Skivers v. State of California

Opinion

RATTIGAN, J.

Catherine Skivers (hereinafter “plaintiff”) appeals from an adverse judgment in her action against the State of California.

[654]

The undisputed facts, which are set forth in a settled statement as well as in a conventional record on appeal, include these: Plaintiff buys from California Industries for the Blind (“CIB”), a state agency, products manufactured by blind persons pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 19550 et seq.

1

CIB sells the same products to other agencies of the State of California and to agencies of the federal government. Plaintiff is a wholesaler of the products, the federal agencies are retailers, and the state agencies are consumers thereof. Although plaintiff is herself a blind person, CIB sells to the governmental agencies at prices lower than it charges plaintiff for the same products.

This action, in which plaintiff seeks injunctive relief and damages, is based upon her contention that CIB’s practice of selling to its governmental customers at prices which are preferential (as to plaintiff) is in violation of section 19573.

2

The trial court based its judgment (which denies plaintiff any relief) upon its conclusions of law that the practice did not violate the statute because CIB’s governmental customers were not “other persons” within its meaning, and not because of the “trade level” element to which it refers.

3

While we disagree with this interpretation of the statute, we agree with the result reached; we therefore affirm the judgment. Our reasons in both respects follow.

As is evident from the opposing arguments advanced on the appeal, application of most of the familiar canons of statutory construction to the term “other persons” both supports and negates the interpretation reached by the trial court. Moreover (and as plaintiff points out), the court’s resort to section 19574 (formerly § 18842, in the chronology recited in fn. 2,