Capitol Fur Shop, Inc.

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IN THE MATTER OF CAPITOL FUR SHOP, INC., ET AL.

CONSENT ORDER, ETC., IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND THE FUR PRODUCTS LABELING ACTS Docket 7111-. Compla.int, AP1' 1958-Decision, Sept. 2J,., 1958 Consent order requiring a furrier in Washington, D. , to cease violating the Fur Products Labeling Act by labeling fur products with fictitious prices, by failing to comply with the invoicing requirements of the Act, and by advertising in newspapers which represented prices as reduced from regular prices which were, in fact, fictitious. MT. S. F. House for the Commission. MT. Donald Cefa?' atti, Jr. of Washington, D. , for respondents. INITIAL DECISION BY J. 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 the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations promulgated thereunder, and of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

After the issuance of the complaint, respondents, 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 Bureau of Litigation, and thereafter transmitted to the hearing examiner for consideration.

The agreement states that respondent Capitol Fur Shop, Inc. is a corporation existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Delaware, with its office and principal place of business located at 1208 G Street NW., Washington, D. , and that respondent Norman Silverman is president and treasurer of said corporation and formulates, directs and controls the acts, policies and practices thereof, his address being the same as that of the corporate respondent. The agreement provides, among other things, that the respondents admit all the jurisdictional facts alleged in the complaint and agree that the record may be taken as if findings of jurisdictional facts had been duly made in accordance with such allegations; that the record on which the initial decision and the decision of the Commission shall be based shall consist solely of , Order 55 F.

the complaint and this agreement; that the agreement shall not become a part of the official 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 that they have violated the 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 effect as if entered after a full hearing.

Respondents waive any further procedural steps before the hearing examiner and the Commission, the making of findings of fact or conclusions of law, and all of the rights they may have to challenge or contest the validity of the order to cease and desist entered in accordance with the agreement. The order agreed upon fully disposes of all the issues raised in the complaint, and adequately prohibits the acts and practices charged therein as being in violation of the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules 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 It is oTClered That respondents Capitol Fur Shop, Inc. , a corporation, and its officers and N orma.n Silverman, individually and as an officer of said corporation, and respondents' representatives, agents and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with the introduction into commerce or the sale, advertising, offering for sale, transportation or distribution of fur products in commerce, or in connection with the sale, advertising, offering for sale, transportation or distribution of fur products which have been made in whole or in part of fur which has been shipped and received in commerce, as "commerce fur" and "fur product" are defined in the Fur Products Labeling Act, do forthwith cease and desist from: A. Misbranding fur products by:

(1) Representing on labels affixed to the fur products or in any other manner, that certain amounts are their regular and usual prices when such amounts are in excess of the prices CAPITOL FUR SHOP, INC., ET AL. 447 445 Order at which respondents usually and customarily sold such products in the recent regular course of their business; B. Falsely or deceptively invoicing fur products by: (1) Failing to furnish purchasers of fur products Invoices showing:

(a) The nan1e or names of the animal or animals producing the fur or furs contained in the fur product, as set forth in the Fur Products N alone 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 the fur product is composed in whole or in substantial part of paws, tails, bellies, or waste fur, when such is the fact;

(e) The name and address of the person issuing such invoice; (f) The name of the country of orgin of any imported furs contained in the fur product;

(g) The item number or mark assigned to the fur product as required by Rule 40 (a) of the Rules and Regulations; (2) Setting forth information required under 95 (b) (1) the Fur Products Labeling Act and the Rules and Regulations thereunder in abbreviated form;

(3) Failing to set forth the description "dyed mouton processed lamb" in the manner and fornl provided for in Rule 9 of the Rules and Regulations;

(4) Failing to set forth the description "dyed broadtail processed lamb" in the manner and form provided for in Rule 10 of the Rules and Regulations;

C. Falsely or deceptively advertising fur products through the use of any advertisement, representation, public announcement, or notice, \which is intended to aid, promote, or assist directly or indil' ectly, in the sale, or offering for sale of fur products, and \which:

(1) Represents, directly or by implication, that their regular or usual price of any fur product is any amount which is in excess of the price at which the respondents have usually and customarily sold such product in the recent and regular course of their business.

Decision 55 F.

DECISION OF THE COMMISSION AND 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 24th day of September 1958, become the decision of the Commission; and, accordingly:

It is oTdwred That respondents Capitol Fur Shop, Inc. , a corporation, and Norman Silverman, individually and as an officer of said corporation, shall, within sixty (60) days after service upon them of this order, 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. SAM GOLDEN & SON, INC., ET AL. 449 Decision