petitor, discriminates between different sections, communities, localities, cities, or towns of this State by purchasing such commodity or commodities at a higher price or rate in one section, community, location, city, or town than is paid for the same commodity by such person in another section, community, locality, city, or town, after making due allowance for the difference, if any, in the grade or quality, and in the actual cost of transportation from the point of purchase to the point of manufacture, sale or storage is guilty of unfair discrimination, which is hereby prohibited and declared to be unlawful; and any person, firm, company, association or corporation, or any officer, agent, receiver or member of such firm, company, association, or corporation, found guilty of unfair discrimination as herein defined shall be punished by a fine in any sum not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, cr by both such fine and imprisonment. (C. L. '17, sec. 8336.) Unjust Discrimination Against Newspapers Sec. 73-2-1. Business of gathering and vending news a matter of public interest.-All persons, all associations of persons, and all corporations engaged in the business of buying, gathering, or accumulating information or news for publication, and vending, supplying, distributing, or disseminating the same for publication, either to the members of such associations or corporations or otherwise, shall be deemed to be engaged in a business upon which a public interest is ingrafted, and shall make no distinction with respect to newspaper publishers desiring to purchase such news or information for publication. (C. L. 17, sec. 4490.) Sec. 73-2-2. Discrimination against newspaper publishers forbidden. It shall be unlawful for any person, association of persons, or corporation engaged in gathering and furnishing news for publication to make any discrimination or distinction with respect to persons engaged in publishing newspapers. (C. L. 17, sec. 4491.) Sec. 73-2-3. Combination to control news unlawful.-Any combination having for its object or effect the controlling of information or news gathered or accumulated for distribution and publication, shall be deemed a trust, and hostile to the public welfare, and is prohibited and declared unlawful. (C. L. 17, sec. 4492.) Sec. 73-2-4. Discrimination in service charges forbidden.—All associations of persons and corporations engaged in the business of gathering and disseminating information or news for publication by their members or stockholders, or otherwise, shall be deemed to be engaged in a business in which the public is interested, and shall furnish such news to any and all newspapers desiring to publish the same at the same price as charged to the members of such association or corporation, or stockholders of any such corporation, without discrimination between the members or stockholders and such newspapers desiring to publish such information and news; and shall render equal and impartial service to all publishers of newspapers who shall offer to pay a reasonable price therefor. (C. L. 17, secs. 17, 4493.) Sec. 73-2-5. Contracts in violation, void.-Any contract or agreement in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be absolutely void and not enforceable. (C. L. 17, sec. 4494.) Sec. 73-2-6. Evidence to establish trust or combination.-In all actions brought under this chapter it shall be sufficient to prove that a trust or combination as defined herein existed, and that the defendant belonged to it, or acted for or in connection with it, without proving or producing any article of agreement, or any written instrument on which it may have been based, or that it was evidenced by any written instrument at all. The character of the trust or combination alleged may be established by proof of its general reputation as such. (C. L. 17, sec. 4495.) Sec. 73-2-7. Telephone and telegraph companies deemed agents of vendors.—All telephone and telegraph companies employed to transmit such information or news shall be deemed to be process agents of such persons and corporations, and an offer to pay a reasonable price to such telephone or telegraph companies shall be equivalent to an offer to pay the same to the persons or corporations gathering and disseminating such information or news. (C. L. 17, secs. 17, 4496.) VERMONT REGULATION OF PRICE COMPETITION A. RESALE PRICE MAINTENANCE No provisions. B. PROHIBITION OF SALES BELOW COST No provisions. C. ANTIDISCRIMINATION LEGISLATION 1. General Prohibitory Laws No provisions. 2. Special Prohibitory Laws Rev. Pub. Laws (1933) as amended by L. 1937, art. 98 Sec. 7722. Unfair discrimination, definition.-A person, firm, company, association, or corporation doing business in this state and engaged in the business of buying milk, cream, or butter fat for the purpose of manufacture or sale, who or whose agents, officers, or employees, with the intention of creating a monopoly, or to restrain trade, or to prevent or limit competition, or to destroy the business of a competitor, or to destroy or affect adversely the operations of a producers' cooperative bargaining or marketing association organized under the Vermont cooperative marketing act, shall discriminate between different sections, communities, localities, cities or towns of this state by purchasing such commodity at a higher price or rate in one section, community, location, city or town than is paid for the same commodity by such person, firm, company, association or corporation in another section, community, locality, city or town after making due allowance for the difference, if any, in the grade or quality, and in the actual cost of transportation from the point of purchase to the point of manufacture or sale, or who shall with such intent discriminate between different persons in the same section, community, location, city or town by purchasing such commodity at a lower price from one person than paid for the same commodity to another person after making due allowance for the difference, if any, in the grade or quality, and in the actual cost of transportation from the point of purchase to the point of manufacture, or who shall with such intent discriminate between different persons by refusing to purchase, within the limits of its actual requirements, such commodities from a person, or his agent, offering the same for sale, on the ground that such person has executed a marketing contract with a cooperative marketing association by the terms of which such cooperative marketing association has been designated the marketing agent of such person for such commodities, or who shall intimidate or attempt to intimidate members of such a producers' cooperative bargaining association for the purpose of causing them to withdraw from such membership or who shall intimidate or attempt to intimidate persons or producers of dairy products for the purpose of preventing them from joining such an association, shall be deemed guilty of unfair discrimination. (1929, No. 109, G. L. sec. 5916.) Sec. 7723. Discrimination defined; revocation of license; penalty. The commissioner shall have the power to revoke the license issued in accordance with section 4605, if after due investigation made by him or at his order, such person, firm, company, association, or corporation shall be deemed by him in violation of the preceding section, and any person, firm, company, association or corporation or any officer, agent, receiver, or member of such firm, company, association or corporation found guilty of unfair discrimination as defined in the preceding section shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than five hundred dollars, or both. (1929, No. 109, G. L. sec. 5916.) |