Standard Drug Co. v. General Electric Co.

117 S.E.2d 289, 202 Va. 367, 1960 Va. LEXIS 232
CourtSupreme Court of Virginia
DecidedNovember 28, 1960
DocketRecord 5136
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 117 S.E.2d 289 (Standard Drug Co. v. General Electric Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Standard Drug Co. v. General Electric Co., 117 S.E.2d 289, 202 Va. 367, 1960 Va. LEXIS 232 (Va. 1960).

Opinion

Miller, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

A motion for a declaratory judgment under § 8-578, et seq., Code 1950, was filed by Standard Drug Company, Incorporated, a Virginia corporation, against the General Electric Company, a New York corporation authorized to do business in Virginia. The object of the proceeding was to have the court declare the Fair Trade Act unconstitutional and invalid, and adjudicate that General Electric may not fix the retail prices to be charged by Standard for flashbulbs purchased by it from General Electric.

*369 In paragraphs one to six, inclusive, of Standard’s motion it is alleged that General Electric is engaged in the manufacture, distribution and sale at wholesale of flashbulbs and other commodities; that Standard is engaged in sale at retail of flashbulbs and other commodities; that by letter of June 9, 1958, from General Electric, which included a schedule of prices, Standard was advised that effective June 27, 1958 (the day the “Fair Trade Act” became effective), General Electric was fair trading its flashbulbs in Virginia, and Standard was requested to observe the retail fair trade prices and referred to the list of fair trade prices on flashbulbs; that Standard’s receipt of the letter with the list of fair trade minimum retail prices attached, together with the purchase by Standard, since receipt of the, letter, of flashbulbs from General Electric for resale is within the statutory definition of a contract set forth in the act purporting to require resale at prices not less than those specified by General Electric. It is then alleged that subsequent to June 27, 1958', Standard sold flashbulbs purchased from General Electric both before and subsequent to that date at retail prices determined solely by Standard “and for less than the retail prices prescribed by” General Electric.

In paragraphs 7 and 8 of the motion it is charged that the Fair Trade Act is in restraint of Standard’s right to conduct its lawful business and violative of § § 1 and 11, Constitution of Virginia; constitutes unconstitutional delegation of legislative power to private indivduals and corporations in violation of § 40; creates arbitrary and unreasonable classification and grants special rights and privileges to General Electric and others similarly situated in violation of §63(18); violates § 52 by failing to express the object of the act in the title; authorizes monopolies inimical to the public welfare in violation of § 164, as implemented by the Virginia Anti-monopoly Act, §§ 59-20 to 59-40, Code 1950, as amended, and is therefore illegal and void. It is prayed that the Fair Trade Act be declared unconstitutional and of no effect.

In its grounds of defense General Electric admitted the allegations of paragraphs one to six,, inclusive, but denied that the Fair Trade Act violated the Constitution of Virginia or the Virginia Anti-monopoly Act. It specifically asserted that when Standard received the notice of June 9, 1958, with schedule of flashbulb prices attached, advising it that as of June 27, 1958, General Electric was fair trading its flashbulbs, and with such notice, accepted the bulbs, then by *370 acceptance it agreed to sell the goods at the specified minimum retail sales price.

In a stipulation the litigants agreed that the factual allegations in paragraphs one to six of' Standard’s motion, which are summarized above, are true. It was also agreed:

I. That pursuant to invoice No. 81888, dated August 29, 1958, General Electric shipped and charged to Standard a quantity of flashbulbs manufactured by it, including 600 standard packages bearing the General Electric trademark of PH 5 flashbulbs which were duly delivered to Standard.

II. That at the time of the purchase and delivery of these flashbulbs Standard had in its possession “a list of fair trade minimum retail prices” for General Electric flashbulbs specifying that General Electric PH 5 flashbulbs should be sold for $0.14 each, or $1.59 “per pack of 12.”

III. That by advertisement of October 23, 1958, in the Richmond News Leader, a newspaper of general circulation, Standard offered said PH 5 flashbulbs for sale at $0.12 each, or $1.39 per pack of 12, and pursuant to the advertisement, sold the flashbulbs for $0.12 each and at $1.39 per pack of 12 to various customers on that and subsequent days.

The case was submitted upon the pleadings and stipulation of fact. After oral argument, the trial court entered an order holding the Fair Trade Act constitutional and valid, and declared that General Electric might, in the manner provided by the act, fix the minimum retail prices to be charged for flashbulbs sold by it. We granted Standard an appeal.

In argument at bar it was stated by counsel for the litigants that the flashbulbs shipped by General Electric and received by Standard are “in free and open competition with commodities of the same general class produced or distributed by others.”

Though the motion for judgment contains no specific allegation that the legislation violates the Constitution of the United States, yet during the trial in the lower court and by its assignments of error, it appears that Standard asserted and litigated the question of whether or not the act violates the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States.

The pertinent parts of the Fair Trade Act follow:

“59-8.2. The following terms, as used in this chapter, are hereby defined as follows:
*371 “(1) ‘Commodity’ means any subject of commerce, except [certain enumerated foods and wearing apparel.]
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
“(3) ‘Producer’ means any grower, baker, maker, manufacturer, bottler, packer, converter, processor or publisher.
“(4) ‘Distributor’ means any person who identifies a commodity distributed by him by the use of his trade-mark or trade name.
“(5) ‘Wholesaler’ means any person who buys a commodity for the purpose of resale.
“(6) ‘Retailer’ means any person selling a commodity to a consumer for use.
“(7) ‘Trade-mark’ means any word, name, symbol or device, or any combination thereof used by a producer or distributor to identify his commodity and distinguish it from that produced or distributed by others.
#######
“(10) ‘Contract’ means any agreement, written or verbal, or actual notice imparted by mail or attached to the commodity or containers thereof.
“The acceptance of a commodity for resale, after notice imparted by mail or attached to the commodity or containers thereof, shall be prima facie evidence of actual notice of the terms of the ‘contract’. Acceptance for resale with actual notice shall be deemed to be assent to the terms of the ‘contract.’
“§ 59-8.3.

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Bluebook (online)
117 S.E.2d 289, 202 Va. 367, 1960 Va. LEXIS 232, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/standard-drug-co-v-general-electric-co-va-1960.