Carson v. Bunting
Carson v. Bunting
Concurring Opinion
concurring: I concur in the opinion of the Court as delivered by the GMef Jmtice, but will add a few observations in regard to the form of the complaint and the construction of the statute or sections of the Eevisal, relating
The different provisions of a revisal of the laws must be construed together so as to harmonize them and give effect to each, without regard to their consecutiveness, but with special regard to the fact that they relate to the same subject-matter, and tend to one common end or purpose. Lewis’ Sutherland Statutes and
The complaint is sufficient in substance to permit a recovery for the penalties imposed by section 3957. It states the facts which bring the plaintiff’s case within section 3957, the violation of which is denounced with a penalty by section 3956. The mere fact that the plaintiff asks for other relief does not deprive him of that to which the facts he alleges entitle him to have. Knight v. Houghtalling, 85 N. C., 17; Voorhees v. Porter, 134 N. C., 591; Silk Co. v. Spinning Co., ante, 421; Clark’s Code (3 Ed.), sec. 233, pp. 200 and 201 and notes. It is too late now to question the well-settled rule of pleading and procedure. It applies to all kinds of actions, even actions for penalties. We are bound to take notice of public statutes
The suggestion that the defendant is indictable and has been indicted and convicted for this same offense is without any force, when we know that a violation of the other sections for selling unstamped fertilizers is a misdemeanor and also subject to a penalty by Revisal, sec. 3822; and that section, by the way, brings the unlawful sale of all fertilizers required to be branded under one and the same condemnation of the law, showing that the Legislature regarded cotton-seed meal as being in the same category with all other fertilizers.
Penal statutes should be construed strictly — this is elementary; but, at the same time, and with equal reason, they should be construed sensibly and reasonably, so as to fulfill the oN ject of the law, and not to defeat it. The fact that section 3956 precedes section 3957 does not require us to decide that its penal provisions are not, therefore, applicable where there has been a violation of section 3957. They are both but parts of one compilation of the laws, in pari materia, and intended by the Legislature to be construed together. Section 3822 of the Revisal, making it a misdemeanor to sell fertilizers or fertilizing material without having tags or labels attached thereto as required by law, was a part of chapter 479 of the Laws of 1901, and we have held at this term, in State v. Cotton Oil Co., post, that the fact of the passage of that act before the act of 1903, ch. 339 (Revisal, sec. 3957), did not take that case out of the provisions of the former section, and a conviction for selling without labels was sustained. Even a cursory reading of that case should convince us that we have already decided the question involved in this one against the present contention of the defendant. It is there said in so many words that section 3956 subjects to a penalty any one selling cottonseed meal in violation of section 3957, and that the penal and
My apology, if one is needed, for a discussion of this subject must be found in its great importance to the public, for whose benefit and protection these statutes were passed.
My conclusion is that the judgment should be modified, as stated in the opinion of the Court.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting: I concur in the opinion of’ the Court except as to the second cause of action. As to this I am constrained to dissent. This cause of action is set out in the complaint in these words:
“For a second cause of action the plaintiff, complaining of the defendants, alleges:
“1. That of the 274 bags of cotton-seed meal sold and delivered to the plaintiff, as set out and explained in the plaintiff’s first cause of action, 196 bags had' tags attached thereto, which contained only these words, to wit: ‘1909, Department of Agriculture, North Carolina, 100 pounds of Cotton-seed Meal. Charges paid. S. L. Patterson, Commissioner.’ A copy of this on said 196 bags is hereto- attached as an exhibit.
“That section 3957 of the Revisal of 1905 provides: That all cotton-seed meal offered for sale, unless sold to manufacturers for use in manufacturing fertilizers, shall have plainly branded on the bag containing it, or on a tag attached thereto, the following data:
“1. Cotton-seed meal, with brand.
“2. Weight of package.
“3. Ammonia or nitrogen.
*542 “4. Name and address of manufacturer.
“That the said 196 bags were not sold to a manufacturer for use in manufacturing fertilizers, but were sold to the plaintiff, wbo is a farmer, to be used for fertilizing purposes; that neither of said bags had stamped thereon the above designated data, and that neither was tagged as required by said section, in that the tags attached thereto did not contain the data required by the 3d and 4th items, to wit:
“3. Ammonia or nitrogen.
“4. Name and address of manufacturer.
“2. That section 3960 of said.Revisal provides, among other things:
“That any person or persons, firm or corporation, who shall sell or offer for sale any cotton-seed meal without having the proper tax tag attached thereto, shall be liable to a penalty of $10 for each separate bag or barrel or other package sold or offered for sale, to be recovered by any person who may sue for the same.
“That plaintiff avers that defendants did actually sell to him 196 bags of cotton-seed meal without having the proper tax tag attached thereto, as alleged and set out in the preceding paragraph, and the plaintiff now claims and sues for said penalty.
“Wherefore, plaintiff now demands judgment against the defendants for the sum of $1,960 on this cause of action.”
It is admitted in the complaint and is proven by all the evidence that the tax tags were attached to the 196 bags.
These tax tags are issued by the Agricultural Department as a method of collecting the tax levied by law as an inspection tax.
The statute, Revisal, 3960, upon which this cause of action is based gives the penalty solely for failure to affix the tax tag, and not for failure to stamp the formula on the bag.
The tax tag is issued by the State when the tax is paid, and as a method of collecting the tax. There is no law requiring the formula to be printed on it, but that may be stamped on the bag or on a separate tag.
It is singular that the astute counsel for plaintiff never made any such claim either in his brief or argument, but relied solely on the cause of action stated in his complaint.
There are two objections to a recovery of penalties under section 3956:
1st. It constitutes a different cause of action from the one sued on, and therefore the defendant had no notice of any such claim. To recover that penalty requires more and different facts to be established. There are no pertinent allegations in the complaint, and a plaintiff cannot be permitted to sue for one penalty and recover another, simply because the different penalties happen to be similar in amount. It is axiomatic that proof without allegation is as worthless as allegation without proof.
The defendant company has not had an opportunity to make its defense under section 3956, as it was sued exclusively under section 3960.
2d. I am of opinion that plaintiff cannot recover under section 3956, had he based his cause of action on that section, because it is patent that this applies exclusively to “commercial fertilizers” and not to cotton-seed meal.'
The General Assembly has divided this legislation under four heads, viz.: “commercial fertilizers”; “cotton-seed meal”; “commercial feeding stuffs,” and “pure food.” Sections 3945 to 3956 inclusive relate to commercial fertilizers exclusively; sections 3951 to 3961 (a) to cotton-seed meal; sections 3962 to 3968 to commercial feeding stuffs, and 3969 to 3978 to pure food. These different articles of manufacture are defined and classified in The Code under the above-named heads, and the regulations and penalties applicable to each are specified with particularity under each title and are separate and distinct from each other. Section 3956 belongs to the commercial fertilizer division and section 3960, upon which the plaintiff based his demand, to the cotton-seed meal division, which is a
It is true tbat this is an important matter to farmers, and therefore the General Assembly, while prescribing a penalty for failure to attach the tax tag, made it a misdemeanor, a crime punishable by fine and imprisonment, to fail to stamp each bag of cotton-seed meal with the ingredients prescribed by the statute. This defendant company has been convicted at this term of this offense and fined for it. It is hardly probable that the General Assembly intended to both penalize and punish by fine and imprisonment for the same omission.
The words used in section 3956 are “commercial fertilizer or fertilizing material,” and the analysis required to be attached thereto is prescribed in section 3945 and has no relation to cotton-seed meal, as a very cursory reading of the statute will disclose, for it is a very different formula. Section 3956 gives the penalties for failing to attach to commercial fertilizers the analysis required to be placed on them by section 3945, and has no application to cotton-seed meal.
For these reasons I think the plaintiff is not entitled to recover the penalties sued for, and that the judgment of his Honor, Judge Ward, is correct.
Opinion of the Court
Tbe complaint alleges three causes of action:
1. For shortage in tbe quantity and quality of cotton-seed meal purchased from tbe defendant. On this issue tbe plaintiffs recovered $150, and tbe defendant appealed.
2. Tbe second cause^of action is for tbe penalty prescribed in tbe statute in selling tbe cotton-seed meal without having branded or tagged thereon tbe data required by tbe statute.
3. Tbe third cause of action was for injuries sustained by
defendant’s appeal.
It was admitted by the defendant, as to the first cause of ■action, that it contracted to exchafige with the plaintiff cottonseed meal for fertilizing purposes for cotton seed at the rate of 1,333% pounds of meal for a ton of seed. There was evidence from which the jury found that the cotton-seed meal delivered was short in quantity and quality to the amount of $150. This was purely a question of fact, and we find no error in the trial, as to the defendant’s appeal.
plaintiff’s appeal.
The third cause of action alleges shortage in the yield of the crop of plaintiff caused by the shortage in the quantity and quality of the cotton-seed meal, as alleged and found in the first cause of action. The plaintiff testified that he had ascertained the defective quantity and quality of the meal when he used it. His measure of damage is an abatement in the price. This has been allowed him on the first cause of action. He does not allege that he could not have bought other cotton-seed meal to have made good the deficiency. In fact, he admits in his evidence that he could have done so. He is not entitled to consequential damages for the resulting shortage in his cop. Knowing the deficiency, it was incumbent upon the plaintiff to have avoided any damages from the failure of the defendant to comply with his contract if he could have done so by reasonable and proper effort.
The second cause of action is for the recovery of the penalty of $10 per bag on 196 bags cotton-seed meal sold to plaintiff in violation of the provisions of the Revisal in regard to tagging and branding fertilizers and fertilizing material sold to others than manufacturers.
“1. Cotton-seed meal, with brand.
“2. Weight of package.
“3. Ammonia or nitrogen.
“4. Name and address of manufacturer.”
It was alleged -in the complaint and shown in the proof that the said 196 bags were not sold to a manufacturer for use in manufacturing fertilizers,’but were sold to the plaintiff, who is a farmer, to be used for fertilizing purposes, and neither of said bags had stamped thereon the above designated data, and that neither was tagged as required by said section, in that the tags attached thereto did not contain the data required in {the third and fourth items, to wit: (3) Ammonia or nitrogen. (4) Name and address of manufacturer.
Pell’s Eevisal, 3965 (Laws 1907, eh. 670), makes the same requirements with some additions, as to branding “any commercial fertilizer or fertilizing material,” and Eevisal, 3956, prescribes: “Every merchant, trader, manufacturer or agent who shall sell or offer for sale any commercial fertilizer or fertilizing material without having attached thereto such labels, stamps, or tags as are required by law . . . shall be liable to a penalty of $10 for each separate bag, barrel, or package sold, or offered for sale or removed, to be.recovered by any person who shall sue for the same.”
The evidence is plenary that this cotton-seed meal, 196 bags, was sold by the defendant to the plaintiff without compliance with above provisions of the statute. This statute is an exceedingly important one to the farmers of the State to prevent fraud and imposition upon them in the sale of fertilizers and fertilizing material. The requirement of a penalty for the violation of a statute is a matter which rests in the discretion of the legislative department, without reference to the amount of damages sustained. The penalty is for punishment to enforce the execution of the law, and is in addition to com
The defendant contends, however, that the plaintiff has not brought himself within the provisions of the statute, in that he has asked for a penalty under section 3960, alleging failure to attach the tax tags, which showed the receipt of the taxes required by that section, while the evidence shows that the tax tags were in fact attached.
In an action for a penalty, the statute allowing the same, being a public one, need not be pleaded. Currie v. R. R., 135 N. C., 536; Comrs. v. Comrs., 101 N. C., 520. But the facts must be alleged upon which the statute authorizes the penalty. Upon the evidence the defendant failed to comply with the requirem'ents of Revisal, 3945, 3956, and 3957, and it is alleged in the complaint that those sections are not complied with. There was allegata as well as probata. It is true that the complaint also alleges a failure to affix the tax tags as required by Revisal, 3960, and it was shown that these were in fact affixed.
It is also true that the complaint asked to recover penalties for failure to affix the tax tags, Revisal, 3960, but there is both allegation and proof of failure to comply with sections 3945, 3956, and 3957. It is well settled that “under The Code the demand for relief is immaterial, and the court will give any judgment justified by the pleadings and proof.” See numerous cases cited, Clark’s Code (3 Ed.), p. 584, and notes to section 425; Walker, J., Voorhees v. Porter, 134 N. C., 597; Gillam v. Ins. Co., 121 N. C., 372. Upon the pleadings and proof the plaintiff is entitled to recover upon the second cause of action.
In defendant’s appeal, No error; in plaintiff’s appeal, on the second cause of action, Error; third cause of action, Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- J. J. CARSON v. J. R. BUNTING and SOUTHERN OIL COMPANY
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published