Wilcox Development Co. v. First Interstate Bank of Oregon

Wilcox Development and others (plaintiffs) sued First Interstate Bank of Oregon and another bank (defendants), alleging the banks illegally agreed to set anticompetitive prime interest rates. There was no direct evidence of an agreement; plaintiffs relied on the banks' nearly uniform prime rates, their access to publicly available national rate data, and employees' attendance at industry conventions. Expert testimony from both sides showed the prime rate was nationally determined and that a bank departing from it would be financially unwise, and one bank showed it set its own rate through an independent process. A jury found for the plaintiffs, and the banks moved for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial.

Whether a jury verdict finding a Sherman Act violation can stand where the only evidence of an agreement is parallel business conduct that is explainable by ordinary market forces.