De Jong Packing Co. v. United States Department of Agriculture

MERRILL, Circuit Judge:

FACTS

The Packers and Stockyards Administrator instituted this administrative action under the Packers and Stockyards Act (“the Act”), 7 U.S.C. § 181 et seq., alleging violations of § 202(a), (e) and (g) of the Act.1 The complaint alleged that a group of packers, petitioners here, had conspired to force ahction stockyards to change their terms of sale, from “as is” sales of slaughter cattle, under which the packers bear the risk that the cattle will fail to pass government inspection, to “subject” sales — those subject to the cattle’s passing government inspection —…