“By the way, you’re probably wondering about the procedural history of the litigation. We made a settlement demand early on, but they countered too low. After I took the first deposition, they came back with a slightly higher amount but it was still ridiculous. Since then there have been no other settlement negotiations, and we’re going full speed ahead, hoping for settlement because litigation is so big and expensive.”
“Of course.” Mary glanced over at Judy. “That doesn’t surprise you, does it, Judy?”
“Excuse me?” Judy looked up from the Complaint, completely preoccupied.
“Nothing.”
Judy returned to reading, and Anne cleared her throat again, continuing her lecture.
“Jim and Sanjay had a hell of a time trying to find anybodyelse to represent them at all. The consortia that own the defendants are a variety of different businesses, most of which are located in the Delaware Valley area, and that means that other firms represent their related companies or their subsidiaries, which conflicts out most big law firms from representing London Technologies.” Anne made a sad-emoji face at Mary. “What this means is that we were the last resort for London Technologies. They’re counting on us. If we let them down, they go under. If we lose, they go under. No pressure, right?”
“Not at all.” Mary managed a smile. Judy turned the page, but was no longer reading the Complaint, only turning the pages.
“But let me explain to you what Jim and Sanjay innovated as a business, which threatens the defendants.” Anne pointed to the greaseboard triangle. “What Jim and Sanjay figured out is that when you look at this market, the furniture dealership does not need both a data integrator and an application provider. Jim and Sanjay realized that the dealership could provide the informationdirectlyto the data integrator, bypassing the application provider and thereby eliminate the onerous fees that the application provider was charging. So they wrote software that did that and licensed it to dealerships to enable them to deal with a data integrator directly, thus cutting out the middleman, Home Hacks.”
Mary nodded, understanding. Judy was still turning the pages, as if she were trying to get to the end.
“Then some friends of Jim and Sanjay started talking about a startup that would compete with EXMS, using the same no-middleman, buy-direct no-frills business model. It would be cheaper for the dealerships, who could pass the savings on to consumers. And that’s the point of the antitrust law, to open new markets, foster innovation, and increase competition, which ultimately benefits the consumer.”
“Right.”
“But as soon as they did this, both defendants were alarmed because it threatened their business model, even if it resulted in cheaper prices to the dealerships. It cut into their ability to charge excessive fees and control the market.” Anne frowned. “So the defendants, via EXMS, refused to accept data from the dealerships that was not integrated by Home Hacks. At the same time, they demanded their dealerships sign exclusive dealing contracts, promising that they would deal only with Home Hacks. And they just refused to deal with dealerships that were attempting to buy or use software from London Technologies. As you know, that’s unlawfulper se.”
“As it should be,” Mary said, meaning it. Judy was still reading.
“Worse, when the dealerships got angry with EXMS over this and demanded their data back, EXMS refused to give it back, claiming that EXMS owned the dealerships’ raw data, which was improper. Essentially, they held the data hostage. We alleged in the Complaint that these exclusive dealing arrangements and business practices were patently anticompetitive. We have three different counts under Section I of the Sherman Act, and here’s where we get to the nitty-gritty. Ready for the hard part?”
“Yes.” Mary looked over at Judy, who had reached the last page of the Complaint, which showed the signatures of the filing attorneys. Bennie’s was at the top, Anne’s second, and finally John’s. Judy’s gaze was riveted to John’s signature, and her lips trembled as she fought for emotional control.
Anne fell silent, her lovely features softening in sympathy.
Mary asked gently, “Judy?”
Judy looked up after a moment, her eyes glistening. “Anne, John drafted this Complaint, didn’t he?”
“Yes. I didn’t change a word, and neither did Bennie. It couldn’t be improved upon, so we didn’t try.”
“I could tell.” Judy placed a hand on the Complaint, facedown. “I never knew an antitrust Complaint could be so elegant, but this one is. He had a beautiful legal mind. Truly.”
Anne nodded sadly. “I agree.”
“I know he got testy with you, and said some mean things, but he didn’t mean them. That wasn’t him. He was just upset.”
“I know that.” Anne’s lower lip puckered. “And I’m sorry I said what I said, too.”
Suddenly Bennie stuck her head in the doorway, urgent. “Ladies, we have action.”
“What?” Mary asked, alarmed.
“The police want to see Judy.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“What do we do now?” Mary asked, nervous, as Bennie, Roger, and Isaac the PR guy entered the conference room. Judy looked stricken, her palm still resting on top of John’s signature. Anne sank into a chair in front of herLondon Technologiesgreaseboard, which receded into the background, literally and figuratively. There was nothing more important, or more terrifying, to everyone than the fact that Judy could be suspected of John’s murder.
Bennie took the lead, standing at the head of the table. “Don’t worry, Carrier. We got this, and we know what to do—”
Roger stepped partially in front of Bennie, physically upstaging her. “Judy. Let me tell you what I would advise, at this point—”
