Union Portland Cement Co. v. State Tax Commission

170 P.2d 164, 110 Utah 135, 1946 Utah LEXIS 111
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedJune 12, 1946
DocketNo. 6884.
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 170 P.2d 164 (Union Portland Cement Co. v. State Tax Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Union Portland Cement Co. v. State Tax Commission, 170 P.2d 164, 110 Utah 135, 1946 Utah LEXIS 111 (Utah 1946).

Opinions

WOLFE, Justice.

Certiorari to review the action of the Tax Commission in making a deficiency use tax assessment against plaintiff for its use of coal, iron grinding balls, firebrick and various other items in its business.

Plaintiff is a corporation engaged in the manufacture of cement at Devil’s Slide, Utah. On August 18, 1945> after due notice and hearing, the Tax Commission found that sales of all the items involved were made outside of the state of Utah and that the use of all the items was subject to the use tax. It thereupon ordered the plaintiff to pay a deficiency use tax for the period of March 1, 1941 to February 28,1945 in the sum of $7,262.46, including interest at 6% per annum as of June 2, 1945.

*138 Plaintiff' objects ta the assessment on its use of coal, iron grinding balls and firebrick. To the assessment of the use of the other items it does not object.

We will first discuss the objections to the tax on the use of the coal. It is agreed that the practices and conditions were substantially the same in the dealings with all the coal companies from which the coal involved was purchased. The coal purchases were made by plaintiff’s manager telephoning to. the Salt Lake agents of the coal companies, all of the mines of which were located outside of the State of Utah. The manager specified the sizes of coal and the date and time of shipment. It appeared that the agents of the coal companies accepted the orders and then forwarded directions to the mines for shipment.

Involved in the transactions were coal company “acceptance of order” forms which read in part as follows:

“This acceptance of order must be signed by seller to constitute a contract under conditions and terms shown above and on the reverse side. Sales agents have no authority to alter these conditions or bind the seller.
“All sales are f. o. b. cars at mine or other indicated shipping point, and buyer shall pay all freight charges.
“Seller shall not be liable for any delay, loss, damage or charges after delivery of coal to carrier. * * *” (Italics added.)

The Tax Commission found that the sales of coal were-not made in the state of Utah and were therefore subject to the- use tax rather than to the sales tax. Plaintiff contends the sales were made in Utah and admits that those made before March 18, 1943 are subject to the sales tax but as sales of coal for industrial purposes were exempted from the Sales Tax Act after March 18, 1943 (see Section 80-15-4, Laws of Utah 1943) that the sales after that date are not subject to the sales tax or the use tax. 1

*139 Were the sales of coal made in Utah?

“A sale of goods is an agreement whereby the seller transfers the property in goods to the buyer for a consideration called a price.” Section 81-1-1(2), U. C. A. 1943.

The essence of a sale is the transfer of title to the goods from the seller to the buyer. Sec. 5 Mariash on Sales. When title passes is a question of intention of the parties. Section 81-2-2, 3, U. C. A. 1943; 1 Williston, Sales 526. To determine that intention when it is not expressly shown rules have been set up in Chapter 2 of Title 81 of our Code. The sections applicable to the problem in this case are as follows:

Sec. 81-24.

“Where there is a contract to sell unascertained goods, no property in the goods is transferred to the buyer unless and until the goods are ascertained * * *.”

Sec. 81-&-3.

“Unless a different intention appears, the following are rules for ascertaining the intention of the parties as to the time at which the property in the goods is to pass to the buyer:
‡ ‡ ^ ‡ ‡
“Rule (4) (a) Where there is a contract to sell unascertained or future goods by description, and goods of that description and in a deliverable state are unconditionally appropriated to the contract, either by the seller with the assent of the buyer, or by the buyer with the assent of the seller, the property in the goods thereupon passes to the buyer. Such assent may be express or implied, and may be given either before or after the appropriation is made.
“(b) Where in pursuance of a contract to sell the seller delivers the goods to the buyer, or to a carrier or other bailee (whether named by the buyer or not) for the purpose of transmission to or holding *140 for the buyer, he is presumed to have unconditionally appropriated the goods to the contract, except in the cases provided for in the next rule and in section 81-2-4 [reservation of right of possession or property when goods are shipped]. * * *
“Rule (5) If a contract to sell requires the seller to deliver the goods to the buyer, or at a particular place, or to pay the freight or cost of transportation to the buyer, or to a particular place, the property does not pass until the goods have been delivered to the buyer or have reached the place agreed upon.”

In the case at bar the parties to the sale of the coal did not expressly say when or where they intended title to the coal to be transferred. Applying the above rules we see that since the coal at the time the contract of sale was made was at the coal companies’ mines and was not ascertained, no title could be transferred until the coal was ascertained. The coal was ascertained and unconditionally appropriated to the contract by the coal companies delivering it to the railroads at the mines. Plaintiff’s consent to such appropriations was impliedly given by the “f. o. b.” provisions of the sales contracts. Mariash in Section 155 of his work on Sales writes:

“The general rule, therefore, in ‘f. o. b.’ contracts is that property passes when the goods are free on board at the place named in the contract, and that place also is the place of delivery to the buyer.”

In Standard Casing Co. v. California Casing Co., 233 N. Y. 413, 135 N. E. 834, the court said:

“The general rule is that, upon a sale ‘f. o. b. the point of shipment,’ title passes from the seller at the moment of delivery to the carrier, and the subject of the sale is thereafter at the buyer’s risk. Williston Sales, § 280, p. 409 ; United States v. R. P. Andrews & Co., 207 U. S. 229, 28 S. Ct. 100, 52 L. Ed. 185 * * *. The operation of the rule is, of course, subordinate to intention.”

The rule is stated in the annotation in 101 A. L. R. 293 as follows:

“Where the contract provides for a sale f. o. b. at the point of shipment, the title is generally held to pass, in the absence of a contrary *141

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Broadcast International, Inc. v. Utah State Tax Commission
882 P.2d 691 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 1994)
BJ-Titan Services v. State Tax Commission
842 P.2d 822 (Utah Supreme Court, 1992)
Hundred East Credit Corp. v. Eric Schuster Corp.
515 A.2d 246 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1986)
Lone Star Industries, Inc. v. Department of Revenue
647 P.2d 1013 (Washington Supreme Court, 1982)
American Stores Packing Co. v. Peters
277 N.W.2d 544 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1979)
Beef Cattle Co. v. N. K. Parrish, Inc.
553 S.W.2d 220 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1977)
Hardy v. State Tax Commission
561 P.2d 1064 (Utah Supreme Court, 1977)
Merrill Bean Chevrolet, Inc. v. State Tax Commission
549 P.2d 443 (Utah Supreme Court, 1976)
Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Public Service Commission
545 P.2d 1167 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1976)
Blackmon v. Atlantic Steel Co.
203 S.E.2d 710 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1973)
Sine v. State Tax Commission
390 P.2d 130 (Utah Supreme Court, 1964)
American Oil Company v. Neill
383 P.2d 350 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1963)
Bruce v. Blalock
127 S.E.2d 439 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1962)
Nickerson Pump & MacHinery Co. v. State Tax Commission
361 P.2d 520 (Utah Supreme Court, 1961)
Herman M. Brown Company v. Johnson
82 N.W.2d 134 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1957)
Pacific Northwest Alloys, Inc. v. State
306 P.2d 197 (Washington Supreme Court, 1957)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
170 P.2d 164, 110 Utah 135, 1946 Utah LEXIS 111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/union-portland-cement-co-v-state-tax-commission-utah-1946.