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2005 California Business and Professions Code Sections 25000-25010 CHAPTER 12. BEER PRICE POSTING AND MARKETING REGULATIONS
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODESECTION 25000-25010
25000. (a) Each manufacturer, importer, and wholesaler of beer shall file and thereafter maintain on file with the department, in such form as the department may provide, a written schedule of selling prices charged by the licensee for beer sold and distributed by the licensee to customers in California, except that the transfer, including the sale, of beer between wholesalers who sell the same brand in package is permitted without filing the schedule of selling prices, and the transfer, including the sale, of beer made under contract from a contract beer manufacturer making the beer to a beer manufacturer receiving the beer is permitted without filing the schedule of selling prices. All prices filed shall be for immediate delivery. Each manufacturer, importer, and wholesaler of beer shall file a price schedule for each county in which his or her customers have their premises, whether the price that is posted is f.o.b. or delivered, or both. Different prices for different trading areas within a county shall be based upon natural geographical differences justifying the different prices, and shall not be established for special customers. This section shall not affect or alter any provisions of law concerning quantity discounts on beer. (b) For purposes of this section, a "contract beer manufacturer" is a beer manufacturer that does all of the following: (1) Makes beer pursuant to a written contract with another beer manufacturer, and neither entity has a controlling interest in the other entity. (2) Makes beer in accordance with a recipe that is a trade secret of the beer manufacturer having its beer made under contract. (3) Has no right to sell the beer to any other beer manufacturer, importer, or wholesaler other than the beer manufacturer who contracted for the beer. (c) For purposes of this section, "beer manufacturer" includes any holder of a beer manufacturer's license, any holder of an out-of-state beer manufacturer's certificate, or any holder of a beer and wine importer's general license. 25000.5. (a) Every beer manufacturer, whether located within or without the state, who sells and distributes beer in this state shall designate territorial limits in the state within which the brands of beer manufactured by him may be sold by wholesalers of beer to customers. (b) A wholesaler of beer shall not sell any brand of beer unless the following conditions are met: (1) The wholesaler has first entered into a written agreement, with the manufacturer of that brand, which sets forth the territorial limits within which the brand shall be distributed by the wholesaler. (2) A copy of the agreement, and any amendments thereto, has been filed with the department. 25000.6. (a) A provision in an agreement between a beer manufacturer and a beer wholesaler for the sale and distribution of beer in this state, which restricts venue to a forum outside this state, is void with respect to any claim arising under or relating to the agreement involving a beer wholesaler operating within this state. (b) This section shall apply to any transaction or conduct pursuant to an agreement described in subdivision (a) on or after the effective date of this section. (c) For purposes of the section, "beer manufacturer" includes any holder of a beer manufacturer's license, any holder of an out-of-state beer manufacturer's certificate, or any holder of a beer and wine importer's general license. 25000.7. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any agreement for the sale or distribution of beer between a beer manufacturer and beer wholesaler, no sale or distribution agreement shall be terminated solely for a beer wholesaler's failure to meet a sales goal or quota that is not commercially reasonable under the prevailing market conditions. (b) For purposes of this section, "beer manufacturer" includes any holder of a beer manufacturer's license, any holder of an out-of-state beer manufacturer's certificate, or any holder of a beer and wine importer's general license. 25000.9. (a) Any beer manufacturer who unreasonably withholds consent or unreasonably denies approval of a sale, transfer, or assignment of any ownership interest in a beer wholesaler's business with respect to that manufacturer's brand or brands, shall be liable in damages to the beer wholesaler. Recoverable damages under this section shall not exceed the compensatory damages sustained by the wholesaler and the wholesaler's costs of suit. The fair market value of the beer wholesaler's business shall include, but is not limited to, its goodwill, if any. (b) If a beer wholesaler has been paid a consideration by a successor wholesaler for the sale, transfer, or assignment of the beer wholesaler's interest in the sale or distribution of the affected brand or brands, the beer manufacturer shall be liable only for compensatory damages in an amount reflecting the difference in the amount already paid to the beer wholesaler, and the fair market value of the beer wholesaler's business with respect to the affected brand or brands. (c) For purposes of this section, "beer manufacturer" includes any holder of a beer manufacturer's license, any holder of an out-of-state beer manufacturer's certificate, or any holder of a beer and wine importer's general license. 25001. The schedule of prices filed may be changed or modified from time to time by the licensee filing it by filing with the department either a new and complete schedule of prices or an amendment thereto of changed or modified prices, as the department may by rule require. 25002. The first schedule of prices filed by a licensee shall be effective immediately upon filing, but an amendatory schedule or amendments to a prior filed schedule is not effective until ten (10) days after the filing date thereof, except that if any licensee has filed a new schedule or amendments to a prior filed schedule to meet lower posted and filed competing prices in a trade area, and the prices thus posted are not lower than the competing prices sought to be met, the new schedule or amendments shall go into effect immediately if the competing prices are already effective, or at the same time as the competing prices become effective. 25003. Filed price schedules are subject to public inspection only after they take effect. Each filing licensee shall retain in the licensed premises a copy of his or her effective posted and filed schedule. 25004. Upon the filing of an original schedule of prices and after the effective date of any schedule of amendatory prices, all prices therein stated shall be strictly adhered to by the filing licensee, and any departure or variance therefrom by a licensee is a misdemeanor, except that the transfer of beer between wholesalers who sell the same brand in package is permitted without filing the schedule of selling prices. Each sale or transaction involving a violation of posted prices under this chapter is but a single offense or violation of this chapter regardless of the number of articles covered by the sale or transaction. 25005. Any director, officer, agent, or employee of any licensee who knowingly assists or aids in the violation of this chapter or any effective posted price or any rule of the department passed to carry out the provisions of this chapter is guilty of the violation equally with the licensee. 25006. The department may adopt such rules, including but not limited to rules respecting beer price posting, as will foster and encourage the orderly wholesale marketing and wholesale distribution of beer, but no such action shall be taken by the department except after public hearing and ten (10) days notice to all licensed manufacturers of beer in California of the time and place of the hearing and of the character of the action intended to be taken by the department. 25007. Except as provided in Section 25000.5, no manufacturer, importer, or wholesaler mentioned in this chapter is prohibited the right of choice of customers. 25008. (a) Any trade association having as members licensed beer manufacturers or licensed beer wholesalers representing more than half of the volume of beer sold in California for three months prior to the date of a filing of any suit authorized in this chapter may maintain an action to enjoin a continuance of any act or acts in violation of this chapter or any rule adopted pursuant thereto and, if injured thereby, for the recovery of damages. If in the action the court finds the defendant is violating or has violated any of the provisions of this chapter or any rule adopted pursuant thereto, the court shall enjoin the defendant from a continuance or further violation thereof. It shall not be necessary that actual damages to the plaintiff be alleged or proved in the action, and proof of a violation of this chapter or any rule adopted pursuant thereto shall be presumptive evidence of an intention to continue to violate this chapter or any such rule. (b) Any trade association having as members licensed beer manufacturers or licensed beer wholesalers representing more than half of the volume of beer sold in California for three months prior to the date of a filing of a petition to intervene shall, upon the filing of the petition, be permitted to intervene as a party in any proceeding, whether before the department, any other administrative agency, or any court, which involves, in whole or part, the validity of any portion of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act or of any rule adopted pursuant thereto. Intervention shall be permitted, upon petition, at any time before a final determination or adjudication has been rendered in the proceeding. In the case of an adjudicatory proceeding, an intervening trade association shall have the same right to participate in discovery and trial as any other party. 25009. Any defendant in any action brought under this chapter or any person who may be a witness therein under Title 4 (commencing with Section 2016.010) of Part 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure or Section 776 of the Evidence Code, and the books and records of the defendant or witness, may be brought into court and the books and records may be introduced by reference into evidence, but no information so obtained may be used against the defendant or the witness as a basis for a misdemeanor prosecution under this chapter. 25010. The department shall not suspend or revoke the license of any licensee for a violation of the provisions of this chapter or a rule adopted pursuant thereto unless he has committed, within a period of one year, at least three separate violations of the provisions of this chapter or of any rule adopted pursuant thereto, and the violations have been proved by any of the following methods: (a) A conviction for misdemeanor. (b) A judgment in a civil suit for injunction as provided in this chapter. (c) A finding of the department, if a hearing is held in accordance with Chapters 7 and 8 of this division.
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