G.E.M. Sundries Company, Inc. v. Johnson & Johnson, Inc.

This appeal is taken from the Supreme Court of the Territory (now State) of Hawaii, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1293 . It concerns the validity of the Hawaii Fair Trade Act (§§ 205-21, 205-25, Revised Laws of Hawaii, 1955), which legalizes contracts by which manufacturers of trademarked goods bind retailers, both contracting and non-contracting, to maintain resale prices fixed by the manufacturer in the accepted contracts. Appellant contends, contrary to the judgment of the Hawaii Supreme Court, that this Act is invalid under § 3 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 3 , and, in its application to non-contracting retailers, that the Act violates the due process of law clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.

Hawaii’s Fair Trade Act was passed on May 14, 1937. It authorizes minimum price fixing contracts as to the sale or resale of products sold under trademark brand or name, and further provides (§ 205-25):

This action was brought by Johnson & Johnson to enjoin G.E.M. from the retail sale of Johnson & Johnson products at less than the prices fixed by Johnson & Johnson in contracts entered into with other retailers. It is established that on IVlarch…