Albert Albek, Inc. v. Brock

THOMPSON, J.

In a petition for a writ of review it is alleged that the Director of Agriculture, without acquiring jurisdiction and without a hearing, arbitrarily denied petitioner’s application under section 1300.1 of the Agricultural Code for a processor’s license to handle and process farm products.

The petition alleges that petitioner “held a limited processor’s license” on October 19, 1944; that, on November 30, 1944, a verified complaint was filed under section 1300.3 of the Agricultural Code to cancel the license for violation of the statute; that upon a hearing of said charges oral and documentary evidence was adduced and said proceeding was concluded and submitted for determination on July 11, 1945; that, because the last mentioned section was amended by the Legislature in 1945 (Stats. 1945, p. 1057), “eliminating restricted processor’s licenses,” the petitioner “surrendered his limited processor’s license . . . and respondent did, on the 15th day of September, 1945, cancel the same,” and that petitioner held no license after that date. The respondent’s answer admits those allegations, from which it must be inferred petitioner held no license after the last mentioned date. A motion to dismiss the proceedings as moot was made after the surrender and cancellation of the license, but the motion was not passed upon until after findings and the order complained of was made and filed. The director did thereafter, on February 2, 1946, make an order denying the motion to dismiss.

The director adopted findings on the complaint to cancel the limited license, on January 28, 1946, determining that petitioner had violated the statute as charged by refusing to pay for farm products and by rejecting products purchased, without cause. No order was, however, then made canceling

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the license. According to the pleadings in this proceeding, the license had been previously canceled by the director, at the time when it was surrendered. Since the license which was the subject of investigation, had been surrendered and canceled, it would appear that the findings became ineffectual in that proceeding. But that is immaterial.

We infer from the order of the director that, subsequent to the cancellation of its license, petitioner filed with the department a new application for an unlimited processor’s license. The only order which the director made pursuant to the findings which were adopted is the following: