schedule. General Motors withdrew from the market in 1938. Checker's strategy also attracted the attention of the federal government, which later brought an antitrust suit against Checker and Markin under the Sherman Act. Although the case was initially dismissed by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, that decision was reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1947 and decided in favor of the defendants in 1948, who argued successfully that Checker Cab's successes with taxicab operators were due to the marque's inherent advantages and not the complex relationships between the manufacturer and operators: because Checker Cab's vehicles were purpose-built for the taxicab industry, operators naturally would choose them over modified passenger cars. After another appeal, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's verdict in 1949. When Parmelee was founded, Markin owned 12% of the shares of Checker Cab Mfg.; his share declined to 5% by mid-1930. The largest shareholder was a group led by John J. Raskob and millionaire Pierre S. duPont, which controlled 34%. 1931 was a profitable year for Checker, but that would soon change in 1932 as the depression finally caught up with the company. After several profitable years, sales collapsed and Checker started to bleed money, generating losses month after month. So bad was the economy that Checker shut down for several weeks at the tail end of 1932. In 1932, Checker Cab introduced the Model T and switched from Buda engines to Lycoming, which was owned by E. L. Cord. 1933 found many auto manufacturers in the midst of significant financial issues. Checker now needed to recapitalize. Unfortunately for Checker CEO Morris Markin, a hostile corporate takeover ensued via a series of capital transactions. The corporate board was reduced in size by the Raskob-duPont group in June 1933; the smaller board, which included duPont, subsequently voted to oust Markin. However, Markin still retained his small share of ownership and held options to acquire a 60 percent share of the company. Ten days later Markin sold those options to E. L. Cord for less than $1 million; Checker Cab became part of the Cord Corporation and Markin was reinstalled as head of the company. With funds secured and new ownership in place, Checker Cab was integrated into the Auburn–Cord–Duesenberg (A-C-D) group, allowing Checker to operate autonomously and still draw on engineering talent from the larger group, including Auburn