, arguing, among other things, that the district court’s imposition of a time limit had been an arbitrary denial of due process.