Earl Warren

“ Retention by El Paso and its stockholders of the preferred stock is perpetuation to a degree of the illegal intercorporate community. Assumption of $170,000,000 of El Paso's indebtedness helps keep the two companies in league. The severance of all managerial and all financial connections between El Paso and the New Company must be complete for the decree to satisfy our mandate. Only a cash sale will satisfy the rudiments of complete divestiture.
We vacate the judgment of the District Court and remand the cause for proceedings in conformity with this opinion. ”

“ The reason advanced for allowing El Paso to take a stock interest in the New Company rather than cash is to reduce its income tax burden. We have emphasized that the pinch on private interests is not relevant to fashioning an antitrust decree, as the public interest is our sole concern. ”

“ The Court does have a legitimate interest in maintaining the integrity of its mandates within the entire judicial system and it may be argued that the lower courts will not conscientiously effectuate our decisions unless all know that the Court will act when it learns of abuses. ”

“ Even during periods of history in which there was a greater risk that lower courts would seek to frustrate our decisions, it has been considered sufficient to rely upon the parties to bring violations of a mandate to our attention either by prosecuting a second appeal or by petitioning for a writ of mandamus. ”

“ Since 1858, the rules of this Court have expressly recognized the existence of this right, see Rivised Rules of the Sup.Ct. of the United States, Rule No. 29 (1858) , [5] and I have found no decision in which this right has ever been questioned or limited. Nevertheless, the Court today, without any discussion whatever, ignores the heretofore unquestioned interpretation of the rule and declares that 'there is an exception where the dismissal implicates a mandate we have entered in a cause.' Ante, at 466. ”

“ Judge Chilson's decree took steps to remedy each and every defect Mr. Justice Douglas noted in Cascade. No members of the immediate family of any officer, director, or owner of one-half of one percent of El Paso shares may convert their nonvoting preference shares into voting common shares at any time. Moreover, any person who acts in concert with any director, officer, or substantial owner of El Paso is included within the ban. ”

“ This is a Clayton Act § 7 case, 38 Stat. 731, 15 U.S.C. § 18, in which the acquisition of the stock and assets of Pacific Northwest Pipeline Corporation by El Paso Natural Gas Company raised the 'ultimate issue' whether 'the acquisition substantially lessened competition in the sale of natural gas in California.' United States v. El Paso Natural Gas Co., 376 U.S. 651, 652, 84 S.Ct. 1044, 1045, 12 L.Ed.2d 12. We ordered divestiture 'without delay.' Id., at 662, 84 S.Ct. at 1050. That was in 1964. The United States later agreed to settle the case. ”

“ In addition to 17 private parties, the States of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Washington intervened in the proceedings below. The Department of Justice of course represented the interests of the United States as plaintiff, and the Federal Power Commission participated as amicus curiae. ”

“ One plan proposed was a distribution of General Motors shares held by du Pont, most of them to be distributed pro rata over a 10-year period to du Pont stockholders; the rest were to be sold gradually over the same 10-year period. ”