City of Dallas v. City Packing Co.

86 S.W.2d 60, 1935 Tex. App. LEXIS 1330
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 20, 1935
DocketNo. 12063.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 86 S.W.2d 60 (City of Dallas v. City Packing Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Dallas v. City Packing Co., 86 S.W.2d 60, 1935 Tex. App. LEXIS 1330 (Tex. Ct. App. 1935).

Opinion

JONES, Chief Justice.

Appellee, City Packing Company, is a Texas corporation, engaged in the business of a packer, and slaughters food animals and prepares meat and meat products in its plant for the Texas market. The plant is located in the city of Fort Worth and has attempted to sell its products within the territory of the city of Dallas. After it had contracted to sell approximately $2,000 worth of its products in such territory, it was forbidden by appellants the right to deliver its meat and meat products in said city.

The suit was instituted by appellee as an injunction suit, to restrain appellants from denying appellee the right to enter such territory with the products of its plant, and for the immediate issuance of a temporary writ of injunction to restrain interference with its filling the contracts it had theretofore made and the further sale of its products to the dealers in said territory. When appellee’s petition was filed, the judge caused the application for a temporary writ of injunction to be set down for hearing at an appointed day, and notice issued to appellants of such hearing. On the day named, the parties appeared and, after an exhaustive and careful hearing, the court directed the issuance of a temporary writ of injunction.

As a basis for the issuance of a temporary writ of injunction, the court found *61 as a fact that “the meat inspection standard of the city of Fort Worth is equal to that maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture,” and the court concluded from such fact “that a temporary writ of injunction should be granted to the plaintiff against the defendants, and each of them, from interfering with plaintiff in the sale of meats in the city of Dallas, on the primal part of which is the Meat Inspection Brand of the City of Fort Worth, so long as the meat inspection standard of said city of Fort Worth is equal to that maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture, and that plaintiff should be denied injunction as to meat products.”

In accordance with such finding and conclusion, the court granted a temporary injunction, restraining appellants and each of them “from in any wise preventing or interfering with the .offering for sale or selling the meats of plaintiff in the city of Dallas, on the primal part of which is the meat inspection brand of the city of Fort Worth, Texas, and the said defendants, J. W. Bass, Director of Public Health, and the City of Dallas, and each of them, their respective attorneys, agents and employees, are temporarily restrained and enjoined until further orders of this court in this cause, from in any manner or in any wise preventing or interfering with the offering for sale or sale by the plaintiff, of its meats in the city' of Dallas, on the primal part of which is the meat inspection brand of the city of Fort Worth.” It was further ordered by the court that appellee be denied a temporary injunction against the defendants, or either of them, as to the sale of its meat products.

The finding that the meat inspection standard of the city of Fort Worth is equal to that maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture is supported by substantial evidence, is binding on this court, and is found as an established fact on this appeal. The effect of this order, granting the temporary. writ of injunction, is to overrule the judgment of Dr. J. W. Bass, director of public health of the city of Dallas, and while the injunction is in force, to permit the sale of meat by appellee, which has the inspection brand of the city of Fort Worth on its primal part, and to sustain Dr. Bass in excluding appellee from the territory of the city of Dallas in the sale of any of its meat products manufactured by its plant, until further orders of the trial court.

Under the settled law of this state, the issuance of a temporary writ of injunction in a pending suit is lodged in the discretion of the trial court, and an order granting or refusing a temporary writ of injunction is only subject to revision by an appellate court, when there is shown a clear abuse of such discretion. Harding v. Pearson & Co. (Tex. Com, App.) 48 S.W.(2d) 964; City of Farmersville v. Texas-Louisiana Power Co. (Tex. Civ. App.) 33 S.W.(2d) 272; Meyer v. Cockcroft (Tex. Civ. App.) 273 S. W. 665; Dilworth v. Buchanan (Tex. Civ. App.) 275 S. W. 177; City of Waco v. Grimes (Tex. Civ. App.) 279 S. W. 312; Blair v. Paggi (Tex. Civ. App.) 282 S. W. 627; Woods v. Humber (Tex. Civ. App.) 282 S. W. 834. Appellants appealed from the order allowing the sale of meats, but ap-pellee does not complain of the order refusing it relief in the sale of its meat products. The question therefore for determination is: Did the trial court abuse its discretion in granting the temporary writ of injunction?

In refusing appellee the right to sell any of the products of its packing plant within the territory of the city of Dallas, appellants were acting purportedly under the provisions of a city ordinance. The right to enact this ordinance rests on delegated police power by the Legislature to all home-rule cities, “to enforce all ordinances necessary to protect health, life and property, and to prevent and summarily abate and remove all nuisances and to preserve and enforce the good government, order and security of the city and its inhabitants.” Article 1175, subd. 34 (30 Tex. Jur. 120). The city of Dallas is a home-rule city. The exercise of police power is not an inherent right of a municipal corporation. Brewer v. State, 113 Tex. Cr. R. 522, 24 S.W.(2d) 409. By reason of this delegation of police power, the ordinance in question is valid, provided it is reasonable in its terms, and as it appears on its face to be reasonable, and as there is no question raised in this respect, the ordinance is considered a valid and legal enactment by the governing body of the city of Dallas.

The ordinance in question is entitled, “An ordinance providing for the inspection of meat and meat products offered for *62 sale within the city limits of Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, authorizing the Board of Health for the City of Dallas to adopt rules and regulations governing such inspection, providing penalties for the violation thereof, and declaring an emergency.”

Appellants, in their answer, give the following fair résumé of the terms -of this ordinance:' “That under the terms of said ordinance, and particularly Section 1 thereof, it is provided that no person, firm or corporation shall expose or offer for sale or sell or otherwise dispose of, or have in ■his possession within the City of Dallas, any meat of any cattle, calf, sheep, swine or goat which does not have the meat inspection brand or other mark of identification of the Board of Health of the City of Dallas, the meat inspection brand or mark of identification of the United States Department of Agriculture, or the meat inspection brand of identification of such municipality whose meat inspection standard is equal to that maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture and recognized by the Board of Health of the City of Dallas. That under Section 2 of said ordinance it is provided that no person, firm or corporation shall ship, send or bring or cause to be brought into the City of Dallas any meat which does not have the meat inspection brand or identification mark recognized by the Board of Health of the City of Dallas.

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Bluebook (online)
86 S.W.2d 60, 1935 Tex. App. LEXIS 1330, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-dallas-v-city-packing-co-texapp-1935.