MR. JUSTICE MURPHY delivered the opinion of the Court.
Our consideration here is directed to the proper interpretation and application of certain provisions of Maximum Price Regulation No. 188,
In January, 1942, respondent had contracted to sell crushed stone to V.P. Loftis Co., a government contractor engaged in the construction of a government dam, for $1.50 a ton.
Subsequently, and after the effective date of Maximum Price Regulation No. 188, respondent made new contracts to sell crushed stone to Seaboard at 85 cents and $1.00 per ton. Alleging that the highest price at which respondent could lawfully sell crushed stone of the kind sold to Seaboard was 60 cents a ton, since that was asserted to be the highest price charged by respondent during the crucial month of March, 1942, the Administrator of the Office of Price Administration brought this action to enjoin respondent from violating the Act and Maximum Price Regulation No. 188.
In his efforts to combat wartime inflation, the Administrator originally adopted a policy of piecemeal price control, only certain specified articles being subject to price regulation. On April 28, 1942, however, he issued the General Maximum Price Regulation.
The problem in this case is to determine the highest price respondent charged for crushed stone during March, 1942, within the meaning of Maximum Price Regulation No. 188. Since this involves an interpretation of an administrative
Section 1499.153 (a) of Maximum Price Regulation No. 188 provides that "the maximum price for any article which was delivered or offered for delivery in March, 1942, by the manufacturer, shall be the highest price charged by the manufacturer during March, 1942 (as defined in § 1499.163) for the article." Section 1499.163 (a) (2)
"`Highest price charged during March, 1942' means
"(i) The highest price which the seller charged to a purchaser of the same class for delivery of the article or material during March, 1942; or
"(ii) If the seller made no such delivery during March, 1942, such seller's highest offering price to a purchaser of the same class for delivery of the article or material during that month; or
"(iii) If the seller made no such delivery and had no such offering price to a purchaser of the same class during March, 1942, the highest price charged by the seller during March, 1942, to a purchaser of a different class, adjusted
It is thus evident that the regulation establishes three mutually exclusive rules for determining the highest price charged by a seller during March, 1942. The facts of each case must first be tested by rule (i); only if that rule is inapplicable may rule (ii) be utilized; and only if both rules (i) and (ii) are inapplicable is rule (iii) controlling.
The dispute in this instance centers about the meaning and applicability of rule (i). The Administrator claims that the rule is satisfied and therefore is controlling whenever there has been an actual delivery of articles in the month of March, 1942, such as occurred when respondent delivered the crushed rock to Seaboard at the 60-cent rate. The respondent, on the other hand, argues that there must be both a charge and a delivery during March, 1942, in order to fix the ceiling price according to rule (i). Since the charge or sale to Seaboard occurred several months prior to March, it is asserted that rule (i) becomes inapplicable and that rule (ii) must be used. Inasmuch as there was an outstanding offering price of $1.50 per ton for delivery of crushed stone to Loftis Co. during the month of March, 1942, although the stone was not actually delivered at that time, respondent concludes that the requirements of rule (ii) have been met and that the ceiling price is $1.50 per ton.
As we read the regulation, however, rule (i) clearly applies to the facts of this case, making 60 cents per ton the ceiling price for respondent's crushed stone. The regulation recognizes the fact that more than one meaning may be attached to the phrase "highest price charged during March, 1942." The phrase might be construed to mean only the actual charges or sales made during March, regardless of the delivery dates. Or it might refer only to the charges made for actual delivery in March. Whatever may be the variety of meanings, however, rule
This conclusion is further borne out by the fact that rule (ii) becomes applicable only where "the seller made no such delivery during March, 1942," as contemplated by rule (i). The absence of delivery, rather than the absence of both a charge and a delivery during March, is necessary to make rule (i) ineffective, thereby indicating that the factor of delivery is the essence of rule (i). It is apparent, moreover, that the delivery must be an actual instead of a constructive one. Section 1499.20 (d) of General Maximum Price Regulation, incorporated by reference into Maximum Price Regulation No. 188 by § 1499.151, defines the word "delivered" as meaning "received by the purchaser or by any carrier . . . for shipment to the purchaser" during March, 1942. Thus an article is not
Any doubts concerning this interpretation of rule (i) are removed by reference to the administrative construction of this method of computing the ceiling price. Thus in a bulletin issued by the Administrator concurrently with the General Maximum Price Regulation entitled "What Every Retailer Should Know About the General Maximum Price Regulation,"
Our reading of the language of § 1499.163 (a) (2) of Maximum Price Regulation No. 188 and the consistent administrative interpretation
We do not, of course, reach any question here as to the constitutionality or statutory validity of the regulation as
Reversed.
MR. JUSTICE ROBERTS thinks the judgment should be affirmed for the reasons given in the opinion of the Circuit Court of Appeals, 145 F.2d 482.
FootNotes
1. On August 20, 1942 (O.P.A. Press Release No. 564), he made certain statements with reference to Amendment 23 to the General Maximum Price Regulation, 7 Fed. Reg. 6615, allowing a different method of maximum price computation where general price increases were announced prior to April 1, 1942, and deliveries at lower prices were made in March under previous contracts. The provisions and applicability of this amendment are not in issue in this case and statements interpreting that amendment have no bearing here.
2. On December 5, 1942 (O.P.A. Press Release No. 1223), he issued a statement interpreting Amendment 38 to the General Maximum Price Regulation and Amendment 3 to Maximum Price Regulation No. 188, 7 Fed. Reg. 10155. These amendments authorized sellers who made general price increases prior to April 1, 1942, to apply the increases to ceiling prices for goods and services delivered during March under long-term contracts. The Administrator's explanation of these amendments, which are not presently before us, is likewise irrelevant in this case.
Indeed, the fact that the Administrator found it necessary to make such amendments is some evidence that under the rules here in issue the price established under a previous contract is the maximum price if that was the highest price for goods actually delivered during March, 1942.
Comment
User Comments