Stanley Furs, Inc.

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IN THE MATTER OF STANLEY FURS , INC., ET AL.

CO::SENT ORDER, ETC., IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND THE FUR PRODUCTS LABELING ACTS Dockd 7135. Complaint, Apl .'O, 1958-J)ecision, Peb. , 1959 Consent Older' requiring furriers in Denver, Colo., to cease violating the Fur Products Labeling Act by Jabe1ing' iur products with fictitious prices represented as regular retail selling- prices, by deceptively identifying the animals producing certain furs on labels, setting forth the names of other animals on labels and invoices, and failing in other respects to label and invoice fur products as required; by advertising in newspapers which failed to disclose the name of the animal producing certain furs or contained that of another animal, failed to disclose that fur products contained artificially colored or cheap or waste fur, and misrepresented prices as cost plus tax or reduced from usual prices which were in fact fictitious; and by failing to maintain adequate records as a basis for such pricing claims.

M1' Thomas A. ZiebaTth for the Commission. M,.. Lawnnce M. Hen?"J, of Denver, Colo. , for Yvonne Cavanaugh.

Mr. Richanl A. Zal1engo of Denver, Colo., for a1l other respondents.

INITIAL DECISION BY ,1. EARL Cox, HEARING EXAMINER The complaint charges respondents with misbranding and with falsely and deceptively invoicing and advertising certain of their fur products, in violation of tbe Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, and of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

After the issuance of the complaint, a1l respondents except Yvonne Cavanaugh, their counsel, and counsel supporting the complaint entered into an agreement containing consent order to cease and desist, which was approved by the director and an assistant director of the Commission s Bureau of Litigation, and thereafter transmitted to the hearing examiner for consideration. The agreement states that respondent Stanley Furs, Inc. is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Colorado, with its offce and principal place of business located at 1600 E. Colfax A venue Denver, Colo. , and that the individual respondents, Stanley 1332 FEDERAL TRADE CO !MISSION DECISIONS Decision 55 F. T.

Calkins and Raymond Hartman, are president and vice president respectively, of the corporate respondent, and have the same address as said corporate respondent.

Tbe agrcemcnt sets forth that all parties signatory thereto agree that, inasmuch as respondent Yvonne Cavanaugh is only nominally secretary-treasurer of the corporate respondent, has no policy-making authority, and clirl not formulate, direct or control the acts, policies or practices of saiel corporation, the complaint herein should be dismissed insofar as concerns said respondent.

The agreement provides, among other tbings, that the respondents signatory thereto admit all tbe jurisdictional facts alleged in the complaint, and agree that tbe record may be taken as if findings of jurisdictional facts had been duly made in accordance with sucb allegations; that the record on which the initial decision and the decision of the Commission shall be based shall consist solely of the complaint and this agreement; that the agrcement shall not become a part of the offcial record unless and until it becomes a part of the decision of the Commission; that the complaint may be used in construing the terms of the order agreed upon, which may be altered, modified or set aside in the manner provided for other orders; that the agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by respondents signatory thereto that they have violated thc law as alleged in the complaint; and that the order set forth in the agreement and hereinafter included in this decision shall have the same force and eD. ect as if entered after a full hearing-. Respondents signatory to the agreement "waive any further procedural steps before the hearing examiner and the Commission, the making of fmclings of fact or conclusions of hn\', and all of the rights they may have to challenge or contest the validity of the order to cease and desist entered into accon1ance with the agreement.

The order agreed upon fully disposes of all thc issues raised in the complaint, and adequately prohibits the acts and practices charged therein as being in violation of thc Fur Products Labeling Act and the Hules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, and of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Accordingly, the hearing examiner finds this proceeding to be in the public interest, and accepts the agreement containing consent order to cease and desist as part of the record upon which this decision is based. Therefore STANLEY FURS, INC., ET AL. 1333 1331 Order It is ordeneZ That respondent, Stanley Furs, Inc., a corporation, and its offcers, and respondents Stanley Calkins and Raymond Hartman, individually and as offcers of said corporation and respondents' representatives, agents and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with tbe introduction or the manufacture for introduction into commerce or the sale, advertising, or offering for sale in commerce, or the transportation or distribution in commerce, of fur products, or in connection with the manufacture for sale, sale, advertising, offering for sale, transportation or distribution of fur products wbicb have been made in whole or in part of fur whicb bas been shipped and received in commerce, as "commerce fur " and fur product" are defined in tbe Fur Products Labeling Act, do forthwith cease and desist from:

A. Misbranding fur products by:

1. Falsely or deceptively labeling or otherwise falsely identifying any such product as to the name or names of the animal or animals that produccd the fur from which such product was manufactured;

2. Representing on labels attached to fur products, or in any other manner, that certain amounts are the regular and usual retail prices of fur products when such amounts are in excess of the prices at which such products are usually and customarily sold by rcspondenb at retail in the recent regular course of their business;

B. Failing to affx labels to fur products showing: a. The name or names of the animal or animals producing the fur or furs contained in the fur product as set forth in tbc Fur Products Name Guide and as prescribed under the Rules and Regulations;

b. That the fur product contains or is composed of used fur when such is the fact;

c. That the fur product contains or is composed of bleached dyed or otherwise artificially colored fur, when such is the fact; d. That tbe fur product is composed in whole or in substantial part of paws, tails, belles or waste fur, when such is the fact :

c. The name or other identification, issued and registered by the Commission, of one or more persons who manufactured such fuy product for introduction into commerce, introduced it in commerce, sold it in commerce, advertised or offered it for sale in commerce, or transported or distributed it in commerce; 1334 FEDERAL TRADE COM"IISSION DECISIONS Order 55 F.

f. The name of the country of origin of any imported furs used in the fur product;

g. The item number of such fur product; 4. Setting forth on labels attached to fur products: a. Information required under 4 (2) of the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations thereunder in abbreviated form;

b. Information required under 4 (2) of the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations thereunder mingled with nonrequired information;

c. Information required under 4 (2) of the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations thereunder in handwriting;

d. The name or names of an animal or animals other than the name or names prescribed by 4 (2) (A) of the Fur Products Labeling Act;

B. Falsely or deceptively invoicing fur products by: 1. Failing to furnish invoices to purchasers of fur products showing:

a. The name or names of the animal or animals producing the fur or furs contained in tbe fur products, as set forth in the Fur Products Name Guide and as prescribed under the Rules and Regulations;

b. That tbe fur product contains or is composed of used fur when such is the fact;

c. That tbe fur product contains or is composed of bleached dyed, or otherwise artifieial1y colored fur, when such is the fact; d. That the fur product is composed in whole or in substantial part of paws, tails, belles, or waste fur, when sucb is the fact; e. The name and address of the person issuing such invoices; f. The name of the country of origin of any imported furs contained in the fur product;

2. Setting forth on invoices of fur products: a. The name or names of an animal or animals other than the name or names prescribed by 5 (b) (1) (A) of the Fur Products Labeling Act;

b. Information required under 5 (b) (1) of the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations thereundcr in abbreviated form;

C. Falsely or deceptively advertising fur products through the use of any advertisement, representation, public announcement STANLEY FURS, INC., ET AL. 1335 1331 Decision or notice whkh is intended to aid, promote, or assist, directly or indirectly, in the sale or offering for sale of fur products and which;

1. Fails to disclose:

a. The name or names of the animal or animals producing the fur or furs contained in the fur product as set forth in tbe Fur Products Name Guide and as prescribed under the Rules and Regulations;

b. That the fur products contain or are composed of bleached dyed or otherwise artificially colored fur, when such is the fact; c. That the fur products are composed in wbole or in substantial part of paws, tails, bellies or waste fur, when such is the fact;

2. Contains the name or names of an animal or animals other than the name or names prescribed in s5(a) (1) of the Fur Products Labeling Act;

3. Hepresents directly or by implication: a. That the prices of fur products are at cost plus tax or words of similar import, '."hen such is not the fact; b. That prices of fur products are at cost of sale plus tax or words of similar import, when such is not the fact; c. That respondents' regular price of any fur product is any amount ,which is in excess of the price at which respondents have regularly or customarily sold such products in the recent regular course of their business;

D. :vaking claims or representations in advertisements respecting comparative prices or that prices are reduced from regular or usual prices or that prices are at cost plus tax or that prices are at cost of sale plus tax unless there are maintained by respondents full and adequate records disclosing tbe facts upon which such claims and representations are based. It is further OJ.dcred That the complaint, insofar as it relates to respondent Yvonne Cavanaugh, be, and the same hereby is dismissed.

DECISION OF THE COMMISSION AKD ORDER TO FILE REPORT OF COMPLIANCE Pursuant to Section 3.21 of the Commission s Rules of Practice the initial decision of the hearing examiner shall, on the 28th day of February 1959 , become the decision of the Commission; and, aceordingly:

It is ordc,. That respondents Stanley Furs, Inc. , a corpora- Decision 55 F.

tion, and Stanley Calkins and Haymond Hartman, individually and as offcers of said corporation, shall, within sixty (60) days after service upon them of this orr1er, file with the Commission a report in writing, setting forth in detail the manner and form in which they have complied with the order to cease and desist. WARD LABORATORIES , INC., ET AL. 1337 Decision