Armor Bronze & Silver Co. v. Chittick

221 F. Supp. 505, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9774
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedSeptember 4, 1963
DocketCiv. 9840
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 221 F. Supp. 505 (Armor Bronze & Silver Co. v. Chittick) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Armor Bronze & Silver Co. v. Chittick, 221 F. Supp. 505, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9774 (D. Conn. 1963).

Opinion

ANDERSON, Chief Judge.

Findings of Fact:

1. Armor Bronze & Silver Co., Inc. is a Massachusetts corporation having its manufacturing plant and principal place of business in Taunton, Massachusetts-It makes and sells merchandise made of copper. Its sales division operated under the name of Coppercraft Guild. It is the plaintiff in this action and will hereinafter be referred to as “Armor”. The-defendant is a citizen of Connecticut.

2. Armor’s gross national sales in 1962 amounted to $5,280,000. Five per cent, or $264,000 worth of these sales-originated in Connecticut. It has not qualified with the Secretary of the State-of Connecticut to transact business in this State.

3. Armor marketed its products in-Connecticut through a system of retail selling known as “the party-plan”, which it adopted in 1949 and was still using at the time of the trial. Under the party-plan, sales representatives of Armor, for a promised consideration, induced housewives, who met certain general qualifications prescribed by Armor, to invite-to their homes prospective customers for Armor’s products. The hostess, through the use of her home, provided a properly furnished place where samples of Armor’s products could be displayed, usually by candlelight, and where a “sales-piteh”' might be delivered to the prospective purchasers in an atmosphere and surroundings conducive to buying.

4. Armor maintained above the hostesses a hierarchy of “field representatives”, residents of Connecticut, who were set up in various tiers of authority and functions, designated from top to bottom as (1) regional manager, (2) district manager, and (3) counselors. Armor promulgated strict standards of qualification for each of these positions and' passed upon individual applications for them.

5. The defendant was a regional manager and her territory consisted of the-entire State of'Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The functions of the regional manager were: recruiting district managers and counselors, training field representatives, activating sales people, helping them with their problems, stimulating sales, adjusting complaints for the company and expending *507 ■company funds to pay C.O.D. charges where necessary to retrieve goods for the company not paid for by the buyer.

6. District managers recruited, trained, and advised counselors and assisted in stimulating sales. They also at times ■acted as counselors. In the sixteen months prior to this action, there were •six or seven district managers in Connecticut.

7. The counselor was the basic sales person in the party-plan system. It was Iier task to contact individual Connecticut housewives and to persuade them to act as hostesses. She also trained the hostesses and acted as their counselor. At the parties held at the hostesses’ liomes the counselor presented a show of Armor’s products, distributed advertising literature and solicited orders from the guests. The counselor also recruited guests to act as hostesses at ■future parties. She solicited opinions from guests on the worth of Armor’s products, expedited the handling and delivery of goods and handled complaints.

8. During the sixteen months preceding the commencement of this suit, there were approximately sixty-five counselors who operated in Connecticut and who gave approximately 3,923 shows.

9. The “party-plan” operated as follows: A counselor contacted a Connecticut housewife, qualified under standards set up by the company, and solicited her to act as a hostess for a Coppercraft party to be held at the hostess’ home. As an inducement to the housewife to accept the proposal, she was promised gifts and credit toward additional gifts, manufactured and furnished by Armor, to be determined on the basis of the number attending the party and the value ■of sales made and the number of new recruits as hostesses obtained at the party. If the housewife accepted, she would then be provided with a guide book published by Armor and furnished her by the counselor. She would also be coached by the counselor and supplied with a folder containing price lists, advertising material and order blanks, all published by and furnished by Armor. The hostess thereafter contacted her friends and neighbors and asked them to attend the party at her home at a particular time. The average attendance at such parties was twelve. Armor considered twelve as a desirable minimum. At the party refreshments were provided by the hostess and the counselor displayed Armor’s products and distributed advertising literature. The display of merchandise at a party consisted of 95 pieces. Each carried the plaintiff’s name and the price of the item. There might also be displayed more elaborate advertising brochures published by Armor and purchased by a counselor or the district manager at a nominal price.

10. The counselor discussed the various items with the guests and each guest was given an order form bearing at the bottom in small print the words “All selections subject to acceptance of orders by Coppercraft Guild, Taunton, Mass.” The matter of the acceptance of orders at Taunton was never mentioned or called to the attention of the guests by hostesses, counselors or district managers, nor was any question ever raised about it by a guest. Armor never directed its counselors to point out this condition to guests or to discuss it with them. That the guest buyer’s selections were subject to acceptance of orders by Copper-craft Guild at Taunton, Mass., never became a part of the understanding of the guest buyer and was never made a part of the sales agreement by Armor’s sales representatives or by the hostesses. The hostess was not advised that she was not authorized to be an agent of Armor. The contracts for the purchases and sales of pieces of copper merchandise were made at the homes of the hostesses in Connecticut.

11. The guest listed on the form the items she wished to purchase, and the counselor filled in on the form a delivery date which had previously been furnished to her by Armor. The guest might then and there pay the hostess or counselor in full or give the hostess a deposit on the purchase; but in any event, the guest would be instructed to *508 pay the hostess in full prior to the designated delivery date. The original order form was kept by the hostess; a copy was given to the guest; a copy was sent to the company and a copy was retained by the counselor. A door prize, which was a piece of merchandise manufactured by Armor and purchased from Armor by the counselor, was usually given away at the parties.

12. After all orders were received, the counselor re-entered them on a master order form. This form also had printed upon it in small letters “All orders subject to acceptance at Coppercraft Guild, Taunton, Mass. Hostess is not deemed to be an agent of Coppercraft Guild. Title to merchandise passes at Taunton, Mass.” For the purchase of any item which the hostess herself might wish to make, she made out a slip and attached her check for the amount due, payable to Coppercraft Guild (Armor), which was turned over to the counselor. Armor at no time accepted orders or checks sent to it directly by an individual purchaser but required that the order be sent via the counselor and that payment be made through the counselor or hostess.

13. When the order forms were received at Taunton, they were processed by clerical employees.

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Bluebook (online)
221 F. Supp. 505, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9774, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/armor-bronze-silver-co-v-chittick-ctd-1963.