State v. American Sugar Refining Co.

Citations

• 108 La. 603

Syllabus

<p>Syllabus.</p> <p>1. In order'that there should be res judicata, the thing demanded and the cause of action must be the same; and they are not the same in two suits for the licenses of different years.</p> <p>2. In a suit under a statute imposing a license on refiners of sugar eo nomine, the defense being that a refiner of sugar is a manufacturer and as such exempt from license taxation, and that as a consequence the statute imposing the license is inconsistent with the Constitution, and there being no question as to what constitutes a refiner of sugar, the process of refining sugar being the same in all refineries, the sole matter involved is the ascertainment of the meaning of the word manufacturer as used by the Constitution; that is to say, a matter of interpretation of the Constitution — a question purely of law.</p> <p>3. A sugar refiner is a manufacturer, and as such exempt from license taxation under the Constitution.</p>