Williamson v. Columbia Gas & Electric Corp.

186 F.2d 464, 341 U.S. 921, 71 S.Ct. 743 (1951)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
W
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Williamson v. Columbia Gas & Electric Corp.

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
186 F.2d 464, 341 U.S. 921, 71 S.Ct. 743 (1951)

Facts

Williamson (plaintiff) organized a company and entered into the gas business. Columbia Gas & Electric Corp. (defendant), in an effort to destroy its competitor, acquired the controlling interest in Williamson’s company and manipulated its affairs in such a way that Williamson was forced into bankruptcy. Williamson brought suit in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Columbia and certain others, alleging that his injuries were caused by their conspiracy against him in violation of the anti-trust laws. Subsequently, Williamson sued Columbia alone in the same court for recovery of the same injuries caused by the defendant’s alleged violation of the anti-trust laws. This second action came to a conclusion first. The district court dismissed the complaint. Thereafter, Columbia moved for summary judgment in the first action because of its victory in the second action. Columbia’s motion was granted by the district court. Williamson appealed, arguing that the two actions were not substantially identical, and thus the judgment on the merits in favor of Columbia in the second action did not preclude his maintenance of the first action.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Goodrich, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 804,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 804,000 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Civil Procedure

Key Terms

Related Videos