Cite as: 540 U. S. 398 (2004)
Stevens, J., concurring in judgment
on the one hand, or the danger of complex apportionment of damages on the other," weighs heavily against a literal reading of §4. Id., at 543-544. Our interpretation of § 4 has thus adhered to Justice Holmes' observation that the "general tendency of the law, in regard to damages at least, is not to go beyond the first step." Southern Pacific Co. v. Darnell-Taenzer Lumber Co., 245 U. S. 531, 533 (1918).
I would not go beyond the first step in this case. Although respondent contends that its injuries were, like the plaintiff's injuries in Blue Shield of Va. v. McCready, 457 U. S. 465, 479 (1982), "the very means by which . . . [Verizon] sought to achieve its illegal ends," it remains the case that whatever antitrust injury respondent suffered because of Verizon's conduct was purely derivative of the injury that AT&T suffered. And for that reason, respondent's suit, unlike McCready, runs both the risk of duplicative recoveries and the danger of complex apportionment of damages. The task of determining the monetary value of the harm caused to respondent by AT&T's inferior service, the portion of that harm attributable to Verizon's misconduct, whether all or just some of such possible misconduct was prohibited by the Sherman Act, and what offset, if any, should be allowed to make room for a recovery that would make AT&T whole, is certain to be daunting. AT&T, as the direct victim of Verizon's alleged misconduct, is in a far better position than respondent to vindicate the public interest in enforcement of the antitrust laws. Denying a remedy to AT&T's customer is not likely to leave a significant antitrust violation undetected or unremedied, and will serve the strong interest "in keeping the scope of complex antitrust trials within judicially manageable limits." Associated Gen. Contractors, 459 U. S., at 543.
In my judgment, our reasoning in Associated General Contractors requires us to reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals. I would not decide the merits of the § 2
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