Callahan v AEV Inc 3

H. Laddie Montague, Jr., Jerome M. Marcus (Argued), Bart D. Cohen, Berger & Montague, P.C., Philadelphia, PA, for Appellants.
Roslyn M. Litman (Argued), Martha S. Helmreich, Litman, Litman, Harris and Brown, P.C., Pittsburgh, PA, Counsel for Appellees A.E.V., Inc.; Beer & POP Warehouse, Inc.; Jet Distributors, Inc.; Q.F.A., Inc.; Red Sky, Inc.; Retail Services and Systems, Inc.; David J. Trone.
Michael Yablonski (Argued), Meyer, Unkovic & Scott, LLP, Pittsburgh, PA, Counsel for Appellees Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Company and Frank B. Fuhrer, Jr.

Small Pennsylvania beer distributorships brought suit against large distributorships and their alleged principal, alleging claims under antitrust laws and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Donetta W. Ambrose, J., granted defendants summary judgment, and plaintiffs appealed. The Court of Appeals, Becker, Circuit Judge, held that: (1) fact questions as to actual loss and causation in fact precluded summary judgment on antitrust claims, but (2) alleged causal connection between defendants' fraud and plaintiffs' losses was not sufficiently close to meet requirement of proximate causation for RICO claim. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. Welford, Senior Circuit Judge, sitting by designation, concurred in part and dissented in part and filed opinion. Procedural Posture(s): On Appeal; Motion for Summary Judgement.