The S. Frieder & Sons Company

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IN THE MATTER OF THE S. FRIEDER & SONS COMPANY CONSENT ORDER, ETC. , IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT Docket C-l018. Complaint, Nov. 1965-Decision, Nov. , 1965 Consent order requiring a Philadelphia cigar manufacturer, to cease representing falsely that its cigars were made entirely from tobacco grown in Complaint 68 F.

Cuba through the use of the word "Havana" or any other indicative term.

COMPLAINT Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act, and by virtue of the authority vested in it by said Act, the Federal Trade Commission, having reason to believe that The S. Frieder & Sons Company, a corporation, hereinafter referred to as respondent, has violated the provisions of said Act, and it appearing to the Commission that a proceeding by it in respect thereof would be in the public interest, hereby issues its complaint stating its charges in that respect as follows:

PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent, The S. Frieder & Sons Company, is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Ohio, with its principal office and place of business located at 129 North Twelfth Street in the city of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania.

PAR. 2. Respondent is now, and for some time last past has been engaged in the manufacture advertising, offering for sale, sale and distribution of cigars to distributors, wholesalers, dealers and retailers for resale to the public.

PAR. 3 . In the course and conduct of its business, respondent now causes, and for some time last past has caused, its products when sold, to be shipped from its place of business in the State of Pennsylvania to purchasers thereof located in various other States of the United States, and maintains, and at all times mentioned herein has maintained, a substantial course of trade in said products in commerce, as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act.

PAR. 4. In the course and conduct of its aforesaid business, and for the purpose of inducing the purchase of its cigars, the respondent has made numerous statements and representations in connection with the advertising of its cigars by and through the use of brand names as well as descriptive and identifying matters and materials which purport to disclose the composition, formulation and origin of its cigars.

Typical and ilustrative of the aforesaid statements and representations are the following:

HAVANA PALMA THROWOUTS HAVANA PALMA HAVANA-WRAPT HAVANA PERFECTOS HAVANA CORONA SMOKERS HAVANA PANETELA THROWOUTS THE S. FRIEDER & SONS CO. 925 923 Decision and Order PAR. 5. By and through the use of the above-quoted statements and representations, and others of similar import not specifically set out herein, the respondent represented that said cigars were made entirely from tobacco grown on the island of Cuba, PAR. 6. In truth and in fact, respondent's cigars bearing the aforesaid descriptions and other similar terms were not made entirely from tobacco grown on the island of Cuba. Therefore, the statements and representations as set forth in Paragraphs Four and Five hereof were and are false, misleading and deceptive.

PAR. 7. By the aforesaid practices, respondent places in the hands of distribtuors, wholesalers, dealers and retailers, means and instrumentalities by and through which they may mislead the public as to the composition, formulation and origin of its cigars. PAR. 8. In the conduct of its business, at all times mentioned herein, respondent has been in substantial competition, in commerce, with corporations, firms and individuals in the sale of merchandise of the same general kind and nature as that sold by respondent.

PAR. 9. The use by the respondent of the aforesaid false, misleading and deceptive statements, representations and practices has had, and now has, the capacity and tendency to mislead memo bers of the purchasing public into the erroneous and mistaken belief that said statements and representations were and are true and into the purchase of substantial quantities of respondent' products by reason of said erroneous and mistaken belief. PAR. 10. The aforesaid acts and practices of respondent, as herein alleged, were, and are, all to the prejudice and injury of the public and of respondent's competitors and constituted, and now constitute unfair methods of competition in commerce and unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce, in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

DECISION AND ORDER The Federal Trade Commission having initiated an investigation of certain acts and practices of the respondent named in the caption hereof, and the respondent having been furnished thereafter with " copy of a draft of complaint which the Bureau of Deceptive Practices proposed to present to the Commission for its consideration and which, if issued by the Commission, would charge respondent with violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act; and The respondent and counsel for the Commission having thereafter executed an agreement containing a consent order, an admission by Decision and Order 68 F.

the respondent of all the jurisdictional facts set forth in the aforesaid draft of complaint, a statement that the signing of said agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the respondent that the law has been violated as alleged in such complaint, and waivers and provisions as required by the Commission s rules; and The Commission, having reason to believe that the respondent has violated the Federal Trade Commission Act, and having determined that complaint should issue stating its charges in that respect, hereby issues its complaint, accepts said agreement, makes the following jurisdictional findings and enters the following order: 1. Respondent The S. Frieder & Sons Company is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Ohio, with its principal office and place business located at 129 North Twelfh Street in the city of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania.

2. The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction of the subject matter of this proceeding and of the respondent, and the proceeding is in the public interest.

ORDER It is ordered That respondent, The S. Frieder & Sons Company, a corporation, and its officers and respondent's agents, representa. tives and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with the manufacture, offering for sale, sale and distribution of cigars or other products, in commerce, as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act, do forthwith cease and desist from:

1. Using the term "Havana " or any other term or terms indicative of tobacco grown on the island of Cuba, either alone or in conjunction with any other terms, to describe, designate or in any way refer to cigars not made entirely from tobacco grown on the island of Cuba; except that cigars containing a substantial amount of tobacco grown on the island of Cuba may be described, designated, or referred to as "blended with Havana, or by any term of similar import or meaning: Provided That the words " blended with " or other qualifying word or words, are set out in immediate connection or conjunction with the word "Havana " or other term indicative of tobacco grown on the island of Cuba, in letters of equal size and conspicuousness.

2. Placing in the hands of distributors, wholesalers, dealers and retailers, and others, means and instrumentalities by and TALENTO, ETC. 927 923 Complaint through which they may deceive and mislead the purchasing public concerning any merchandise in the respects set out above.

It is further ordered That the respondent herein shall, within sixty (60) days after service upon it of this order, file with the Commission a report in writing setting forth in detail the manner and form in which it has complied with this order.