Perkins v. Standard Oil Co. of California

Clyde A. Perkins (plaintiff) was in both the wholesale and retail business of gasoline sales. Perkins operated storage plants and used trucking equipment at the wholesale level, and he operated gas stations at the retail level. Perkins bought nearly all of his gasoline from Standard Oil Co. of California (Standard Oil) (defendant). But during this same time, Standard Oil also sold gas at a much lower price to Signal Oil & Gas Co., a wholesaler. Signal, in turn, sold the gasoline to Western Hyway (Western). Western, in turn, sold the gas to Regal Stations Co. (Regal). Regal directly competed with Perkins at the retail level. Signal owned 60 percent of Western’s stock, and Western owned 60 percent of Regal’s stock. The lower price that Standard Oil charged Signal was passed on to Western and then to Regal. Perkins brought suit against Standard Oil in federal district court, alleging price discrimination under the Robinson-Patman Act. The trial court found that Perkins had sustained damages as a result of Standard Oil’s actions, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that Standard Oil’s lower price to Signal at the wholesale level was too far removed from the level of competition between Perkins and its competitor Regal to amount to price discrimination under the Robinson-Patman Act. Perkins sought review in the United States Supreme Court.