Bathke v. Casey's General Stores, Inc

In Bathke v. Casey's General Stores, Inc., 64 F.3d 340 (8th Cir.1995), gasoline retailers located in sixty-seven different small Iowa towns brought suit against a multi-state retailer of gasoline for alleged predatory pricing activities. The plaintiffs sought to establish each small town as a separate geographic market of competition for gasoline. Id. at 344. The plaintiffs compiled testimony from complaining businesses who stated they considered in-town stores their competitors and testimony from consumers who expressed a preference for buying gas in the towns in which they lived. Id. at 345. The record contained no evidence, however, about where consumers could practicably travel in order to avoid purchasing gas at a Casey's store. Lacking evidence on that issue, the Court affirmed the district court's entry of summary judgment against the plaintiffs.