Semi Trucks

A federal court of appeals has reinstated an Ohio dealership’s allegation that Mack Trucks violated antitrust laws by limiting competition among its dealers.

In 2006, a federal district court judge threw out Toledo Mack Sales and Service claim that Mack Trucks tried to block it from selling outside its immediate territory.

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel at the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that Toledo Mack had presented enough evidence that the Sherman Anti-Trust claim should have gone to jury.

“It was a very favorable opinion,” said Wayne Mack, an attorney for Toledo Mack. “They have affirmed everything we were saying that there was evidence that Mack Trucks had conspired with dealers to limit competition.”

A court date for the anti-trust claim has not been set.

Toledo Mack, a trucking dealership since 1982, filed a complaint in 2002, claiming that Mack sold trucks and parts at lower prices directly to potential customers of Toledo Mack and other dealerships, according to court documents.

Mack admitted it might have sold trucks and parts to some franchises and customers at lower prices than it sold similar items to Toledo Mack. But it said the sales were not part of an organized program to discriminate against the dealership, and the other distributors were not direct competitors of Toledo Mack, according to court documents.