Citizens Utilities Company v. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company

BRIGHT, Circuit Judge.

Appellants, Citizens Utilities Company and its California subsidiary (collectively, Citizens), filed this antitrust action against the appellees, American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company (Pacific) and Bell Telephone Company of Nevada (collectively, Bell), in October 1960. Sixteen years later, this lawsuit had not yet been tried. On January 3, 1977, the district court1 dismissed Citizens’ action on two alternative grounds: (1) want of prosecution by Citizens, under Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b); and (2) lack of jurisdiction, because…