Court Opinion

ID: 9768945
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 13:58:45.070412+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:04:15.967523
License: Public Domain

SEILER, Judge
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I concur in that portion of the principal opinion which affirms the judgment of the trial court as to regulation 4(g) and also with respect to that portion of regulation 28 which is held valid. However, I am respectfully unable to concur with the portion of the opinion which declares the last four sentences of regulation 28 to be void.
The law is well established that rules and regulations are to be sustained unless unreasonable and plainly inconsistent with the act, and they are not to be overruled except for weighty reasons. Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. South Texas Lumber Co., 333 U.S. 496, 68 S.Ct. 695, 92 L. Ed. 831, (1948); King v. Priest, 357 Mo. 68, 206 S.W.2d 547 (Mo. banc 1947). The burden is upon those challenging the rules to show that they bear no reasonable relationship to the legislative objective. King v. Priest, supra; Ketring v. Sturges, 372 S.W.2d 104 (Mo.1963).
The legislative intent demonstrated by the Liquor Control Laws is to prevent a distiller-manufacturer from using its contract right of cancellation as a lever with which to coerce its wholesalers into some act violative of the Liquor Control Laws. Thus it is clearly consistent with this intent that the supervisor be empowered to require the distiller-manufacturer to file a statement which will dispel any doubt about a contract cancellation on this score. It is, of course, quite difficult to prove a negative, and in practice, the absence of a subversive intent is most easily demonstrated by the showing of a proper motivation. “Reasonable cause”, therefore, in the context of this regulation and in light of the evil sought to be prevented, is any cause not inconsistent with the purpose of the Liquor Control Laws.
The distiller-manufacturers argue, however, that their contract rights enable them to terminate a contract at will, without any cause at all (although practical experience tells us that decisions of this nature are rarely taken without some reason). But this does not mean that the regulation is necessarily invalid, because if in fact there is no subversive reason for the exercise of this cancellation right in a particular case, then upon making such a showing to the supervisor, the requirements of the regulation would be met, and the contract rights of the parties are modified only to the permissible extent that cancellation cannot be exercised for subversive reasons, even if such contract is cancellable at will. So read, the relationship between the regulation and the legislative objective is obvious.
As I understand the situation, none of the distillers is contending that there has been any arbitrary application of regulation 28 by the supervisor. They have expressed their fears as to what might occur hypothetically, although none of what they fear has indeed taken place. While the interpretation and construction of a statute by an agency charged with its administration is entitled to great weight, it is not controlling on this court. McClenny v. United Air Lines, 178 F.Supp. 372 (W.D. Mo.1960). It is well-established that administrative rules, which are promulgated to implement a particular act, must be read in conjunction and harmony therewith, Foremost-McKesson, Inc. v. Davis, 488 S.W.2d 193 (Mo. banc 1972); thus we should reject the statement in respondent’s brief which indicates that “reasonable cause” refers to “ordinary business care and prudence exercised by business men in general.” I agree with the principal opinion in that the supervisor may not undertake to judge the actions of the distiller-manufacturers from the standpoint of whether or not good business judgment has been exer*12cised. However, we are not compelled to accept this construction where it is outside the scope of power delegated to the agency, nor are we compelled to invalidate the regulation where another construction which is in harmony with the legislative intent can be adopted.
I would uphold regulation 28 as written. If in fact the supervisor does act in a manner inconsistent with the objectives of the legislation then there are ample means by which the distiller-manufacturer can proceed to obtain redress. But we should not assume in advance that the supervisor will act unlawfully, or that the language of the regulation authorizes him to do so.