Question

BG Corp., a manufacturer of men's polyester leisure suits and other men's clothing items, held approximately a 70 percent share of the leisure suit market in the United States. (Although most males have publicly spurned this 1970s-era item, BG knows quite well that millions of men still swear by them-albeit quietly.) BG began refusing to sell wholesalers and retailers its leisure suits unless they also purchased BG's polyester capes. As a result, intermediate sellers that wished to buy BG leisure suits for resale effectively had to agree to purchase the capes as well. BG had begun selling the capes two years earlier, but the product was a commercial flop. Only one other company manufactured capes for wearing by men, and that company was about to cease doing so because, as it and BG had discovered, there was virtually no demand among men for capes. An appropriate plaintiff has now sued BG under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, on the theory that BG was a party to impermissible tying agreements. What treatment will the court give the agreements? Will BG be held liable? Why or why not?

Answer

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