Dunnell v. Shelley

[119]

STURTEVANT, J.

The plaintiff commenced an action to obtain an injunction against the defendants to prevent them from committing acts of unfair competition. The defendants answered and thereafter they made a motion that judgment on the pleadings be entered in their favor. The motion was granted and from said judgment the plaintiff appeals.

The plaintiff’s complaint is quite long. It purports to plead the facts stating a cause of action within the purview of sections 1 and 7 of chapter 477 of the Statutes of 1935, hereinafter called the Unfair Practices Act. The defendants do not contend that that statute was not properly pleaded, however, they do contend the statute is invalid and that its provisions violate section 10 of article I, section 1 of Amendment XIV, and clause 3, section 8 of article I of the federal Constitution, and also section 16 of article I and section 13 of article I of the Constitution of the State of California.

Sections 1 and 7 of said statute are respectively as follows: “Sec. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation, doing business in the state of California and engaged in the production, manufacture, distribution or sale of any commodity, or product, or service or output of a service trade, of general use or consumption, or the product or service of any public utility, with the intent to destroy the competition of any regular established dealer in such commodity, product or service, or to prevent the competition of any person, firm, private corporation, or municipal or other public corporation, who or which in good faith, intends and attempts to become such dealer, to discriminate between different sections, communities or cities or portions thereof, or between different locations in such sections, communities, cities or portions thereof in this State, by selling or furnishing such commodity, product or service at a lower rate in one section, community or city, or any portion thereof, or in one location in such section, community, or city or any portion thereof, than in another after making allowance for difference, if any, in the grade or quality, quantity and in the actual cost of transportation from the point of production, if a raw product or commodity, or from the point of manufacture, if a manufactured product or commodity. Motion picture films when delivered under a lease to motion picture houses shall not be deemed to be a commodity or product of general use,