Polk Co. v. Glover

22 F. Supp. 575, 1938 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2233
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedFebruary 1, 1938
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 22 F. Supp. 575 (Polk Co. v. Glover) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Polk Co. v. Glover, 22 F. Supp. 575, 1938 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2233 (S.D. Fla. 1938).

Opinion

LONG, District Judge.

This case is before the court upon the bill of complaint, motions to dismiss, and answers. The attack is made on chapter 17783, Laws of Florida, Acts 1937: “An Act Relating to and Regulating the Marking and Labelling of Containers of Canned Citrus Fruit and/or Citrus Juice; Requiring That the Label on Such Containers Show in What State or Country the Citrus Fruit or Citrus Juice in Such Containers Was Produced or Grown and Requiring That Any Container of Canned Citrus Fruit or Citrus Juice Produced or Grown in the State of Florida Shall Have the Word ‘Florida’ Stamped Into or Embossed Upon the Tin, Glass or Other Substance of Which Such Container is Made and Prohibiting the Use of Any Container Bearing the Word ‘Florida’ for Canned Citrus Fruit or Citrus Juice Produced or Grown Outside of the State of Florida and Providing Penalties for Violation hereof.”

This act can have but one purpose, and that is to protect one of the largest if not the largest industry in the state of Florida, what is known as the citrus industry. As shown by the preamble in the act, which preamble sets forth that certain persons, firms, and corporations in the state have, prior to the enactment of the act, been engaged in importing into the state citrus fruit and citrus juices produced and canned in other states, labeling the same in the state of Florida and selling the same from the state of Florida, thereby leading the dealers in such commodity to believe that such citrus fruit and citrus juice was produced in the state of Florida, to the injury and detriment of the producer and canner of citrus fruits and citrus juice in the state of Florida. From this preamble it must be1 assumed that the Legislature, before the passage of the act, made some investigation of this condition. At least it is apparent from the wording of the preamble that the lawmaking power of the state knew of the existence of this condition and was taking the necessary steps to prevent deception and unfair competition to protect the grower and his products. Prior to the enactment of this act the Legislature in 1935, Acts 1935, c. 16854, recognized the importance of this industry, and to promote its progress created the Florida Citrus Commission, which since its creation has expended thousands of dollars, raised by virtue of a tax levied in pursuance of certain advertising laws through this Commission, advertising and promoting the sale of citrus fruit, the result of which has been the creation of a great demand and a better market for this Florida commodity. The Legislature of 1937 realized this fact, and in order to protect this great industry from those inclined to bring into Florida from other states citrus fruit, labeling same as' a Florida product, placing it on the various markets of the country as Florida fruit, saw fit after an investigation to pass the law. The Legislature is the judge of the necessity of such an enactment, and the presumption is that their action was taken advisedly.

The first question of law raised by the bill of complaint is that the title of the act is insufficient because the power given the Florida Citrus Commission was not mentioned in the title which is in violation of section 16 of article 3 of the Constitution of Florida. “Each law enacted in the Legislature shall embrace but one subject and matter properly connected therewith, which subject shall be briefly expressed in the title.”

This question has been presented to the Supreme Court of this state many times. The act deals with the marking and labeling o f containers of canned citrus fruit and citrus juices, and all matters pertaining to that subject can be included unless the title is misleading or deceptive, or so vague as to be both. There are no two unconnected subjects embraced in this act, but it deals with one subject and. matters properly connected therewith. State v. Bryan, 50 Fla. 293, 39 So. 929; Schiller v. State, 49 Fla. 25, 38 So. 706; Whitney v. Hillsborough County, Fla., 99 Fla. 628, 127 So. 486; Pullman Co. v. Knott, 70 Fla. 9, 69 So. 703, 705.

It is hardly necessary to discuss section 1 of the act, for the reason that the bill of complaint does not allege that there is any attempt or threatened enforcement or prosecution under the labeling provision of this section of the act against these plaintiffs; therefore, the plaintiffs are not in a position to complain of the invalidity of this section. Plaintiffs do con[578]*578tend, however, of an unlawful delegation of legislative authority with reference to the power given the Commission. In considering this question it will be borne in mind that the bill does not in any manner question the reasonableness of the regulation as made, but directs its attack upon the authority to make it. The rule laid down in the case of Pacific States Box & Basket Company v. White, 296 U.S. 176, 56 S.Ct. 159, 161, 80 L.Ed. 138, 101 A.L.R. 853, is that the United States Supreme Court is not concerned with the wisdom of legislative regulations of states, but can only en-quire whether a regulation is arbitrary or capricious. The Supreme Court of Florida, in passing upon the question of delegation of authority, has adopted the principle of law that: “The Legislature, in enacting a law complete in itself, designed to accomplish the regulation of particular matters falling within its jurisdiction, may expressly authorize an administrative commission within fixed and valid limits *to provide rules and regulations for the complete operation and enforcement of the law within its express general purpose.” State ex rel. Davis v. Fowler et al., 94 Fla. 752, 114 So. 435, 437; Ex parte. Lewis, 101 Fla. 624, 135 So. 147; United States v. Grimaud, 220 U.S. 506, 31 S.Ct. 480, 55 L.Ed. 563.

Section 2 of the act, which is the section to which the attack is chiefly directed, follows: “Every container used for canning citrus fruit or citrus juice produced or grown in the State of Florida shall have stamped into or embossed upon the tin,1 glass or other substance of which such container is made, the word ‘Florida,’ and it shall be unlawful for any. person, firm or corporation to use for canning citrus fruit or citrus juice produced or grown in the State of Florida any container which does not have stamped into or embossed upon the tin, glass or other substance of which said container is made, the word ‘Florida.’ It shall -be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to use any container bearing the said word ‘Florida’ for any canned citrus fruit or citrus juice produced or grown outside of the State of Florida.”

The next question of law raised by the bill is that the act constitutes unlawful interference with interstate commerce. The regulation made by the Commission is placed on the manufacturer or grower of citrus fruits in Florida under the police power, and its purpose is to prevent unfair competition and to protect the buyer from deception. In'Pacific States Box & Basket Company v. White, supra, “Such regulation of trade is a part of the inspection laws; was among the earliest exertions of the police power in America; has been persistent; and has been widely applied to merchandise commonly sold in containers.”

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Related

Chicago Mercantile Exchange v. Tieken
177 F. Supp. 660 (N.D. Illinois, 1959)
Polk Co. v. Glover
305 U.S. 5 (Supreme Court, 1938)
Snively Groves, Inc. v. Florida Citrus Commission
23 F. Supp. 600 (N.D. Florida, 1938)

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Bluebook (online)
22 F. Supp. 575, 1938 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2233, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/polk-co-v-glover-flsd-1938.