Nebbia v. New York

291 U.S. 502 (1934)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

During 1932, the prices received by farmers for milk were much below the cost of production. A state legislative committee conducted an extensive study from which it determined essentially that low milk prices received by dairy producers created a risk of relaxed vigilance against contamination. In 1933, the state legislature established a Milk Control Board with power to 'fix minimum and maximum [retail] prices to be charged [by] stores to consumers for consumption off the premises where sold.' The Board fixed nine cents as the price to be charged by a store for a quart of milk. Nebbia (D), the proprietor of a grocery store in Rochester, was convicted based on selling milk for six and one-half cents per quart instead of the required nine cents. D was convicted and appealed, and the convictions were affirmed by state courts. D asserted the statute and order contravene the equal protection clause and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The majority concedes that the dairy industry cannot be characterized as a public utility or a monopoly. The dissent points out that the legislative committee attributed decreased consumption notwithstanding low prices to consumers' reduced buying power; the dissent further states that higher store prices will not enlarge this power, nor will they decrease production.