Deer v. Federal Trade Commission
| Citation | 152 F.2d 65 |
| Decision Date | 05 December 1945 |
| Docket Number | No. 8.,8. |
| Parties | DEER et al. v. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) |
Leon Himmelfarbe, of New York City, for petitioners.
W. T. Kelley, Chief Counsel, Joseph J. Smith, Jr., Asst. Chief Counsel, and Donovan Divet, Sp. Atty., all of Washington, D. C., for respondent.
Before SWAN, CHASE, and CLARK, Circuit Judges.
The petitioners are engaged in the business of selling in interstate commerce various kinds of merchandise, chiefly household articles, and upon request they have supplied some of their customers with a so-called "club plan" or with material for the game of "Bingo" for use by such customers in reselling the goods purchased from the petitioners. The Commission found that the club plan and the bingo paraphernalia were gambling devices, as they clearly were, and that the sale of merchandise by the aid of such devices constituted unfair methods of competition in commerce, as they clearly do, within the prohibition of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 45. Federal Trade Comm. v. R. F. Keppel & Bro., 291 U.S. 304, 54 S.Ct. 423, 78 L.Ed. 814; Cinader v. Federal Trade Commission, 2 Cir., 141 F.2d 1022; Modernistic Candies, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, 7 Cir., 145 F.2d 454. As the case last cited indicates it was not necessary to prove that the petitioners actually participated in the operation of the bingo game or the club plan conducted by their customers; it is enough that they aided and abetted in such methods of resale. Their advertising justifies an inference that they did. Nor was the Commission obliged to prove injury to the public or loss of business to competitors; when it finds, as it reasonably did here, that unfair practices have been employed by a respondent, it may infer that trade will be diverted from competitors who do not employ such practices. Federal Trade Commission v. Raladam Co., 316 U.S. 149, 152, 62 S.Ct. 966, 86 L. Ed. 1336. Finally, the fact that use of the "club plan" was abandoned more than a year before the Commission issued its complaint is not a bar to an order to cease and desist, for the Commission has broad discretion to determine whether such an order is needed to prevent resumption of the practice. Gelb v. Federal Trade Commission, 2 Cir., 144 F.2d 580, 581; Bunte Brothers v. Federal Trade Commission, 104 F.2d 996, 997; cf. Federal Trade Commission v. Civil Service T. Bureau, 6 Cir., 79 F.2d 113, 115. We cannot...
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In re Trilegiant Corp.
...446 (3d Cir.1951) (aiding and abetting liability for assisting in the commission of unfair trade practices); Deer v. Fed. Trade Comm'n, 152 F.2d 65, 66 (2d Cir.1945) (a party need not participate in the unfair conduct, it is sufficient if he aided and abetted such actions); see also The Ant......
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In re Trilegiant Corp.
...444, 446 (3d Cir.1951) (aiding and abetting liability for assisting in the commission of unfair trade practices); Deer v. Fed. Trade Comm'n, 152 F.2d 65, 66 (2d Cir.1945) (a party need not participate in the unfair conduct, it is sufficient if he aided and abetted such actions); see also Th......
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