Texas Industries, Inc. v. Radcliff Materials, Inc.

451 U.S. 630 (1981)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ds, petitioner, and the three respondents, manufacture and sell ready-mix concrete. Abraham (P), which had purchased concrete from Texas (D) filed a civil action alleging that Texas (D) and certain unnamed concrete firms had conspired to raise prices in violation of § 1 of the Sherman Act. Texas (D) then filed a third-party complaint against Radcliff (Ds) seeking contribution from them should it be held liable in the P action. The Court dismissed the third-party complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. It held that federal law does not allow an antitrust defendant to recover in contribution from co-conspirators. The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed, holding that, although the Sherman and the Clayton Acts do not expressly afford a right to contribution, the issue should be resolved as a matter of federal common law. The court then examined what it perceived to be the benefits and the difficulties of contribution and concluded that no common-law rule of contribution should be fashioned by the courts. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.