United States v. Trenton Potteries Co.

Trenton Potteries Company and 22 other manufacturers of bathroom pottery fixtures (defendants), together controlling 82 percent of the national market, coordinated to fix their prices. The government (plaintiff) charged them with conspiring to fix prices in violation of the Sherman Act. The trial judge instructed the jury to convict if the companies had agreed to fix prices, regardless of whether the resulting prices were reasonable or actually affected the market. The jury convicted, but the court of appeals reversed, ruling that instruction misstated the law. The government appealed.