§ 2751. Unfair discrimination

A handler doing business in this State and engaged in the business of buying dairy products for the purpose of manufacture or sale who, or whose agents, officers, or employees, shall begin or continue such methods or practices as to create a monopoly, or to restrain trade or to prevent or limit competition or to destroy the business of a competitor, or to destroy or affect adversely the operations of a producers’ cooperative bargaining or marketing association organized under the Vermont cooperative marketing act, 11 Vt. Stat. Ann. chapter 7, subchapter 2 or similar laws of another state and doing business in Vermont, shall discriminate between different sections, communities, localities, cities, or towns of this State by purchasing such commodity at a higher price or rate in one section, community, location, city, or town than is paid for the same commodity by such person, firm, handler, association, or corporation in another section, community, locality, city, or town after making due allowance for the difference, if any, in the grade or quality and in the actual cost of transportation from the point of purchase to the point of manufacture or sale, or who shall so discriminate between different persons in the same section, community, location, city, or town by purchasing such commodity at a lower price from one person than paid for the same commodity to another person after making due allowance for the difference, if any, in the grade or quality and in the actual cost of transportation from the point of purchase to the point of manufacture, or who shall so discriminate between different persons by refusing to purchase, within the limits of its actual requirements, such commodities from a person, or his or her agent, offering the same for sale, on the ground that such person has executed a marketing contract with a cooperative marketing association by the terms of which such cooperative marketing association has been designated the marketing agent of such person for such commodities, or who shall intimidate or attempt to intimidate members of such a producers’ cooperative bargaining association for the purpose of causing them to withdraw from such membership or who shall intimidate or attempt to intimidate producers of dairy products for the purpose of preventing them from joining such an association shall be deemed guilty of unfair discrimination. It shall not be necessary to prove intent in reference to the methods or practices prohibited in this section, nor shall this section be construed to prevent milk handlers from paying and milk producers who have installed farm bulk tanks from receiving such payments in addition to the payment for can milk as may be mutually agreed upon. (Added 1965, No. 175, § 37.)