State v. Wipke

133 S.W.2d 354, 345 Mo. 283, 1939 Mo. LEXIS 516
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedNovember 7, 1939
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 133 S.W.2d 354 (State v. Wipke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Wipke, 133 S.W.2d 354, 345 Mo. 283, 1939 Mo. LEXIS 516 (Mo. 1939).

Opinion

*288 TIPTON, C. J.

This is an action upon a surety bond, wherein respondent Wipke is principal and respondent Reserve Mutual Casualty Company, a corporation, is surety given under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act of Missouri (Laws of Missouri, Extra Session, 1933-34, page 77, and amendments thereto). A judgment of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County was made in favor of respondents and from that judgment appellant has duly appealed to this Court.

The ease was tried below on an agreed statement of facts. Wipke, holding only a five per cent liquor license, sold one drink of whiskey to an inspector for the Supervisor of Liquor Control, in violation of the Liquor Control Act. The sole question involved is whether or not the State may recover the full penalty of the bond without proving that it was damaged as a result of the principal’s breach of the bond.

The conditions of the bond in question-as executed by the respondents to the Supervisor of Liquor Control are as follows:

“Now, Therefore, The Condition of This Obligation is Such, That, if the said Principal does not violate any of the provisions of Committee Substitute for Senate Bills Nos. 6, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25, passed by the 57th General Assembly in Extra Session, and any acts amendatory thereto, or any rule or regulation of the Supervisor of Liquor Control; and if said Principal shall at all times keep an orderly house and does not sell, give away, or otherwise dispose of, or suffer the same to be done about his premises, any intoxicating *289 liquor in any quantity to any minor; and if said Principal shall pay all taxes, inspection and license fees provided for by law, together with all fines, penalties and forfeitures which may be adjudged against the Principal under the Liquor Control Act and amenda-tory acts thereto; and if said Principal shall faithfully perform all duties imposed upon him by law, then this obligation shall be null and void; otherwise to remain in full force and effect; provided, the enumeration of the foregoing specific provisions shall not be considered as limiting or affecting in any way the foregoing general provisions; provided, further, that a breach of any of the conditions of said bond, whether general or special, shall work a forfeiture of said bond.”

There are two sections of the Liquor Control Act which provide for bond to be given by liquor dealers, Section 13-a and Section 19. It is the contention of the appellant that the bond in question is governed by Section 13-a, which is as follows :

“Any person who possesses the qualifications required by this act, and who meets the requirements of and complies with the provisions of this act, and the ordinances, rules and regulations of the incorporated city in which such licensee proposes to operate his business, may apply for and the Supervisor of Liquor Control may issue a license to sell intoxicating liquor, as in this act defined, by the drink at retail for consumption on the premises described in the application. Provided, that no license shall be issued for the sale of intoxicating liquor, other than malt liquor containing alcohol not in excess of five (5%) per cent by weight, by the drink at retail for consumption on the premises where sold, in any incorporated city having a population of less than Twenty Thousand (20,000) inhabitants, until the sale of such intoxicating liquor, by the drink at retail for consumption on the premises where sold, shall have been authorized by a vote of the majority of the qualified voters of said city. Such authority to be determined by an election to be held in said cities having a population of less than twenty thousand (20,000) inhabitants, under the provisions and methods set out in this act. The population of said cities to be determined by the last census of the United States completed before the holding of said election. Provided further, that for the purpose of this act, the term ‘city’ shall be construed to mean any municipal corporation having a population of five hundred (500) inhabitants or more. Provided further, that no license shall be issued for the sale of intoxicating liquor, other than malt liquor containing alcohol not in excess of five (5%) per cent by weight, by the drink at retail for consumption on the premises where sold, outside the limits of such incorporated cities. In each instance, a bond in the sum of two thousand ($2,000.00) dollars, with sufficient surety, to be approved by the Supervisor of Liquor Control, must be given for the faithful performance of all duties imposed by law upon the licensee, and for the faithful performance of all the *290 requirements of this act, and any violation of such conditions, duties or requirements shall be a breach of said bond and shall automatically cancel and forfeit the license granted hereunder; provided, that no person financially interested in the sale of intoxicating liquor at wholesale shall be accepted as surety on any such bond.”

On the other hand, the respondents contend that Section 13-a and Section 19 both govern in the granting of the license to Wipke, and that it was proper for the bond to contain not only the conditions required by Section 13-a, but also the conditions required by Section 19. The latter section reads:

“Application for license to manufacture or sell intoxicating liquor, under the provisions of this act, shall be made to the Supervisor of Liquor Control. Before any application for license shall be approved the Supervisor of Liquor Control shall require of the applicant a bond, to be given to the state, in the sum of Two Thousand Dollars, with sufficient surety, such bond to be approved by the Supervisor of Liquor Control, conditioned that the person obtaining such license shall keep at all times an orderly house, and that he will not sell, give away or otherwise dispose of, or suffer the same to be done about his premises, any intoxicating liquor in any quantity to any minor, and conditioned that he will not violate any of the provisions of this act and that he will pay all taxes, inspection and license fees provided for herein, together with all fines, penalties and forfeitures which may be adjudged against him under the provisions of this act.”

It is a cardinal rule of construction that every word, clause, sentence and section of an act must be given some meaning unless it is in conflict with the legislative intent. [Holder v. Elms Hotel Co., 338 Mo. 857, 92 S. W. (2d) 620, 104 A. L. R. 339; State ex rel. Kansas City Power & Light Co. v. Smith, 342 Mo. 75, 111 S. W. (2d) 513.] Respondents rely upon this rule and cite cases of State ex rel. Dean v. Daues, 321 Mo. 1126, 14 S. W. (2d) 990; Johnson v. Kruckemeyer, 224 Mo. App. 351, 29 S. W. (2d) 730.

With this rule in mind, we cannot agree with respondents that Section 13-a must be construed with Section 19. To uphold the respondents, we would have to presume that the Legislature did a useless thing in passing the paragraph dealing with the bond required in Section 13-a.

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Bluebook (online)
133 S.W.2d 354, 345 Mo. 283, 1939 Mo. LEXIS 516, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wipke-mo-1939.