ROLAND MACHINERY COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DRESSER INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant-Appellant, 749 F.2d 380

Summary

Plaintiff, a dealer in construction equipment, entered into a nonexclusive dealership agreement with defendant, a manufacturer of construction equipment, that could be terminated without cause. Upon discovering that plaintiff signed a similar agreement with another dealer, defendant terminated its agreement with plaintiff without cause. Plaintiff brought this action charging that defendant had violated § 3 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C.S. § 14, and other provisions of federal and state law. The lower court granted plaintiff a preliminary injunction based solely on the § 3 charges, and defendant appealed under 28 U.S.C.S. § 1292(a)(1). The reviewing court reversed, holding that the district judge committed clear error that required reversal of the preliminary injunction as well as the judge's conclusions on the balance of harms and probable success of plaintiff on the merits of its antitrust claim. Plaintiff failed to prove that it would suffer irreparable harm or that an implied ...