United States v. Work Wear Corporation

KEITH, Circuit Judge.

This case presents the question whether the district court * abused its discretion in refusing to reduce by half a civil contempt fine of over $1 million. Since we are unable to find an abuse of discretion on the record before us, we affirm.

I

In June of 1968, the Anti-Trust division of the Justice Department filed suit against defendant Work Wear Corporation, alleging that defendant’s acquisition of a number of industrial laundries violated section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18. After extensive negotiations, the parties agreed upon a consent settlement of the case.…