State ex rel. Harley v. City of Wichita

99 P.2d 812, 151 Kan. 390, 1940 Kan. LEXIS 126
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedMarch 9, 1940
DocketNo. 34,586
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 99 P.2d 812 (State ex rel. Harley v. City of Wichita) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Harley v. City of Wichita, 99 P.2d 812, 151 Kan. 390, 1940 Kan. LEXIS 126 (kan 1940).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Smith, J.:

This was an action to enjoin the city commissioners, the city manager and the market master of the city of Wichita from [391]*391interpreting an ordinance in a certain manner and also to enjoin the enforcement of another ordinance. Judgment was for the plaintiff. The defendants appeal.

The petition stated two causes of action. In the first cause of action, after alleging the official position of the parties, the petition alleged that in 1929 the electors of Wichita voted $25,000 in bonds for the purpose of paying for and equipping a market place; that pursuant to this election a tract of land was secured and a market place built. An ordinance was enacted providing for the operation of the market, and farmers, growers and producers of vegetables and other produce began to use it. The petition further alleged that during the years 1936, 1937 and 1938 certain wholesale produce dealers brought pressure upon the city commission to close or restrict the operation of the market; that as a result of this agitation the commissioners ordered the market closed except between the hours of four o’clock and nine o’clock a. m.; that this was grossly inadequate for the needs of the farmers, producers, and growers selling upon the market and also for the needs of the grocers, dealers, caterers and other persons purchasing upon the market, and as a result thereof the market was unable to operate, and shortly thereafter failed to operate; that thereafter an ordinance was initiated by the people of the city in accordance with G. S. 1935, 12-107. This ordinance was submitted to the electors of the city and adopted by them. It was attached to the petition and marked “Exhibit A.” This ordinance will be referred to hereafter as ordinance No. 12-137. The petition further alleged that pursuant to this ordinance the market was reopened and continued in operation up to the time of the filing of this action; that when the market was originally opened and since it was opened under ordinance No. 12-137 it was the practice of those who used this market to haul produce into it in automobiles or trucks and to rent a stall in the market where the produce would be exhibited and sold; that the method of exhibition of the produce had at all times consisted both of arranging it on the vehicles in which it was brought into the market and also placing it on the floor of the market within the confines of the stall. The petition further alleged that since the market had been reopened pursuant to ordinance No. 12-137 the same wholesale produce dealers of the city of Wichita who previously caused the closing of it started to again hamper and restrict its operation and had represented to the city commissioners that ordinance No. 12-137 should [392]*392be interpreted to mean that no produce could be exhibited in the market except and unless it was actually deposited and kept on a vehicle within the market and that no produce whatsoever' could be exhibited by placing or arranging it off the vehicles; that on June 19, 1939, a motion was adopted by the commissioners, the substance of which was that all produce sold within the market must be sold from the vehicle on which it was brought to market and if any person who had rented a stall in the market removed therefrom his vehicle, his right to the use of the stall was thereby lost; that notice of this interpretation had been given to all farmers, producers, growers, truckers and all other users of the said market. The petition further alleged that this interpretation was wholly contrary to the express terms of ordinance No. 12-137, was arbitrary, unreasonable, capricious and unlawful and made for the purpose of hindering the operation of the market; that it would work an irreparable injury on the users of the market and the people of Wichita. The prayer was that the defendants be restrained from attempting to enforce this interpretation.

In the second cause of action the plaintiff alleged that the same produce dealers who had agitated for the closing of the market had also brought pressure upon the city commissioners to adopt a further ordinance to limit and restrict in an unreasonable and unlawful manner the sale of the produce upon the market; that on June 12, 1939, the ordinance, marked “Exhibit B,” being ordinance No. 12-158, and attached to the petition, was adopted; that although this ordinance purported to be for the purpose of regulating persons or firms engaged in the business of wholesaling the produce there was no reasonable need for such regulations and they constituted an arbitrary and unreasonable interference with the wholesaling of produce in Wichita; that the assessment of any charge or license fee as prescribed in the ordinance was unnecessary and grossly in excess of the necessary cost of any regulation of wholesaling of produce and constituted an arbitrary, void and illegal charge ox-assessment upon the people of Wichita engaged in selling or offering for sale produce at wholesale; that the provisions of section 3 of the ordinance required the posting of a bond by any person engaged in such business was wholly and entirely unreasonable and arbitrary and unnecessary for the purpose of providing proper regulation of the business of wholesaling produce in the city of Wichita; that the ordinance was not enacted in good faith, but solely and entirely for [393]*393the purpose of hampering and restricting the sale of produce in the city of Wichita; that it would be impossible for a great number of persons engaged in- the wholesale produce business to comply with the terms of the ordinance; that the ordinance was void because it constituted an attempt to amend and add to ordinance No. 12-137, whereas the defendants had no power to alter or amend that ordinance; that notwithstanding this ordinance was unreasonable, arbitrary, illegal and void the defendants were threatening to enforce it and had notified all persons engaged in the wholesale produce business that after June 29 they would be arrested unless they complied with it. The prayer of the petition was that the enforcement of this ordinance be enjoined.

The two ordinances will not be set out just now in the opinion, but will be referred to later.

For their answer to the first cause of action, the defendants admitted that the bond election was had and the market was constructed and that the ordinance No. 12-137 was passed, as alleged in the petition. The answer further alleged that a certain group of wholesale produce dealers who hauled commodities in from markets and other states and had no established place of business contended that ordinance No.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
99 P.2d 812, 151 Kan. 390, 1940 Kan. LEXIS 126, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-harley-v-city-of-wichita-kan-1940.