People v. Harter Packing Co.

Harter Packing Company, a processor of cling peaches, appeals from a judgment in the amount of $5,093, entered against it because of its failure to comply with the provisions of a Marketing Order For Canning and Freezing Cling Peaches issued by the Director of Agriculture. By the terms of the order, producers of cling peaches were paid by a processor only for cling peaches certified as Number 1. The processor in turn was required to divert, dump, or dispose of, other than by canning, an amount of peaches received by the processor equal to the aggregate amount of peaches delivered by producers which were not certified Number 1. The market order provided further that :

During the canning season of 1954 Harter received some 280 tons of off grade peaches and failed to divert some 92.6 tons, as required by the order, prior to the completion of its processing season for cling peaches. An action was brought *466 by the people of the state of California against Harter to impose in count one the civil penalty of $500 provided by section 1300.19, subdivision (b), of the Agricultural Code for Harter’s failure to divert the required tons of peaches; to impose in count two liability in the…

I dissent from that portion of the majority opinion which holds invalid the provisions of the marketing order requiring that a processor who fails to divert shall pay for the peaches he unlawfully processes and sells'by *470 paying to the hoard a sum based upon the number of tons of peaches which he failed to divert, computed at the rate per ton represented by the price paid by the processor to producers for Number 1 Cling Peaches.

The majority hold that this provision is invalid because it is a penalty beyond the power of the board to declare and because it is not within the legislative permission of what a marketing order may provide. In my view, it is neither a penalty nor without the legislative permission. Section 1300.15 of the Agricultural Code provides that any marketing order issued by the director may contain, among other things, provisions for “equalizing the burden of such surplus elimination or control among the producers, processors, distributors or other handlers affected.” I believe the provisions of the marketing order under attack come squarely within the legislative permission thus granted. It is part and parcel of the entire scheme for controlling the amount…

Harter Packing Company, a processor of cling peaches, appeals from a judgment in the amount of $5,093, entered against it because of its failure to comply with the provisions of a Marketing Order For Canning and Freezing Cling Peaches issued by the Director of Agriculture. By the terms of the order, producers of cling peaches were paid by a processor only for cling peaches certified as Number 1. The processor in turn was required to divert, dump, or dispose of, other than by canning, an amount of peaches received by the processor equal to the aggregate amount of peaches delivered by producers which were not certified Number 1. The market order provided further that:

"For any quantity of cling peaches which any processor has failed to divert pursuant to the provisions of this Section such processor shall make payment for such peaches by paying to the Board a sum based upon the number of tons of cling peaches which said processor failed to so divert and computed at the rate per ton represented by the price paid by such processor to producers for Number 1 Cling Peaches."

"Failure to divert the proper quantity of cling peaches as required in this Section shall subject…