Bluebell Importing Corp. v. Myers

31 N.E.2d 227, 27 Ohio Law. Abs. 377, 13 Ohio Op. 124, 1938 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1115
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 9, 1938
DocketNo 2836
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 31 N.E.2d 227 (Bluebell Importing Corp. v. Myers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bluebell Importing Corp. v. Myers, 31 N.E.2d 227, 27 Ohio Law. Abs. 377, 13 Ohio Op. 124, 1938 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1115 (Ohio Ct. App. 1938).

Opinion

OPINION

By GEIGER, J.

This is an appeal from the Court of Common Pleas in an action wherein appellee sought and obtained a declaratory judgment, on questions of law and fact. The pleadings of both parties are voluminous and in connection therewith there are agreed statements of facts as well as depositions. We shall endeavor to state the matter as briefly as possible for its proper examination and in doing this shall have recourse to the agreed statement rather than the pleadings. We shall refer to the parties as plaintiff and defendant.

The plaintiff is engaged in selling to the Ohio Department of Liquor Control liquors shipped into Ohio and placed in warehouses within the state, designated by the Department. A controversy exists between the parties as to whether the plaintiff is doing business within the State of Ohio within the meaning of the Foreign Corporation Law and all parties are desirous of seeux-ing a declaratory judgment establishing the rights of the plaintiff.

Px-ior to March, 1935, the plaintiff was engaged in selling liquor to the department Under direct sale methods; that subsequent to said date the department enforced the method knowxx as “the Ohio Bailment Plan ” Plaintiff cannot and does not sell to any one in the state except the’department, and liquor so sold is shipped into the state from points outside and consigned, to plaintiff at a warehouse designated by the department; that said Bailment Plan was [378]*378adopted for the exclusive use of the department promulgated for the purpose of enabling the department to conduct its business with an adequate supply of liquor available with a minimum amount of capita] necessary; that the plan is the sole method by which the plaintiff may sell liquor to the department and when adopted a letter was sent to all distillers.

That in 1934 the department executed a contract with the Cincinnati Terminal Warehouse Company; that the plaintiff has no contractual relations with such warehouse; the department has covenanted that it will use the warehousing facilities exclusively for storing and handling of liquors which it may acquire, paying to the warehouse fees provided for handling and storing the liquor, the department paying the first thirty days warehousing charges and thereafter the plaintiff to pay said charges, it being the policy of the Liquor Control to have a supply of liquor stored in the warehouse not exceeding thirty days; that under the contract the warehouseman exhibits over the bailment stock shipped by the plaintiff, signs to the effect that the liquor stored herein is the property of the Department of Liquor Control of the State of Ohio; that the first stage of purchasing liquor from plaintiff is a “consent order” addressed to the plaintiff in New York; that prior to the issuance of such order the plaintiff sends to the department an application to ship to the warehouse a certain quantity' and grade of liquor and if the department approves it issues the consent order. The plaintiff then ships to the warehouse designated by the department the quantity and grades of liquor specified in the consent order. The price to be received by the plaintiff is agreed upon before the consent order is issued. Shipments are forwarded from points without the state of Ohio to the designated warehouse consigned to the plaintiff in care of the Ohio Department of Liquor Control; that one of the terms of all such sales is that they shall be shipped “f.o.b. warehouse with all Federal taxes paid”; that the revenue stamps should bear the legend, “bottled for the Department Ohio Liquor Control,” v/hich regulation was afterwards modified to a stamp supplied by the department and sent to the plaintiff with the consent order in numbers sufficient to cover the requirement of the order.

That when the liquor arrives at one of the designated warehouses it is deposited in a convenient location and from said stocks the warehouse fills withdrawal orders issued to it by the Ohio Department of Liquor Control, all such liquor being held for the exclusive purpose of being applied upon withdrawal orders issued by the department; that while the liquor remains in the warehouse it is held for the exclusive use and appropriated to the needs and requirements of the retail stores and customers of the department and the warehouseman will honor no order except from the department. Sole custody of the liquor rests in the warehouseman and sole right oí disposal rests in the department, the plaintiff having surrendered all right to control or dispose of any part thereof while in the warehouse, but may withdraw said liquor for shipment out of the state when the department consents.

That the department effects the withdrawal of such liquor as it may desire for its customers or for the state stores by issuing to the warehouseman a shipping authorization, upon the receipt of which the warehouseman allocates such liquor from the stock on hand and the same is removed from the warehouse and sent to the place indicated by such requisition, upon which the warehouse issues a distiller’s receipt, a copy to the department and another to the plaintiff; that such withdrawals are made without any communication by any one with the plaintiff and at the sole cosí and expense of the department; that the department then mails a “purchase order” in duplicate for the liquor which it has withdrawn, to the plaintiff in New York City, and when the plaintiff receives the same in New York it confirms its acceptance by sending to the department at Columbus an invoice for the liquor covered by the purchase order, upon receipt of which a check is issued by the treasurer of the state and sent to the plaintiff a' New York; that the department withdraws from the stock of liquor in the various warehouses such merchandise as the strte stores and its customers require and that before shipping said liquor into Ohio it is understood that said liquor will be withdrawn from the warehouse by the department in accordance with those needs and requirements; that the plaintiff ships no liquor into the state except such as is shipped under the so-called bailment plan and has no transactions or communications with any one in Ohio except such as are incident to such plan.

There is a supplemental agreed statement, only a small portion of which is pertinent. It is agreed that the warehouseman [379]*379make daily reports of the liquor shipped by the plaintiff to the department, showing the amounts, grades and brands received on a particular day, together with the consent order; that the plaintiff expressly or impliedly permit the warehouseman to release the liquor shipped into the bailment stocks on the order of the Department of Liquor Control.

There are numerous exhibits attached .which will be commented upon as and if they become pertinent.

In their amended petition based upon these facts the plaintiff prays for a declaratory judgment determining the rights, status, interest and legal relations of the plaintiff, determining whether the plaintiff is or is not doing business within the state of Ohio within the meaning of the Ohio Corporation Act; determining whether or not it is subject to the penalties of said Act and this is the question presented for the determination of this court.

The facts may be briefly stated:

The Ohio Board of Liquor Control had a monopoly of the purchase and sale of liquor within the state of Ohio prior tO’ the so-called bailment plan.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Schenley Affiliated Brands Corp. v. Limbach
543 N.E.2d 1177 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
31 N.E.2d 227, 27 Ohio Law. Abs. 377, 13 Ohio Op. 124, 1938 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1115, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bluebell-importing-corp-v-myers-ohioctapp-1938.