E u GENE
WILL WILSON
*TTORNEYGENERAL
November 6, 1961
Honorable R. L. Lattimore Opinion No. w-1187
Criminal District Attorney
Edinberg, Texas Re: Whether trucks operating
out of a warehouse accept-
ing orders which are de-
livered to the fish dealer's
wholesale house and making
deliveries to purchasers
from the wholesale house
are required to each have a
Dear Mr. Lattimore: fish dealer's license.
You have requested an opinion from this office on the
following matter:
"A wholesaler operates his wholesale house
in a certain city in this county, where he
makes wholesale sales of aquatic products,
and which is covered by a wholesale Fish
Dealer's License. The wholesaler also owns
and operates several delivery trucks, from
which no sales of fish are made. The
drivers of the trucks, operating from the
trucks, take wholesale orders for aquatic
products and turn the orders in to the
wholesale house. The orders are never
filled direct from the trucks at the time
the orders are taken. All orders go to the
wholesale house for filling. The delivery
trucks and their drivers perform only two
functions, first, that of making deliveries
from orders turned in to the wholesale house,
and second, that of taking orders."
You have asked this office if the wholesaler must have
a Fish Dealer's License on each of the delivery trucks, and if
so, what kind of license must he have. The following provi-
sions of Article g++a, Vernon's Penal Code of the State of
Texas applies to the problem presented:
"Section 1. The following words, terms
and phrases used In this Act are hereby
defined as follows!
Honorable R. L. Lattimore Page 2 Opinion No. ~~4-1187
(b) A 'Wholesale Fish Dealer' is any
person engaged in the business of buying
for the purpose of selling, canning,pre-
serving or processing, or buying for the
purpose of handling for shipments or sale,
fish or oysters or shrimp or other com-
mercial edible aquatic products, to
Retail Fish Dealers, and/or to Hotels,
Restaurants or Cafes and to the Consumer.
(c) A 'Retail Fish Dealer' is any per-
son engaged'in the business of buying for
the purpose of selling either fresh or
frozen edible aquatic products to the con-
sumer.
"Section 3. The licenses and the fees to
be paid for the same are hereby provided
for in this Act and are as follows:
2. Wholesale Fish Dealers' License, fee
for each lace of business, Two Hundred
Dollars (i200).
2-a. Wholesale Truck Dealers' License,
fee for each truck, One Hundred Dollars
cy *
Place of business, as used in this
Act,'shall include the place where orders
for aquatic products are received, or where
aquatic products are sold, and if sold from
a vehicle, the vehicle on which, or from
which such aquatic products are sold, shall
constitute a place of business."
It is the opinion of this office that the taking of
orders which are taken to the wholesale house and the deliveries
of the aquatic products from the wholesale house to a purchaser
are not sufficient functions to create a sale in themselves.
Therefore, the wholesale house is the only "place of business"
as defined in Article 934a Sections 3-11 and only one.wholesale
license may be required. Since there are no actual sales made
from the trucks, they are not required to have a separate license.
SUMMARY
Trucks making deliveries from and accepting
Honorable R. L. Lattimore Page 3 Opinion N . ~~-1187
orders for a fish dealer's wholesale
house are not required to be individually
licensed.
Yours very truly,
WILL WILSON
Attorney General of Texas
dhdLbL-
BY
J. T. Walker
Assistant Attorney General
JTN:sh
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
W. V. Geppert, Chairman
Joseph Trimble
Elmer McVey
Riley Fletcher
REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: Houghton Brownlee,Jr.