and to enjoin any raising or lowering of the price of fresh meat with the intent or the tendency to prevent the sale of such fresh meat.

Comp. General Laws (1927)

Conspiracy Statute

Section 7543 declares conspiracies to fix the price or limit the supply of meats to be a misdemeanor.

2. Public Contract Provisions

No statutory provisions.

3. Anticoercive Financing Statutes

Comp. Gen. Laws Ann. (Skillman, Supp. 1938)

Sec. 4151. (459) Sale of motor vehicles to dealers under agreement that purchase shall be financed through designated finance company; definitions of terms used in law. (a) The term "person" or "persons" as used in this Chapter means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, trustee, receiver or assignee for the benefit of creditors.

(b) The terms "sell," "sold," "buy," and "purchase," as used in this Chapter, include exchange, barter, gift, and offer to contract to sell or buy.

(c) The term "manufacturer" shall mean any person engaged, directly or indirectly, in the manufacture of motor vehicles.

(d) The term "wholesale distributor" shall mean any person engaged, directly or indirectly, in the sale or distribution of motor vehicles to agents or to dealers.

(e) The term "dealer" shall mean any person who is engaged in, or who intends to engage in the business of selling motor vehicles at retail in this State. The term "dealer" shall also include "retail agent."

(f) The term "finance company" shall mean any person engaged in the business of financing the sale of motor vehicles, or engaged in the business of purchasing or acquiring conditional bills of sale, or promissory notes, either secured by vendor's lien, or chattel mortgages, or arising from the sale of motor vehicles in this State. (Ch. 18031, Acts 1937, sec. 13.)

Sec. 4151. (460) Contracts declared void. It shall be unlawful for any manufacturer or wholesale distributor of motor vehicles to sell or contract for the sale of motor vehicles to any motor vehicle dealer on the condition, or with the agreement or understanding, ex

pressed or implied, that such dealer shall in any manner finance the purchase or sale of any one or number of motor vehicles only through a designated finance company or shall sell and assign the conditional sales contracts or chattel mortgages or other paper arising from the sale of motor vehicles or any one or number thereof only to a designated finance company, when the effect of the condition, agreement or understanding so entered into may be to lessen or eliminate competition, or create or tend to create a monopoly in the finance company who is designated, by virtue of such condition, agreement or understanding to finance the purchase or sale of motor vehicles, or to purchase such conditional sales contract, chattel mortgages or other paper, and any such condition, agreement or understanding is hereby declared to be void and against the public policy of this State. (Id. sec. 1.)

Sec. 4151. (461) Threats by manufacturer or wholesaler as prima facie evidence of intent to violate law. Any threat, expressed or implied, made directly or indirectly, to any motor vehicle dealer, by any manufacturer, or wholesale distributor on authority or with the knowledge of any such manufacturer, or wholesale distributor, that such person will discontinue to sell, or will terminate a contract to sell motor vehicles to such dealer unless such dealer finances the purchase or sale of motor vehicles only with or through a designated finance company or sells and assigns the conditional sales contracts, chattel mortgages, or other paper arising from his retail sales of motor vehicles only to a designated finance company, shall be prima facie evidence of the fact that such manufacturer or wholesale distributor has sold or intends to sell motor vehicles, on the condition or with the agreement or understanding prohibited in section 4151 (460). (Id. sec. 2.)

Sec. 4151. (462) Threats by finance company presumed to be made at direction of manufacturer or wholesaler.-Any threat, expressed or implied, made directly or indirectly to any motor vehicle dealer, by any finance company or agent thereof, who is affiliated with or controlled by any manufacturer or wholesale distributor of motor vehicles, that such manufacturer or wholesale distributor shall terminate his contract with or cease to sell motor vehicles to such dealer unless such dealer finances the purchase or sale of motor vehicles only with or through a designated finance company or sells and assigns the conditional sales contracts, chattel mortgages, or other paper arising from his retail sales of motor vehicles only to a designated finance company, shall be presumed to be made at the direction of and with the authority of such manufacturer or wholesale distributor of motor vehicles, and shall be prima facie evidence

of the fact that such manufacturer or wholesale distributor of motor vehicles has sold or intends to sell motor vehicles on the condition or with the agreement or understanding prohibited in section 4151 (460). (Id., sec. 3.)

Sec. 4151. (463) Paying or giving anything to finance company to lessen competition. It shall be unlawful for any manufacturer or wholesale distributor of motor vehicles, to pay or give, or contract to pay or give anything or service of value to any finance company if the effect of any such payment or the giving of any such thing or service of value may be to lessen or eliminate competition, or tend to create or create a monopoly in the finance company which receives or accepts such thing or service of value. (Id.sec. 4.)

Sec. 4151. (464) Acceptance of anything of value by finance company resulting in lessening of competition. It shall be unlawful for any finance company to accept or receive, or contract or agree to accept or receive, either directly or indirectly, any payment, thing or service of value from any manufacturer or wholesale distributor of motor vehicles, if the effect of the acceptance or receipt of any such payment, thing, or service of value may be to lessen or eliminate competition, or to create or tend to create a monopoly in the person who accepts or receives such payments, thing, or service of value, or contracts, or agrees to accept or receive the same. (Id. sec. 5.)

Sec. 4151. (465) Acceptance of benefits by finance company with object of lessening competition.-It shall be unlawful for any finance company who hereafter so accepts or receives, either directly or indirectly, any payment, thing, or service of value, as set forth in section 4151 (464), or hereafter so contracts, either directly or indirectly, to receive any such payment or thing or service of value to thereafter finance or attempt to finance the purchase or sale of any motor vehicle or buy or attempt to buy any conditional sales contracts, chattel mortgages, or other paper on motor vehicles sold at retail in this State. (Id. sec. 6.)

Sec. 4151. (466) Suit by Attorney General or State attorney for violation of law.-For a violation of any of the provisions of this Chapter by any corporation mentioned herein, it shall be the duty of the Attorney General or the State attorney of the proper county, to institute proper suits or quo warranto proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction for the forfeiture of its charter rights, franchises or privileges and powers exercised by such corporation, and for the dissolution of the same under the general statutes of the State. (Id., sec. 7.)

Sec. 4151. (467) Foreign corporations violating law denied right to do business in State. Every foreign corporation, as well as every foreign association, exercising any of the powers, franchises, or functions of a corporation in this State, violating any of the provisions of this Chapter, is hereby denied the right and prohibited from doing any business in this State, and it shall be the duty of the Attorney General to enforce this provision by bringing proper proceedings by injunction, or otherwise. The Secretary of State shall be authorized to revoke the license of any such corporation or association heretofore authorized by him to do business in this State. (Id., sec. 8.).

Sec. 4151. (468). Contracts in violation of law declared void.— Any contract or agreement in violation of the provisions of this Chapter shall be absolutely void and shall not be enforceable either in law or equity. (Id., sec. 10.) 10.).

Sec. 4151. (469) Remedy for persons injured by violation of law. In addition to the criminal and civil penalties herein provided, any person who is injured in his business or property by any other person, by reason of anything forbidden or declared to be unlawful by this Chapter, may sue therefor in any court having jurisdiction thereof in the county where the defendant resides or is found, or any agent resides or is found, or where service may be obtained, and to recover twofold the damages by him sustained, and the costs of suit. Whenever it shall appear to the court before whom any proceeding under this Chapter is pending, that the ends of justice require that other parties shall be brought before the court, the court may cause them to be made parties defendant and summoned, whether they reside in the county where such action is pending or not. (Id., sec. 12.)

Sec. 4151. (470) Laws declared to be cumulative of other laws. The provisions hereof shall be held cumulative of each other and of all other laws in any way affecting them now in force in this State. (Id., sec. 11.)

Sec. 4151. (471) Effect of partial invalidity of law. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Chapter is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Chapter. The Legislature hereby declares that it would have passed this Chapter, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, and phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared unconstitutional. (Id., sec. 14.)

Sec. 8135. (39) Violation of law relating to certain contracts between manufacturers or wholesalers and dealers in motor vehicles.—Any person who violates any of the provisions of sections 4151 (459)-4151 (471), relating to contracts, etc., between manufacturers or wholesalers and dealers in motor vehicles resulting in lessening of competition, any person who is a party to any agreement or understanding, or to any contract prescribing any condition prohibited by said sections, and any employee, agent or officer of any such person, who shall participate, in any manner, in making, executing, enforcing, performing or in urging, aiding or abetting in the performance of any such contract, condition, agreement or understanding and any person who pays or gives or contracts to pay or give anything or service of value prohibited by said sections, and any person who reecives or accepts or contracts to receive or accept anything or service of value prohibited by said sections, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not less than six months, or more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the Judge. (Ch. 18031, Acts 1937, sec. 9.)

II. CONTRACTS NOT TO COMPETE

No statutory provisions.

Judicial Decisions

Restrictive Covenants Ancillary to the Sale of a Business.

The defendant sold his interest in a grocery business to his partner and covenanted not to engage in the grocery business for 2 years. Although unlimited territorially, the restraint was held reasonable in a suit for injunction by the vendee, since there was no attempt to limit production or control prices of commodities in the market. Massari v. Salciccia, 102 Fla. 847, 136 So. 522 (1931).

Restrictive Covenants Ancillary to Employment.

Equity will not enforce by injunction a contract not to compete, in the absence of some special interest of the employer involving good will or peculiar skill or knowledge of trade secrets acquired by the employee. Thus an injunction was refused against a bookkeeper in a wholesale liquor establishment who had contracted never again