Jackson v. Stanfield

• Decision Date: 01 February 1894
• Docket Number: 16,164
• Citation: Jackson v. Stanfield, 137 Ind. 592, 36 N.E. 345 (Ind. 1894)
• Parties: Jackson et al. v. Stanfield et al
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

36 N.E. 345

137 Ind. 592

Jackson et al. v. Stanfield et al

No. 16,164

Supreme Court of Indiana

February 1, 1894

Reported at: 137 Ind. 592 at 617.

From the St. Joseph Circuit Court.

The judgment is reversed, with instructions to restate conclusions of law, and render judgment upon the special findings.

L Hubbard and A. L. Brick, for appellants.

A Anderson and J. DuShane, for appellees.

DaileyJ. Howard, C. J., took no part in this decision.

OPINION

Dailey, J.

This is an action brought by the appellants against the appellees for damages and for relief by injunction, on the ground that the defendants had entered into an unlawful combination for the purpose of injuring the appellees in their business, and that, in consequence thereof, plaintiffs had suffered actual damage, and were threatened with great loss in their business.

By request of the parties, the court below made a special finding of the facts, and stated its conclusion of the law thereon, that the plaintiffs were not entitled to recover.

There was no motion for a new trial, and the only questions presented by the record are these:

First.Whether the plaintiffs are entitled to an injunction.

Second.If not entitled to an injunction, are they entitled to recover damages?

It appears from the special finding, that the complainants are husband and wife.AppellantNewton Jackson had no means, but his wife had some property of her own.For several years prior to the commencement of this suit, the husband had been engaged in the business of buying and selling lumber, dealing with his wife's means, and also on commission, acting as a broker without owning the lumber himself.The business was managed by Jackson in his own name, he occasionally affixed the word "agent" to his transactions.He employed from $ 3,000 to $ 4,000 of his wife's money, but it was not generally known that he was acting as agent for his wife.

The defendants were partners in the business of selling lumber at retail at South Bend, Ind., and for a number of years kept a lumber yard at that place.Prior to 1889, the defendants and about one hundred and fifty other retail dealers in lumber organized an association under the style name of "The Retail Lumber Dealers' Association of Indiana," and adopted a constitution and by-laws for its government.The constitution declares that the organization was formed "to protect its members against sales by wholesale dealers and manufacturers to consumers."

We have, for convenience, taken so much of the special finding as we deemed material to the questions involved:

"That the plaintiffs, Newton Jackson and Martha E. Jackson, are husband and wife; that Newton Jackson has no means; that his wife has means of her own, and for the past three (3) years Newton Jackson has been engaged in the business of buying and selling lumber; that he has bought and sold lumber, dealing with his wife's means, and also on commission, by negotiating sales as agent of a wholesale dealer or manufacturer, and receiving a commission therefor, without owning the lumber himself; that the arrangement between plaintiffs was that the husband supported himself and family from his earnings and profits, and if any surplus remained it was the property of his wife.

"That the business was managed solely by Newton Jackson, in his own name, he occasionally using the word 'agent' in connection with his own name, and using from $ 3,000 to $ 4,000 of his wife's means; but defendants had no knowledge that he was acting as agent for his wife.

"That plaintiffs have kept no lumber yard or stock on hand in South Bend, Indiana, where they have done business for the past three (3) years.

"That the defendants are partners, retail dealers in lumber, in South Bend, Indiana, and have kept a lumber yard and stock on hand.

"That prior to 1889, the defendants and other retail dealers in lumber in Indiana, about one hundred and fifty (150) in number, associated themselves together into an association known and designated as the Retail Lumber Dealers' Association of Indiana, and agreed to a constitution and by-laws for their government, which constitution and by-laws are in these words:

"CONSTITUTION.

"Article I.--Title.

"The title of this organization shall be 'The Retail Lumber Dealers' Association of the State of Indiana,' and it shall have for its object the protection of its members against sales by wholesale dealers and manufacturers to consumers, and the giving of such other protection as may be within the limits of co-operative association.

"Article II.--Conditions of Membership.

"Any person who may be regularly in the retail lumber trade, owning or operating a lumber yard, in which a general assortment of stock in kind and quantity commensurate with the demands of the community where located, is kept for sale, may become a member of this association by subscribing to the constitution, and paying the annual dues prescribed by the by-laws.

"Article VII.--When Membership Shall Cease.

"When any member or firm shall cease to keep a regular assortment of lumber, as set forth in article II, he or they shall cease to be members of this association.* * * *

"Article IX.

"Any manufacturer or wholesale dealer may become an honorary member of this association, with all privileges and benefits save that of voting, upon payment of the annual dues.Provided, That all such members who may violate the rules thereof shall be immediately dropped from the rolls.

"Article X.

"Any manufacturer or wholesale dealer may become an honorary member of this association, with all the privileges and benefits save that of voting, upon payment of the annual dues.

"Section 5.Members are entitled to the protection of this association in the towns in which their yards are situated, and the adjacent territory, which must be designated in the application for membership, and written in the membership certificate.If protection is wanted for more than one point (where applicant owns or operates a yard), separate memberships must be taken.

Relations with Wholesalers.

"Section 3.Whenever, and as often as any manufacturer or wholesale dealer, or their agents, shall sell lumber, sash, doors or blinds to any person not a regular dealer, as contemplated by article 2 of the constitution of the association, any member doing business in the town to which such shipment was made, may notify the shipper, manufacturer, or wholesale dealer who made such shipment, that he has a claim against them for such shipment.If the parties can not adjust the claim, it shall be the duty of the member to notify the secretary of the facts in the case, who shall refer the case to the executive committee, whose duty it shall be to hear both sides of the question and determine the claim.If the wholesaler or manufacturer refuses to abide by the decision of the executive committee, it shall be the duty of the secretary to notify the members of this association of the name of such wholesaler or manufacturer.It shall also be the duty of the members to no longer patronize said wholesaler or manufacturer.If any member continues to deal with such dealer or manufacturer, he shall be expelled from the association.If the member refuses to abide by the decision of the executive committee, his name shall be stricken from the membership of the association.It is provided that nothing in this section shall be so construed as to entitle members to make complaint on account of lumber sold to manufacturers, and actually used in articles manufactured, nor to railroad or transportation companies, nor in case of sash, doors, or blinds to hardware merchants who keep a regular stock of such goods.* * * *

Powers of Executive Committee.

"Section 7.The president and secretary, ex officio, are constituted the executive committee of this association.In all matters relating to claims made by this association between the sessions of the board of directors, the said committee shall have the same powers as those conferred upon the said board of directors; that upon request of the secretary said committee shall convene to determine and adjudicate such matters as are not clearly defined by the constitution and by-laws, or such other questions as he deems of great importance to the association.Any wholesaler not satisfied with the decisions of the secretary in cases in which demands are made upon him, may appeal to the executive committee, whose decision shall be final.* * * *

"That said constitution and by-laws were published in May, 1888 and 1890, together with lists of active members, wholesale members and honorary members; said active members appearing to be doing business in Indiana, and wholesale and honorary members appearing to be doing business in Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, and other States.

"That such publications were made in pamphlet form, and a copy of each such pamphlet was sent to every member of the association, and to all retail dealers in Indiana, and to all wholesalers and manufacturers of lumber in the United States, a list of whose names and addresses was in the possession of the secretary of said Retail Lumber Dealers' Association.

"That the usual course of proceedings of such association was in case of complaint by any member against a wholesale dealer for a violation of its rules, that a hearing was had, and the person or firm charged was heard before a committee of said association, and if a penalty was assessed by such committee and such penalty was not paid, a notice was to be sent to each member of the association upon a blank kept to be used for that purpose, which blank embraces section 3 of the foregoing by-laws, and each member is notified that -----, dealer of ----- town,...