| In re: SCRAP METAL ANTITRUST LITIGATION |
|
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland.
No. 02-00844—Kathleen McDonald O’Malley, District Judge.
Argued: October 30, 2007
Decided and Filed: May 15, 2008
Before: BATCHELDER, COLE, and SUTTON, Circuit Judges.
R. GUY COLE, JR., Circuit Judge. Defendant-Appellant Columbia Iron and Metal Company (“Columbia”) appeals a jury verdict finding Columbia liable for antitrust violations and awarding the Plaintiffs-Appellees damages exceeding $20 million. The most critical question on appeal relates to the damages testimony of Plaintiffs-Appellees’ expert, Dr. Jeffrey Leitzinger. Columbia asserts that Leitzinger’s damages calculations are unreliable, and that the district court therefore erred in admitting his testimony. Columbia also raises three additional arguments on appeal: (1) the damages award is not supported by sufficient evidence and represents an impermissible “fluid recovery”; (2) the district court improperly allowed the case to proceed as a class action; and (3) the district court improperly instructed the jury on the tolling of the statute of limitations. Finding no reversible error by the district court, we AFFIRM the verdict and damages award.