Calderwood Corp. v. Mahin

On November 3, 1972, the circuit court of Coles County on the petition of the Calderwood Corporation (hereafter Calderwood) enjoined the defendant, the Director of Revenue, from collecting certain amounts allegedly owed by Calderwood under the Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax Act on sales by Calderwood to the Vesuvius Crucible Company (Vesuvius). The ground of the court's holding was that the sales by Calderwood were sales for resale and thus exempted from the provisions of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. The Director appealed to the appellate court, which transferred the case here, because it considered that the effect of the trial court's action was to hold a part of the statute unconstitutional. Calderwood is an Illinois corporation which manufactures refractories used in the smelting and fashioning of metals. Under an exclusive sales contract Calderwood sells all of its production or output to Vesuvius, a Pennsylvania corporation. The defendant states Calderwood has no sales force and that it was organized solely for the purpose of supplying Vesuvius. Vesuvius does not use any of the refractories but sells them throughout the United States and abroad. When purchasing, Vesuvius instructs Calderwood where the refractories are to be shipped. Calderwood shipped certain refractories directly to customers of Vesuvius in Illinois and the assessment of the retailers' occupation tax by the Director on these sales developed the controversy in this case.