2010 Wyoming Statutes
Title 40 - Trade And Commerce
Chapter 4 - Discrimination

CHAPTER 4 - DISCRIMINATION

 

40-4-101. What constitutes unfair discrimination; penalty; exceptions.

 

(a) Any person, firm, corporation, foreign or domestic, or other entity doing business in the state of Wyoming and engaged in the production, manufacture, sale or distribution of any commodity in general use, shall not:

 

(i) Make, enter into, form or become a party to any plan, contract, agreement, consolidation, merger or combination of any kind whatsoever to prevent competition or to control or influence production or prices thereof.

 

(ii) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

(iii) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

(b) Any person, firm, corporation or other entity violating subsection (a) of this section is guilty of unfair discrimination and any agreement, contract, whether express or implied, or any provision of an agreement or contract violating subsection (a) of this section is illegal and void to the extent it violates subsection (a) of this section.

 

(c) This chapter shall not:

 

(i) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

(ii) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

(iii) Prevent the sale of goods at commercial discounts customary in the sale of the goods;

 

(iv) Prohibit cooperative agreements for antitrust exceptions approved and operating pursuant to W.S. 35-24-101 through 35-24-116;

 

(v) Prohibit the development, agreement on and use of standards designed to permit or encourage competition or interoperability among products or services, provided the standards do not include provisions fixing or colluding on the prices or colluding to prevent competition by limiting the availability of the products or services;

 

(vi) Prohibit any person, firm, corporation or other entity from entering into any agreement or contract with a customer which specifies the price charged, or the services furnished, to the customer, or which gives discounts or additional services to the customer for purchasing specified volumes or multiple products of the same or similar product or service; or

 

(vii) Prohibit any person, firm, corporation or other entity from offering a customer loyalty program.

 

(d) As used in this chapter "this act" means W.S. 40-4-101 through 40-4-105, 40-4-107, 40-4-109, 40-4-110 and 40-4-114.

 

40-4-102. Duty of attorney general and county attorney upon complaint.

 

If complaint shall be made to the attorney general of the state of Wyoming, or the county attorney of any county thereof, that any corporation, chartered in this state or any foreign corporation, doing business in this state by virtue of compliance with the laws thereof, or any person or firm of persons doing business in this state, is guilty of unfair discrimination, within the terms of this act, it shall be the duty of the attorney general, and the county attorneys of this state to institute an inquiry as to such discrimination, giving to the party complained against notice and reasonable opportunity to be heard, and if in the judgment of such prosecuting officers, or either of them, any corporation, foreign or domestic, or any person or firm of persons shall have been guilty of unfair discrimination, within the terms of this act, it shall be their duty to institute quo warranto proceeding, to forfeit the charter of said domestic corporation, or if a foreign corporation to procure an order of court to cause the permit of said corporation to do business in this state, immediately forfeited.

 

40-4-103. Ouster of corporation for doing business after revocation of charter or permit.

 

If after the revocation of such charter, in the case of domestic corporation; or if its permit, if it be a foreign corporation, any corporation shall continue or attempt to do business in the state of Wyoming, it shall be the duty of the attorney general, by a proper suit, in the name of the state of Wyoming to oust such corporation from all business of every kind and character in said state of Wyoming.

 

40-4-104. Penalty for violation of provisions.

 

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be fined in any sum not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one (1) year, or both such fine and imprisonment.

 

40-4-105. Cumulative remedies.

 

Nothing in this act shall be construed as repealing any other act or part of an act, but the remedies herein provided shall be cumulative to all other remedies, provided by law.

 

40-4-106. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-107. Sale at less than cost prohibited; cost defined.

 

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, firm, corporation, joint-stock company, or other association engaged in business within this state, to sell, offer for sale or advertise for sale any article or product, at less than the cost thereof to such vendor, or give, offer to give or advertise the intent to give away any article or product for the purpose of injuring competitors and destroying competition.

 

(b) The term cost as applied to production or manufacturing is hereby defined as including the cost of raw materials and labor and as applied to distribution cost shall mean the invoice or replacement cost, whichever is lower, of the article or product to the distributor and vendor plus any freight charges, all applicable federal, state and local taxes and any charges imposed by federal, state or local government that are not taxes that are paid by the distributor and vendor and are not included in the invoice cost.

 

(c) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-108. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-109. Proof of intent; cost survey as evidence of cost.

 

In any injunction proceeding or in the prosecution of any person as officer, director or agent, it shall be sufficient to allege and prove the unlawful intent of the person, firm or corporation for whom or which he acts. Where a particular trade or industry, of which the person, firm or corporation complained against is a member, has an established cost survey for the locality and vicinity in which the offense is committed, the said cost survey shall be deemed competent evidence to be used in proving the costs of the person, firm or corporation complained against within the provisions of this act.

 

40-4-110. Persons, agreements and transactions exempted from W.S. 40-4-107 and 40-4-109.

 

(a) The provisions of W.S. 40-4-107 and 40-4-109 shall not apply to any sale made:

 

(i) In closing out in good faith the owner's stock or any part thereof for the purpose of discontinuing his trade in any such stock or commodity, and in the case of the sale of seasonal goods or to the bona fide sale of perishable goods to prevent loss to the vendor by spoilage or depreciation, provided notice is given to the public thereof;

 

(ii) When the goods are damaged or deteriorated in quality, and notice is given to the public thereof;

 

(iii) By an officer acting under the orders of any court;

 

(iv) In an endeavor made in good faith to meet the prices of a competitor selling the same or similar article or product in the same locality or trade area;

 

(v) When the goods are sold for promotional purposes at a special sale of limited duration including but not limited to a grand opening sale, an annual anniversary sale, an annual customer appreciation sale or a community, neighborhood or mall wide sale;

 

(vi) In a sale of limited duration to reduce inventory, dispose of slow selling items or dispose of items replaced or to be replaced by new models;

 

(vii) Of any products in a class of products where the prices are identical for the same volume throughout the class provided the total revenues from all the sales of products of that class by the vendor exceed the costs as defined in W.S. 40-4-107. For pharmaceuticals, for the purposes of this subsection, prices are identical if they are identical for a supply for a defined period of time even though the physical quantities of pharmaceuticals may be different.

 

(b) Any person, firm or corporation who performs work upon, renovates, alters or improves any personal property belonging to another person, firm or corporation, shall be construed to be a vendor within the meaning of this act.

 

(c) W.S. 40-4-107 through 40-4-110 shall not apply to any person entering into a cooperative arrangement for antitrust exceptions approved pursuant to W.S. 35-24-101 through 35-24-116.

 

40-4-111. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-112. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-113. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-114. Enjoining violations; recovery of damages.

 

(a) Any person, firm, private corporation or trade association, having a reasonably foreseeable physical and economic causal nexus to the specific act or acts alleged to be a violation, may maintain an action to enjoin a continuance of any act or acts in violation of this act.

 

(b) Any injured person may maintain an action for violation of this act against the alleged violator to recover the actual damages sustained by the injured person together with reasonable attorneys fees and costs.

 

(c) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

(d) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

(e) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

(f) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

(g) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-115. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-116. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-117. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-118. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-119. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-120. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-121. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 172, 2.

 

40-4-122. Requiring construction of particular building to maintain agency or dealership.

 

Any manufacturer, or any jobber or distributor for any manufactured product, or any salesman, agent or representative of any such manufacturer, jobber or distributor who requires, or attempts to require, of any dealer or agent residing in the state of Wyoming, who sells or services the products of such manufacturer, jobber or distributor, that such Wyoming agent or dealer construct or build any particular type or standard of building in order to maintain his agency or dealership to sell such manufactured product, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or shall be subject to both such fine and imprisonment.

 

40-4-123. Requiring purchase of accessories to maintain agency or dealership.

 

Any manufacturer, or any jobber or distributing agent for any manufactured product, or any salesman, agent or representative of any such manufacturer, jobber or distributor, who requires, or attempts to require, of any Wyoming agent or dealer selling or servicing the products of such manufacturer, jobber or distributor, that such Wyoming dealer or agent purchase accessories or products of such manufacturer, jobber or distributor in order to obtain other products of such manufacturer, jobber or distributor shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or shall be subject to both such fine and imprisonment.