Facts

The Yardley Companies served as an independent distributor for Johnson Controls building controls systems. Johnson Controls represented to customers that independent distributors could compete with Johnson Controls' branch offices in order to convince these customers to use Johnson Controls building controls.

After making these representations, Johnson Controls then secretly coerced the Yardley Companies to refrain from bidding on certain jobs that the Johnson Controls branch office wanted for itself, thereby rigging these bids.

Result

An arbitration panel, which consisted of former California Attorney General John Van de Kamp, Deborah Rothman, Esq., and former California Supreme Court Justice Armand Arabian, found that Johnson Controls committed bidrigging, a per se antitrust violation. Award, $3,498,659.40.

Other Information

Principles of the Yardley Companies are also seeking to recover damages on behalf of the government in a separate lawsuit under the United States and California False Claims Acts.