Chrysler Corp. v. United States, 316 U.S. 556 (1942)

Chrysler Corporation v. United States

No. 1036

Argued May 1, 4, 1942
Decided June 1, 1942
316 U.S. 556

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA

Syllabus

A corporation, sued by the Government under the Anti-Trust Law, consented to a restraining decree which contained an express condition that the defendant would be freed from a provision forbidding financial dealings with any finance company if, on or before a future day named, no final decree imposing a similar restraint had been entered in a like suit then pending in another District Court against its competitor. The decree expressly reserved in the court power to modify its provisions.

Held: that the power was not abused by orders postponing the time for compliance with the condition because of delays in the other suit, since the basic purpose of the consent decree was to have the ultimate rights of the parties determined by the other litigation, and since the function of the time limitation was to protect the defendant from being placed at a competitive disadvantage through undue delay of that litigation on the part of the Government, whereas it did not appear that the time extension had had that effect, and there was evidence to support a finding that the other suit had been prosecuted diligently. P. 562.

Affirmed.

Appeal from an order of the District Court modifying a decree which had been entered by consent in a prosecution under the Anti-Trust Law.