Donald Zoeller, a Korean War veteran and longtime New York City corporate litigation attorney whose Supreme Court victory in the 1980s helped reshape antitrust law, died on Saturday, Nov. 22. He was 95.
Zoeller, a longtime Oyster Bay resident who lived with his wife Susan in Sayville in recent years, served as a first lieutenant in the Korean War at age 22 before returning home to enroll in Fordham Law School. He went on to build a distinguished legal career, rising to lead his firm and arguing a pivotal antitrust case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the 1980s, Zoeller successfully argued the landmark antitrust case “Matsushita Electric v. Zenith,” a decision that raised the evidentiary standard for proving corporate conspiracies under the Sherman Act. The ruling remains a cornerstone of antitrust law and is still studied by law students across the country.
Family members said Zoeller’s happiest moments were with those closest to him, according to his obituary posted at Raynor & D’Andrea Funeral Homes. He married Susan after six weeks of dating, and the couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in September.
Their life together was marked by spontaneity and family-centered adventures, from last-minute trips to amusement parks to visits to Jones Beach to see “Charlie Seagull,” a family favorite.
Zoeller loved music and encouraged lively sing-alongs at the family’s player piano, led by his wife’s soprano voice, his obituary said. He enjoyed traveling, particularly to Japan, and organizing family ski trips and vacations in the Caribbean.
He was further described him as a perpetual optimist who remained grateful, upbeat, and deeply devoted to his family throughout his life.
In addition to his wife, Zoeller is survived by his three children and their spouses — Paul Zoeller and his wife Linda; Jean Cavaliere and her husband John; and Diane Zoeller and her husband Leonard Foy — along with eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Donations in his memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association Long Island Chapter, 300 Broadhollow Road, Suite LL 100, Melville, N.Y. 11747.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Top: courtesy photo of Donald Zoeller during his time as an attorney.
