Duquesne Brewing Co. v. Mazza

30 Pa. D. & C. 389, 1937 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 167
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Washington County
DecidedJuly 3, 1937
Docketno. 41
StatusPublished

This text of 30 Pa. D. & C. 389 (Duquesne Brewing Co. v. Mazza) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Washington County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Duquesne Brewing Co. v. Mazza, 30 Pa. D. & C. 389, 1937 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 167 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1937).

Opinion

Hughes, J.,

On February 16, 1937, plaintiff filed a statement of claim setting forth that it had sold and delivered by oral contracts quantities of malt and brewed beverages, as set forth in its exhibits A, B, and C; that the prices charged for these goods are [390]*390those which defendant promised to pay plaintiff for the same; that the charges were made in the books of the company at or about the times of the respective dates, and are just and true as stated. It is set forth that John Mazza, defendant, was duly licensed to sell malt and brewed beverages at wholesale at No. 315 Meadow Street, Washington, Washington County, Pa. From the exhibits attached to the statement of claim it appears that the Duquesne Brewing Company is a corporation engaged in the manufacture of beer, ale, and porter, and that the charges against defendant were for the sale to him of such items on credit.

On April 7, 1937, the attorney for plaintiff entered judgment for want of an appearance and affidavit of defense in the amount of $914.30, with interest from April 7, 1937, and costs. On April 9, 1937, defendant presented his petition asking that the judgment be set aside in order that he be allowed to file an affidavit of defense. He attached to his petition a copy of the affidavit of defense to be filed, which sets forth that the Act of Assembly of May 3, 1933, P. L. 252, sec. 23, amended by the Act of December 20, 1933, P. L. 75, and the Beverage License Law of July 18, 1935, P. L. 1217, provides that: “No right of action shall exist to collect any claims for credit extended contrary to the provisions of this clause.”

To entitle a plaintiff to judgment for want of an affidavit of defense, the statement of his demand must be self-sustaining; that is to say, it must set forth in clear and concise terms a good cause of action, by which is meant such averments of fact as, if not controverted, would entitle him to a verdict for the amount of his claim. The statement of the exhibits made a part thereof should contain all the elements of a complete cause of action, averred in clear, express, and unequivocal language: Chestnut Street National Bank v. Ellis, 161 Pa. 241; Acme Manufacturing Company of Reading v. Reed, 181 Pa. 382; McCoy v. Royal Indemnity Co., 107 Pa. Superior Ct. 486.

[391]*391The Beverage License Law of July 18, 1935, supra, provides for the licensing of retail dispensers, distributors, importers, and manufacturers of malt and brewed beverages. It is set forth in section 23:

“It shall be unlawful . . .
“For any licensee to sell, or offer to sell, or purchase or receive, any malt or brewed beverages except for cash, excepting credits extended by a hotel or club to bona fide registered guests or members. No right of action shall exist to collect any claims for credit extended contrary to the provisions of this clause”.

That it applies to manufacturers as well as distributors and retailers is evident by the further provision in the same section:

“Nothing herein contained shall prohibit a manufacturer from extending usual and customary credit for malt or brewed beverages sold to customers or purchasers who live or maintain places of business outside of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, when the beverages so sold are actually transported and delivered to points outside of the Commonwealth.”

In our case the beverages were manufactured in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and delivered to the distributor in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

Plaintiff must show that the transaction was lawful and within the'statutes. The burden of establishing the lawfulness of such a transaction is upon him who makes a sale or purchase of intoxicating liquor. So unless it clearly appears in the statement of claim that the sale was lawful judgment should not be permitted to be entered upon it. We can indulge in no presumption that the sale was for a lawful purpose and duly authorized: Monongahela Drug & Mfg. Co. v. Gibson Distilling Co., 6 D. & C. 721.

It is essential to the proper entry of a judgment for want of an appearance that the statement of claim shall show a cause of action against defendant: Rosser v. Cusani, 97 Pa. Superior Ct. 255.

October 30, 1937.

We must conclude from an examination of plaintiff’s statement of claim in this case that it was not a sufficient one on which judgment could be entered for want of an appearance. As the judgment must be set aside the other reasons assigned and the answer thereto are not considered.

And now, July 3, 1937, it is ordered, adjudged, and decreed that the judgment entered in the above-stated case on April 7, 1937, be and is hereby set aside, and defendant is given 15 days within which to file an affidavit of defense.

Opinion sur motion for judgment for want of a sufficient affidavit of defense

Gibson, J.,

Plaintiff by its amended statement of claim sets forth that it is a corporation licensed to manufacture and sell malt and brewed liquors, having its principal place of business in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and that it sold and delivered to defendant various quantities of malt and brewed beverages ordered by defendant and accepted by him, amounting to a total of $4,093.75. Certain payments have been made from time to time and there is a balance due of $857.27, for which the suit was brought. The exhibits attached to the statement of claim show that plaintiff operated several breweries and that deliveries were made from its Chartiers Valley Brewery at Carnegie, Pa., also from its Duquesne Brewery at Pittsburgh, Pa. It is evident from the statement that the malt and brewed beverages were sold on credit.

An affidavit of defense having been filed, plaintiff filed its motion for judgment for want of a sufficient affidavit of defense to the amended statement. The court ordered this motion to be placed on the argument list, and it is now before us for disposal. On the same date the motion for judgment for want of a sufficient affidavit of defense was filed, plaintiff through its counsel filed a praecipe directing that the case be placed on the issue docket and [393]*393trial list. The motion for judgment for want of a sufficient affidavit of defense cannot be granted for either of two reasons.

1. When this case was before us on a proceeding to' open the judgment which had been entered in default of an appearance and affidavit of defense, this court, speaking through Judge Hughes, reviewed the acts of assembly relating to the sale of malt and brewed beverages, particularly that portion of the Beverage License Law of July 18, 1935, P. L. 1217, sec. 23, in which it is set forth:

“It shall be unlawful . . .
“For any licensee to sell, or offer to sell, or purchase or receive, any malt or brewed beverages except for cash, excepting credits extended by a hotel or club to bona fide registered guests or members. No right of action shall exist to collect any claims for credit extended contrary to the provisions of this clause.”

This act became effective immediately upon final enactment, was approved July 18,1935, and on and following that date no lawful sales of malt or brewed beverages could be made except for cash.

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Related

McCoy v. Royal Indemnity Co.
164 A. 77 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1932)
Russ Soda Fountain Co. v. Victor Pastry Shoppe, Inc.
190 A. 376 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1936)
Rosser v. Cusani
97 Pa. Super. 255 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1929)
O'Neal v. Rupp
22 Pa. 395 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1853)
Chestnut Street National Bank v. Ellis
28 A. 1082 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1894)
Acme Manufacturing Co. v. Reed
37 A. 552 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1897)
Federal Sales Co. v. Farrell
107 A. 668 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1919)

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Bluebook (online)
30 Pa. D. & C. 389, 1937 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 167, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/duquesne-brewing-co-v-mazza-pactcomplwashin-1937.