Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

328 OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN : : f0dh in the‘art mu00e+3aing ragrash Ihare la tb be no 3 agreaent botwaon the rhola & aiatributor ma tha retallar exoept that eddewed by mah written oontraet. Wo should like your opinion aa to whether ar not ruoh~oontraot for tha purohasa ma 8ala o? boor in t&e rout+ ti lanmwp would k in vlolatlon o? the abova quotaa prorl- #ion or th0 psa oom ua dum o r a nA lementma a m th l8 b a yo r 1946 $ and b&wan Oaloob mtlag -ton dloob). harrlartkr~oalled *~Sellar ha6 rold and by theaa pnseata aom ho-by bargain to sol1 unto war ona thou& oum bfJ~ t0 b0 adiTOFOa OILOdd? d\ping the hdr auri4j the rolhdng tmlv0 IBOZI``~‘ rfx ~-. 8 per oana, or ror the ooillng pi00 rlxe a, th0rGXiT the went $ j par oam l8 greator than "0 oeillng prloe; and F rgrwr to pay ?or amn In oarh at Qountg, mnm. *@To guaraako' rkithna ur0rwaw .o? thlr oontraot, ! .,.hyu haa depositma with & e or 321) ornh gar oam+. 'ublah ahnllbohold br &lLraa a depwitthrougbout ’ tha Sirat twelvemonths of thie oontmiot,ma aumg the rolloulng tualvo~aon~ ror eaah oam of the 500 oasoa omtraotea m, Billor ahall allow Bwar. 65 oents par oaaa -0ait thereon. *WI the evonthyu rh4llfail orr*?u80 to tdm sala boor as herainabaro Oaotraotrd ?orprom W ad to pay thrrerar in wah aa abovo provlaea, tr la 881 lx 4 4 that eventmyor ahall iorfolt to Wlor uhatwer amount oi a0 omit ramalna on haad a8 ?uI.l llquibatod amia6p ?ar brea og of tblr otmtraot.* "Ibo,!hrnsLl`` OontrolBo~ahaa oamlokatlyro- ,I bellevs you rlU agrsa t&at the otlre Toxas Uqttaa Ouaitrol Eon. Bart lord - Page 3 Aot haa ‘bean daalgnad to prevent a wholeealer ?rau aubaldizlng a retailer In any way*” You have oorrootly woted Article 667-a (1) (1) o? the Psral Code of Texas and wa note partloulerly the last phrase thereof aa followa: %o require the retailer to take or ale- pose o? a oertain quot.& O? on auoh produot.w . Th have round no’ legal a0018ions oonatrullg thf a Artlole, or ona similar thareto, and maequeatly O&Roonatruotlon of it aa atatrd below oon- telna no oltatlcQla. It la our opinion that tha intention eb t&o Lgialature which motivated the pawage of the torsgolng statute waa to pm- vent a dlatrlbutor’a aohemo of monopoly cr lubaldlzatlon wer a retailer by requiring him to oontraot ?or tha purohaw o? a oer- taln amount or brand o? bear or to reoelve no oantraot at all. We do not think it ma the purpose o? the statute to prevent t&e mating of all written ooutraota.wharoby the rottiler rooeives a oertaln amount or brand Of baar,aa suoh lnhlbltlon would produoe a greater evil then that whloh the statute attanpte to ramsdy. We lntempret the wFd8 “to require the retailer to take or dle- pose or a oertaln quota . . .* to mean that I? there Is a n- quiremqnt by the diatrlbutor, to the extent OS aoerolon, in a?- ferlng the retailer thr choloe oi ao3eptlng a ocmtraot for a . oertaln amount or brand of beer or elmply to .reoalve no oontraot, the agreement, tpen is violative Of this Artidle. On the athOr hand, it l8 Oup opinion that the Article waa not ildIlded to bo an ln?rlngeWnt upon tba isir and reaaombb o~traoting rlehta or dlatrlbutora and ratallara. Imat l8, it the amount or braad OS bbu *wared by eaoh oontraot la aoter- mined br the denandr aad wlrhoa o? the purohaser (the rrteiller) and au& contract l#.uaoutad to rupply hla naeda and serve hia legltlnutta intereats, than the agr@aent nould not ocmo within the prohlbltlon of thlr Artlolo evan though the’agrrvnt to buy or deal la these partlaular product8 was tranraotod through only one Individual distributor. By almply roadl the oontraot you present hero, we are unable to determine with7 n whloh of the fore lng oategmiee it ralls beoauaa we are not famlllar with the ..ofz oumatanoea aur- rounding its exaoutlon. Wethor t4iere haa been aonu foka or oo- erolon whloh lnduaed the making of the cont~ot or wh&her it hm bean exeoutea talrly pursuant to the retallu’a requlrmenta la not evident from the face Of the InatrLunent. Suoh a adi-iaa- tion reqdrea an lnv~atlgatl0n into the 1ntantk.u ob the psrtlea and thelr poal tlone in the bargain aa intluanoed by pmaant Eon. But ma - Pam 4 eoonamio shOrtagaar This la a re8 m;;;glty or the Texas Liquar Control Board and its a&nlx.3 . Pursuant to tha atandarda we have outlined l bwa, it Is wlthln the Board’s sound dlaorotion, upon completing a study or the baokground and ciroumetanoea aurroundlng tha mdcing or the oonlraot, to aetumlne wbother the agrewent Is a valid, fair and reaaoaable bushes8 bargain gr whether it was impalled by t* oouolon o?.the dlatributor oontrary to Artlob 667-24 (1) (j), VdrP.00 . w0 trust thla aatlafaotorily answers your Inquiry. Yours very truly 2 ATmiNEY QENWAL OB t.Jma By (Signed) Ja& K. Ayer Assistant AU@ 1 1946 APF'ROVIED (signed) Oarloa 0. Aahlay BIRST ASSLST.d?T ATTORNEYOENBRAL JKA/djm/JMo/al APPFtOvED ’ OPINIONCCWMITPEB