181 Ga. 801 | Ga. | 1936
J. Phil Tate filed a petition for injunction against S. B. Seymour, sheriff of Elbert County, alleging that on September 20, 1935, the defendant illegally seized and carried away three eases of beer belonging to the petitioner, the seizure being made at his place of business located in Elbert County and without the limits of any incorporated town or city; that petitioner had duly applied to'the State Revenue Commission for a license to conduct his business and had tendered to the commission $10 for such license and permit as a retail dealer of malt beverages, as provided for in the act of 1935 (Ga. Laws 1935, p. 73), but the license was refused 'for the reason that the commissioner of roads and revenues of Elbert County had declined to issue
1 The allegations of the petition permit of no construction other than that the purpose of the petitioner was to conduct a business of selling malt beverages.
2. Eor the right to sell malt beverages it is essential that the petitioner obtain a license or permit from the governing authority of his county. Georgia Laws 1935, p. 80, §§ 15A, 16; Green v. Spears, 181 Ga. 486 (182 S. E. 913).
3. There is no merit in the constitutional points raised. The act does not deprive the petitioner of due process of law. The act provides for a privilege which may be granted or denied in the discretion of the local authorities. Harbin v. Holcomb, 181 Ga. 800.
4. The State Revenue Commission can not legally authorize one to sell malt beverages unless the municipal or county authorities, as the case
5. Mandamus is an available remedy where in such a case the refusal is arbitrary and illegal. Brock v. State, 65 Ga. 437.
6. Under the allegations in this case the refusal was not arbitrary or illegal. Judgment affirmed.