Oklahoma Cotton Growers Ass'n v. Salyer

1925 OK 945, 243 P. 232, 114 Okla. 77, 1925 Okla. LEXIS 1014
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 17, 1925
Docket15873
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 1925 OK 945 (Oklahoma Cotton Growers Ass'n v. Salyer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Oklahoma Cotton Growers Ass'n v. Salyer, 1925 OK 945, 243 P. 232, 114 Okla. 77, 1925 Okla. LEXIS 1014 (Okla. 1925).

Opinion

HARRISON, J.

This.is a suit by Oklahoma Cotton Growers Association, a corporation, against one of its members, J. E. Sal-' yeiy for damages ior breach of his membership agreement and for specific performance of such agreement, and for injunction against further, breach thereof.

The substance of the petition is that the Association, having incorporated under chapter 22, S. L. 1917 (now airt. 16, chap. 3-1, C. S. 1921), for the purpose of buying, storing, marketing, and thereby stabilizing the market price of cotton grown by its members, entered into an agreement with defendant, Salyer, on, December 3, 1920, by which Salyer became a member of the Association and in which he agreed not to sell any cotton grown by him during the years 1921 to 1927, inclusive, to any person other than the Association, and that for all cotton grown by him and sold by him to parties other than said Association, he would pay the. sum of five cents per pound, $5 per hundred pounds, as liquidated damages to the Association, and that, in case of breach of such agreement by defendant, the Association might sue him in a court of equity, and obtain a writ of injunction, a decree for specific performance of contract and judgment for damages, attorney fees and costs, the agreed measure of damages being five cents per pound for all cotton sold to parties other than the Association; that in 1922 he breached his agreement by selling the cotton grown by him during said year 1922, approximately 12,500 pounds, to parties other than the Association, thereby breaching his agreement and damaging the Association, v'herefore it prayed for the damages fixed by the agreement, for specific performance of the agreement, for injunction against further breach thereof,. and for attorney’s fee and costs.

After issuance of a temporary restraining order and some other preliminary proceedings not material to a determination of the questions involved, defendant presented three demurrers to plaintiff’s petition:

(1) A special demurrer on grounds that the facts alleged were not sufficient to warrant a decree .of specific performance

(2)' A special demurrer because the petition did not show plaintiff entitled to injunction.

(3) ’ A general demurrer on grounds that the facts alleged were not sufficient to constitute a cause of action.

The court sustained each of said demurrers and dismissed the action, and plaintiff, electing to stand upon, its petition, excepted *79 to tlie court’s ruling and appeals to this court for reversal thereof.

As the court gave no reascfeis why, nor assigned any grounds upon which he sustained said demurrers, plaintiff in error, in its original brief, presents such questions only as were presented to the trial court in the oral arguments on the demurrers. These questions are grouped and presented by plaintiff in error under the following propositions :

“1. The Co-Operative Marketing Act of 1923 (chapter 1S1, Session Laws 1923), incorporated as amendments to sections 5598 to 5021, Compiled Statutes of Oklahoma, 1921, is the law governing this case. Plaintiff Association has been brought under this act by the provisions of the act itself. Its contract with deiendant was of a type expressly authorized by the act. The ’remedies sought by plaintiff are specifically provided for in 'the act. The petition states a cause of acti< n in accordance with the rights bestowed by the act.

"2. The Co-Operative Marketing Act is constitutional under both the federal Constitution and the Constitution of the state of Oklahoma.

“3. The marketing agreement is not invalid as in restraint of trade.

“4. The contract between the Association and defendant expressly provides for the remedies sought by plaintiff. Even without the authority of a statute, plaintiff is entitled to the relief asked for.”

Each of the foregoing general propositions is subdivided and argued from different standpc ints in support of the petition and of plaintiff’s right to the relief sought, citing authorities. In his answer brief, defendant in error contends that a cause of action is not stated in the petition and that plaintiff in error is not entitled to the relief sought nor to any relief, for numerous reasons, which are separately presented and argued, with citation of authorities in support of such contentions.

It is unnecessary to specifically determine each and every contention made by the parties. From the very nature of the case, coming as it does upon demurrer to the sufficiency of the petition, it naturally presents questions which necessarily must be determined and which, being determined, effectually dispose of the case.

One of such questions is whether thw provisions of the contract are controlled by the Act of 1917, or by the Act of 1923, there being a material difference between the provisions of the two acts and a controversy as to which act controls. Pertinent to this controversy is the fact that before the passage of the Act of 1917, there was no authority of law for the incorporation of associations of this character, no authority of law for making such a contract as the one sued upon, no law defining the rights of parties to such a contract. The contract in question was entered into December 3, 1920, the Act of 1917 being then in effect; the Association was incorporated under the authority of said act, thus deriving its powers and privilege's from said act; the parties entered into the contract in question by virtue of authority derived from said act and m view of such rights as were created, defined, and conferred by said act; such being true, it is elemental that all rights derived exclusively from said act and becoming- involved under a contract made in view of such act must be controlled by the provisions of such act. Going to the act itself to find what rights are therein given, we find it to be entitled:

“An Act to provide for the formation of co-operative agricultural or horticultural associations, instituted for the purpose of mutual help and not having capital stock or conducted for profit, and for other purposes”.

Section 2 of the act (sec. 5599, C. S. 1921) is as follows:

“Co-Operative agricultural or horticultural associations, instituted for the purposes of mutual help, and not having capital stock or conducted ior profit, may be formed, under the provisions of this act, by any number of persons, not less than five, engaged in agriculture or horticulture”.

The pertinent portion of section 3 of the act (see. 5600, C. S. 1921) is as follows; '•

“An association may, as agent for its members or any of them, perform for them services connected with the production, preservation, drying, canning, storing, handling, utilization,) marketing, or sale of agricultural products produced by them”.

Section 4 of the act (sec. 5601, C. S. 1921) provides:

“The persons uniting to form an association shall enter into articles of association in writing, which shall state:' * * * (b) The class of service to be performed for its members by the Association, which services shall be among those mentioned in section three of this act: * * * (©) Any either provisions. not inconsistent with law, which the association may see fit to adopt, governing the regulation and the conduct of its affairs”.

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1925 OK 945, 243 P. 232, 114 Okla. 77, 1925 Okla. LEXIS 1014, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oklahoma-cotton-growers-assn-v-salyer-okla-1925.