Acme Refrigeration of Baton Rouge, Inc. v. Whirlpool Corporation & Heil-Quaker Corporation

REAVLEY, Circuit Judge:

Defendants Whirlpool Corporation and Heil-Quaker Corporation appeal the district court’s judgment in favor of plaintiff Acme Refrigeration of Baton Rouge, Incorporated (Acme). We reverse.

FACTS

This litigation focuses on the sale of “Whirlpool” brand heating and air conditioning equipment in a thirteen-parish area located in southwest Louisiana (the “trade area”). The equipment is manufactured by Heil-Quaker, a Delaware corporation, at its plants in Tennessee. At the time of trial, Heil-Quaker marketed its products by contracting with 54 distributors.

Whirlpool, another…