Swift & Co. v. Peterson

This is a suit for a declaratory judgment construing Chapter 193, Oregon Laws 1949, which provides for the identification of livestock and the prevention of livestock theft. A copy of the relevant sections of the Act, hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1949, is appended to this opinion.

The plaintiffs, Swift & Company and Armour and Company, are engaged in the packing house business, the former maintaining a plant in North Portland, Oregon, and the latter in Portland, Oregon. Both purchase large numbers of livestock at the stockyards of Portland Union Stockyards Company and elsewhere for…