Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/414/117/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 04:46:08+00:00

Document:
When respondent voluntarily terminated his employment as an account executive in petitioner securities broker's San Francisco office for a similar position with a competitor, petitioner determined, pursuant to a forfeiture clause of its employees' profit-sharing plan, that respondent, by entering competitive employment, had forfeited all rights to the plan's benefits. Respondent sought a declaratory judgment in a California state court that the forfeiture clause was unlawful under § 16600 of the California Business and Professions Code, which invalidates every contract restraining a person from engaging in a lawful business. Petitioner answered, inter alia, that a condition of respondent's employment with petitioner was approval by the New York Stock Exchange; that respondent, at the time of his employment, applied on an Exchange form for such approval, as required by Exchange Rule 345(a)(1), pledging to abide by Exchange rules; and, as required by Rule 347(b), agreed to submit to arbitration any controversy arising out of termination of his employment. On petitioner's appeal from the denial of its petition for an order directing arbitration, the California Court of Appeal held that a written agreement to arbitrate did exist, but that the forfeiture clause of the profit-sharing plan was invalid as in restraint of trade under California law when applied to California residents, and petitioner's contributions under the plan were wages under provisions of the California Labor Code giving wage earners a right of action for wages due and unpaid despite any private agreement to arbitrate.
Held: Exchange Rules 345(a)(1) and 347(b), promulgated as self-regulatory measures pursuant to § 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Act), and respondent's pledge to abide by those rules do not preempt the avenues of wage relief otherwise available to respondent under California law. Pp. 414 U. S. 125-140.
to require preemption of contrary state law by such rule, there being nothing in the Act or any SEC rule or regulation specifying arbitration as a favored means of resolving employer employee disputes, and it being clear that Rule 347(b) would not be subject to the SEC's modification or review under § 19(b). Pp. 414 U. S. 134-136.
(b) Rule 347(b) cannot be categorized as part of a need for uniform national regulation, there being no revelation in the Act or in any SEC regulation that nationwide uniformity of an exchange's housekeeping affairs is necessary, and it not being shown that national uniformity in the area of wage claims is vital to federal securities policy. Pp. 414 U. S. 136-137.
(c) The "applicable state laws" referred to in § 6(c) of the Act, which subjects exchange rules to a requirement of consistency with the Act, "and the applicable laws of the State in which it is located," are not, in this instance, merely because the New York Stock Exchange is in New York City, the laws of New York so as to require the California court to apply New York law compelling arbitration of this dispute and validating the forfeiture clause of the profit-sharing plan, since § 6(c) has no independent existence creating some sort of spurious uniformity of application for all States, but merely requires that any exchange rule adopted outside the Act's context comport with the laws of the State in which the exchange is located. Pp. 414 U. S. 137-139.
(d) Where California has manifested a strong statutory policy of protecting its wage earners from what it regards as undesirable economic pressures affecting the employment relationship, that policy should prevail absent any interference with the federal regulatory scheme; in this case, there is not only no such interference, but the Act's structure manifests a congressional intent that state policies in this area should operate vigorously. Pp. 414 U. S. 139-140.
(e) Even though petitioner's profit-sharing plan is open to all eligible employees in the United States, and respondent's employment and petitioner's business are interstate, the application of the California law would not unduly burden interstate commerce. P. 414 U. S. 140.
24 Cal.App.3d 35, 100 Cal.Rptr. 791, affirmed.
BLACKMUN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which all Members joined, except STEWART, J., who took no part in the decision of the case.
MR. JUSTICE BLACKMUN delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case presents the question whether certain rules of the New York Stock Exchange, promulgated as self-regulating measures pursuant to § 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 48 Stat. 885, 15 U.S.C. § 78f, and a broker's employee's pledge to abide by those rules, preempt avenues of wage relief otherwise available to the employee under state law. The California Court of Appeal answered this in the negative. 24 Cal.App.3d 35, 100 Cal.Rptr. 791 (1972). Because of the significance of the question in the area of federal-state relations, we granted certiorari. 410 U.S. 908 (1973).
Respondent, David Ware, in July, 1958, entered the employ of petitioner Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., a New York corporation, as a registered representative or "account executive" in the petitioner's San Francisco office. Ware worked there continuously until March, 1969, when he voluntarily terminated that relationship and accepted a similar position in San Francisco with one of Merrill Lynch's competitors.
Merrill Lynch is a broker-dealer in securities and is a member corporation of the New York Stock Exchange. Since prior to 1958, the firm has had a noncontributory Profit-Sharing Plan for its employees in the United States.
"11.1 A Participant who, in the determination of the Committee, voluntarily terminates his employment with the Corporation or provokes his termination and engages in an occupation which is, in the determination of the Committee, competitive with the Corporation, or any affiliate or subsidiary thereof, shall forfeit all rights to any benefits otherwise due or to become due from the Trust Fund with respect to units credited for fiscal years subsequent to the fiscal year ended December 30, 1960."
"shall determine any questions arising in the administration, interpretation and application of the Plan, which determination shall be conclusive and binding on all persons."
At the time Ware terminated his employment with Merrill Lynch in March, 1969, both vested and unvested units were allocated to his account. Upon his departure, the Committee, pursuant to Art. 11.1, determined that Ware, by entering competitive employment, had forfeited all rights to benefits due or to become due him under the Plan.
Merrill Lynch employees in California. Declaratory relief was sought to the effect that Art. 11.1 was "unlawful and void under applicable California law," and that the defendants were obligated to pay all vested units credited from December 30, 1960, to the date of termination of employment.
"Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void."
termination of his employment would be settled by arbitration at the instance of any party; [Footnote 3] that the Exchange approved the application; that Ware's sole remedy was arbitration; and that a declaration that Art. 11.1 was invalid under the laws of California would cause Merrill Lynch to discriminate in the administration of the Plan and would deprive it of due process of law.
order directing arbitration pursuant to the above-quoted ¦ 30(j) and Ware's pledge, contained in his application for approval of employment, that he would "bide by the Constitution and Rules of the Board of Governors of the New York Stock Exchange" and that he submitted himself "to the jurisdiction of such Exchange."
Ware opposed arbitration on the grounds that no contract to arbitrate existed between him and Merrill Lynch; that, if an agreement to this effect existed, it was a contract of adhesion; and that, since § 16600 made the forfeiture provision illegal under California law, it was not arbitrable.
The state trial court, by minute order, denied the petition to compel arbitration.
enforceable agreement to arbitrate existed, [Footnote 5] and Muggill v. Reuben H. Donnelley Corp., 62 Cal.2d 239, 398 P.2d 147 (1965).
and 229 [Footnote 7] of the California Labor Code, and that § 229 gave Ware "the right to bring his claim in court in spite of any agreement to arbitrate." 24 Cal.App.3d at 43-44, 100 Cal.Rptr. at 797-798. Merrill Lynch's petition for hearing by the Supreme Court of California was denied without opinion. See 24 Cal.App.3d at 45.
The broad issue thus presented to us is the extent to which authority delegated under a federal regulatory statute preempts state law. Specifically, we are concerned with the questions (a) whether, in the context of the present case, § 229 of the California Labor Code, which would preclude compulsory arbitration of wage disputes, is ineffective under the Supremacy Clause; (b) whether § 16600 of the California Business and Professions Code unduly interferes with federal regulation of the securities industry; and (c) whether the California legislation unconstitutionally burdens interstate commerce.
In order to resolve these questions, we think it necessary to review the principles of stock exchange preemption delineated in this Court's decision a decade ago in Silver v. New York Stock Exchange, 373 U. S. 341 (1963), and to examine the geneses of the federal Act and of the California statute.
A. In Silver, the Court considered whether, and to what extent, the federal antitrust laws apply to securities exchanges regulated by the 1934 Act. It held that the mere passage of the Act did not effect, pro tanto, a repeal of the federal antitrust laws, but that particular instances of exchange regulation that fall within the scope and purposes of the Act may be justified, and will be upheld against antitrust challenge. Id. at 373 U. S. 357-361. With respect to the specific question there presented, it was clear that the New York Stock Exchange had exercised its "tremendous economic power," id. at 373 U. S. 361, against two nonmembers by discontinuing their direct-wire telephone connections with members of the Exchange without notice, hearing, or statement of reasons. It was the Court's view, under the circumstances, that procedural guarantees were necessary in order to protect against the possibility of proscribed antitrust practices and to provide the "extremely beneficial effect in keeping exchange action from straying into areas wholly foreign to the purposes of the Securities Exchange Act." Id. at 373 U. S. 362. See also Ricci v. Chicago Mercantile Exchange, 409 U. S. 289, 409 U. S. 300-301 (1973).
antitrust laws. So here, we may not overlook the body of law relating to the sensitive interrelationship between statutes adopted by the separate, yet coordinate, federal and state sovereignties. Our analysis is also to be tempered by the conviction that the proper approach is to reconcile "the operation of both statutory schemes with one another, rather than holding one completely ousted." Id. at 373 U. S. 357. [Footnote 8] The principle that emerged from Silver, and the premise upon which the Court based its judgment, was that conflicting law, absent repealing or exclusivity provisions, should be preempted by exchange self-regulation "only to the extent necessary to protect the achievement of the aims of the Securities Exchange Act." Id. at 373 U. S. 361.
"take the leadership with Government playing a residual role. Government would keep the shotgun, so to speak, behind the door, loaded, well oiled, cleaned, ready for use, but with the hope it would never have to be used."
W. Douglas, Democracy and Finance 82 (J. Allen ed.1940).
Act and the Commission's rules and regulations thereunder. § 6(a)(1), 15 U.S.C. § 78f(a)(1). It must include in its rules a provision for the disciplining of a member "for conduct or proceeding inconsistent with just and equitable principles of trade." § 6(b), 15 U.S.C. § 78f(b). And it must supply to the Commission copies of its constitution, articles of incorporation, and bylaws, and such data or other information as the Commission may require "as being necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors." § 6(a)(3) and (2), 15 U.S.C. § 78f(a)(3) and (2).
"necessary or appropriate for the protection of investors or to insure fair dealing in securities traded in upon such exchange or to insure fair administration of such exchange."
sparingly. Securities Industry Study, Report of the Subcommittee on Securities, Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, S.Doc. No. 93-13, p. 180 (1973).
Apart from registration and direct Commission supervision, the only other qualification on exchange autonomy is the statutory requirement that any rules promulgated and enforced by an exchange not be "inconsistent with this [Act] and the rules and regulations thereunder and the applicable laws of the State in which it is located." § 6(c), 15 U.S.C. § 78f(c).
"Thus, the initiative and responsibility for promulgating regulations pertaining to the administration of their ordinary affairs remain with the exchanges themselves. It is only where they fail adequately to provide protection to investors that the Commission is authorized to step in and compel them to do so."
S.Rep. No. 792, 73d Cong., 2d Sess., 13 (1934).
or investor protection would not appear to fall under the shadow of the federal umbrella; it is, instead, subject to applicable state law.
"all amounts for labor performed by employees of every description, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained by the standard of time, task, piece, commission basis, or other method of calculation."
294 (1956), decided prior to the addition of § 229 to the Labor Code, the court held that the then § 1280 of the State's Code of Civil Procedure, providing for the enforcement of an arbitration clause in a contract and characterizing it as "irrevocable," was subject to waiver or mutual rescission. The statute provided that arbitration was required "save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract." [Footnote 11] California, thus does not exclude a remedy available at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract that happens to contain an arbitration clause.
itself as an important state policy through interpretation by the California courts.
One might also consider, as the respondent suggests here, the California antitrust policies embodied in § 16600 of the Business and Professions Code, quoted supra at 414 U. S. 121. This statute has been in effect for many years, and is well entrenched in case law and in commentary. [Footnote 12] We need not pursue in depth the policy considerations supporting this statute, because, in our judgment, § 16600, standing alone and apart from § 229, under existing case law, would not provide the necessary support to uphold a challenge to arbitration. Our inclination in this respect is buttressed by the different results reached by the California Court of Appeal in this case and in Frame, supra, respectively. In Frame, the court decided that the "strong [California] public policy" against restraining one from engaging in a lawful business foreclosed the application of the more permissive New York law to the forfeiture provision of the profit-sharing plan. Although California public policy thus served to nullify the contract's forfeiture provision, arbitration, nonetheless, was not precluded. By way of contrast, the present case provoked a claim under § 229, in addition to Ware's reliance on § 16600, in the face of Merrill Lynch's motion to compel arbitration. The California court declared again that the forfeiture clause was invalid but, in addition, held that the arbitration clause was unenforceable, relying on § 16600 and § 229, respectively. With this analysis of the state statutes made by the California court, we rest on that court's interpretation of state law and do not, and, in fact, cannot, disturb its determination that, under those statutes, arbitration will lie in the one instance but not in the other.
With this background, we turn to specific arguments advanced by the petitioner here.
A. Merrill Lynch suggests that Rule 347(b) of the New York Stock Exchange, set forth in n 3, supra, falls under the Exchange's mandate to protect the investing public and to insure just and equitable trade practices. [Footnote 13] Its contention is that confidence in the industry and in the integrity and ability of its members has been jeopardized by failures of major brokerage houses with consequent substantial losses to the public. Investor confidence would be further undermined, it is said, by protracted litigation between member firms and their employees over disputes that arise out of employment relationships; public airing of every claim of this kind will erode confidence in the market; and arbitration, on the other hand, will internalize these disputes and provide an expeditious and economical method of resolution by arbitrators familiar with industry customs and practices.
or to insure fair dealing in securities" or to "insure fair administration" of the exchanges. [Footnote 14] Measured by these standards, we conclude that the policy arguments advanced by Merrill Lynch do not require preemption of contrary state law by Rule 347(b).
further by public airing of employer employee disputes. There is no explanation of why a judicial proceeding, even though public, would undermine investor confidence. It is difficult to understand why muffling a grievance in the cloakroom of arbitration would prevent lessening of confidence in the market. To the contrary, for the generally sophisticated investing public, market confidence may tend to be restored in the light of impartial public court adjudication. Furthermore, it should be apparent that, so far as investor confidence is concerned, compulsory arbitration of an employee employer grievance is no substitute for direct effective disciplinary action against any abusive exchange practice. Other rules of the Exchange serve this very function. Rule 345(b), for example, permits the Exchange to disapprove, and thereby to forestall, the employment of any person, and Rule 345(d) spells out punitive measures for "conduct inconsistent with just and equitable principles of trade," or "acts detrimental to the interest or welfare of the Exchange," or "conduct contrary to an established practice of the Exchange." These measures, designed to insure fair dealing and to protect investors, are of the kind directly related to the Act's purposes, and ordinarily would not be expected to yield to provisions of state law.
"[s]ome form of review of exchange self-policing, whether by administrative agency or by the courts, is . . . not at all incompatible with the fulfillment of the aims of the Securities Exchange Act."
373 U.S. at 373 U. S. 359.
C. It is also argued that the applicable state laws referred to in § 6(c) are the laws of the State in which the exchange itself is located. Thus, because the New York Stock Exchange is in the city of New York, it is said that "the applicable laws" are those of New York, and that the California court was in error in not applying New York law that would have compelled arbitration of this dispute and would have validated the forfeiture provision of the Profit-Sharing Plan.
accordance with the laws of the State of its location. Any assertion of extraterritorial jurisdiction contends, of course, with the public policy of the State in which this jurisdiction is sought. To ascribe more to § 6(c) would be contrary to the congressional scheme and to what might be regarded as common sense.
"The principle to be derived from our decisions is that federal regulation of a field of commerce should not be deemed preemptive of state regulatory power in the absence of persuasive reasons -- either that the nature of the regulated subject matter permits no other conclusion or that the Congress has unmistakably so ordained."
Florida Lime Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul, 373 U. S. 132, 373 U. S. 142 (1963).
In other contexts, preemption has been measured by whether the state statute frustrates any part of the purpose of the federal legislation. Colorado Anti-Discrimination Comm'n v. Continental Air Lines, Inc., 372 U. S. 714, 372 U. S. 724 (1963); Perez v. Campbell, 402 U. S. 637 (1971); Rice v. Board of Trade, 331 U. S. 247, 331 U. S. 253-255 (1947). And only last term, MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS, in speaking for the Court, observed that, while prior cases on preemption "are not precise guidelines," because "each case turns on the peculiarities and special features of the federal regulatory scheme in question," it is where there is in existence a pervasive and comprehensive scheme of federal regulation that preemption follows in order to fulfill the federal statutory purposes. City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, Inc., 411 U. S. 624, 411 U. S. 638-639 (1973).
In the area of regulation that we are considering here, California has manifested a strong policy of protecting its wage earners from what it regards as undesirable economic pressures affecting the employment relationship.
This policy prevails in the absence of interference with the federal regulatory scheme. We find no such interference, and we also find in the structure of the Act an intent on the part of Congress that state policies in this area should operate vigorously.
E. It is suggested, finally, that the petitioner's Profit-Sharing Plan operates on a national level; that it is open to all eligible Merrill Lynch employees in the United States; that the employment of respondent and the class he represents is interstate in nature, as is Merrill Lynch's business; and that the application of the California statutes would unduly burden interstate commerce.
What has been said above provides the answer to this argument. It is in line with the principle, long established, that the National Government's power, under the Commerce Clause, to regulate commerce does not exclude all state power of regulation. Southern Pacific Co. v. Arizona, 325 U. S. 761, 325 U. S. 766-767 (1945); Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen v. Chicago, R.I. & P. R. Co., 393 U. S. 129 (1968); Huron Portland Cement Co. v. Detroit, 362 U. S. 440 (1960).
The judgment of the Court of Appeal is affirmed.
MR. JUSTICE STEWART took no part in the decision of this case.
"22.1 The validity of the Plan or of any of the provisions thereof shall be determined under and shall be construed according to the laws of the State of New York."
"Rule 345.(a) No member or member organization shall"
"(1) permit any person to perform regularly the duties customarily performed by a registered representative, unless such person shall have been registered with and is acceptable to the Exchange. . . ."
"(j) I agree that any controversy between me and any member organization arising out of my employment or the termination of my employment by and with such . . . member organization shall be settled by arbitration at the instance of any such party in accordance with the Constitution and rules then obtaining of the New York Stock Exchange."
"(d) I have read the Constitution and Rules of the Board of Governors of the New York Stock Exchange and, if approved, I hereby pledge myself to abide by the Constitution and Rules of the Board of Governors of the New York Stock Exchange as the same have been or shall be from time to time amended, and by all rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Constitution, and by all practices of the Exchange."
"(b) Any controversy between a registered representative and any . . . member organization arising out of the employment or termination of employment of such registered representative by and with such . . . member organization shall be settled by arbitration, at the instance of any such party, in accordance with the arbitration procedure prescribed elsewhere in these rules."
It is thus apparent that ¦ 30(j) of the form follows the language of the Exchange's Rule 347(b).
"§ 1281.2 Order to arbitrate controversy; petition; determination of court"
"On petition of a party to an arbitration agreement alleging the existence of a written agreement to arbitrate a controversy and that a party thereto refuses to arbitrate such controversy, the court shall order the petitioner and the respondent to arbitrate the controversy if it determines that an agreement to arbitrate the controversy exists, unless it determines that:"
"(a) The right to compel arbitration has been waived by the petitioner; or"
"(b) Grounds exist for the revocation of the agreement. . . ."
"latent question exists as to whether the agreements of the parties may be construed as applying only to such permissible subjects of restraint as breaches of confidence and misappropriation of trade secrets. Other questions may be raised as to the time and circumstances of respondent's employment and the amount of any benefits earned and remaining unpaid. All of these matters, whether they involve questions of law or questions of fact are, in the first instance, properly subject to arbitration."
20 Cal.App.3d at 673, 97 Cal.Rptr. at 815. But no mention was made in Frame of §§ 200 and 229 of the State's Labor Code, see nn. 6-| 6-S. 117fn7|>7, infra, and, as the court later said in this case, 24 Cal.App.3d 35, 43, 100 Cal.Rptr. 791, 797, "[t]he Frame court did not consider the effect of section 229 of the Labor Code on the arbitration agreement." Apparently, neither side in Frame sought review by the California Supreme Court.
"As used in this article: (a) 'Wages' includes all amounts for labor performed by employees of every description, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained by the standard of time, task, piece, commission basis, or other method of calculation."
"§ 229. Actions to enforce payment of wages; effect of arbitration agreements"
"Actions to enforce the provisions of this article for the collection of due and unpaid wages claimed by an individual may be maintained without regard to the existence of any private agreement to arbitrate. This section shall not apply to claims involving any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of any collective bargaining agreement containing such an arbitration agreement."
Section 229 was added to the Code in 1959. Cal.Stats.1959, c.1939, p. 4532.
This approach is supported by decisions extending back to the turn of the century. Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul, 373 U. S. 132, 373 U. S. 142 (1963); Huron Portland Cement Co. v. City of Detroit, 362 U. S. 440 (1960); International Assn. of Machinists v. Gonzales, 356 U. S. 617 (1958); Union Brokerage Co. v. Jensen, 322 U. S. 202 (1944); Savage v. Jones, 225 U. S. 501 (1912).
"transactions in securities as commonly conducted upon securities exchanges and over-the-counter markets are affected with a national public interest which makes it necessary to provide for regulation and control of such transactions and of practices and matters related thereto."
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, § 2, 15 U.S.C. § 78b. Self-regulation was adopted as a means of policing the exchanges. The tradition, as has been noted, had been one of self-governance; the financial community was strongly opposed to governmental control of daily exchange business; and the task was deemed to be of such magnitude that Government simply could not regulate effectively every aspect of the industry. Comment, 48 Minn.L.Rev. 597-598 (1964); 2 L. Loss, Securities Regulation 1175-1176 (1961), and 5 id. at 3138-3139 (1969).
The Commission also has broad rulemaking power under the Act. See, for example, §§ 8, 9, and 11, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78h, 78i, and 78k. No question is presented in this case as to the authority of the Commission to promulgate rules affecting the operation of stock exchanges.
Section 1280 was repealed and replaced in 1961 to make the saving clause in § 1281 now read, "save upon such grounds as exist for the revocation of any contract." Cal.Stats.1961, c. 461, pp. 1540-1541, §§ 1 and 2.
See citations following § 16600 in West's Ann.Calif.Bus. & Prof.Code 41 et seq.
The phrase "just and equitable trade practices" would be inappropriately used to justify Rule 347(b). This is because the standard refers to rules adopted pursuant to § 6(b) of the Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78f(b), providing for the expulsion, suspension, or disciplining of a member "for conduct or proceeding inconsistent with just and equitable principles of trade." Arbitration is not the type of disciplinary rule that § 6(b) contemplates.
As noted, supra at 414 U. S. 129, the Commission's review power over exchange rules is circumscribed by certain subject matter limitations explicitly enumerated in § 19(b). None of the subject matter categories suggests that the Commission has review authority with respect to a rule requiring arbitration of employer employee disputes.
This Court and other federal courts, of course, have endorsed the suitability of arbitration to resolve federally created rights. Wilko v. Swan, 346 U. S. 427, 346 U. S. 431 (1953); Coenen v. R. W. Pressprich & Co., 453 F.2d 1209 (CA2), cert. denied, 406 U.S. 949 (1972). See other cases cited by MR. JUSTICE WHITE in his dissenting opinion in U.S. Bulk Carriers, Inc. v. Arguelles, 400 U. S. 351, 400 U. S. 374-375 (1971). These cases, however, concern situations where a federal act itself has provided for arbitration. Yet, in Wilko v. Swan, an investor customer's agreement to arbitrate was held void under § 14 of the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. § 7n, notwithstanding the provisions of § 3 of the United States Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 3. See Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co., 388 U. S. 395 (1967).
"shall be construed to modify existing law . . . with regard to the binding effect . . . of [exchange] action taken . . . to settle disputes between its members . . . on any person who has agreed to be bound thereby."
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.

References: § 16600
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 § 6
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 § 2
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 § 14
 § 7
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