People v. United Theaters, Inc.
People v. United Theaters, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The People of Puerto Rico filed a petition in the District Court of San Juan seeking an injunction against defendants, 'basing the action on “An act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies” approved on the 14th of March, 1907 (Comp. Statutes 1911, p. 456). The defendants assailed the jurisdiction of the District Court alleging that the act in question was unconstitutional as it was legislation of a subject over which the Congress of the United States has exclusive jurisdiction, and regarding which it had legislated through the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, and the later one known as the Clayton Act, of 1914, and through more recent supplementing acts, none of which confer jurisdiction on the insular courts to take cognizance of said matters.
After various incidents, which are not necessary to state for the purposes of this opinion, the lower court rendered judgment on December 13, 1935, dismissing the injunction for lack of jurisdiction to entertain the cause and based its decision on the jurisprudence established in the case of United Theaters Inc. v. Court, 47 P.R.R._. It was this judgment which gave rise to the present appeal, established by The People of Puerto Rico.
In Justice to the judge of the lower court, we should state that he correctly interpreted and applied the jurisprudence of this Court established in the case of United Theaters, Inc. v. Court, supra, but after the judgment appealed from was rendered, the Supreme Court of the United States decided the case of Puerto Rico v. Shell supra, upholding the authority of our legislative assembly to pass the local act and that the same is constitutional and exists independently of the federal law known as the Sherman Anti-trust Act, which is also applicable to Puerto Rico, it is clear that the case of United Theaters, Inc. v. Court,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.