Cal Ct App Gives LA The Business: A Book Buff Is Not A "Book Dealer"

Thank goodness for small things. At least book collectors in Los Angeles do not need to get "secondhand book dealer" permit from the government simply because they buy used books. 

In Hopp v. City of Los Angeles, No. B215265 (decided Mar. 9, 2010; published Apr. 6, 2010), the California Court of Appeal (Second District) held that a person who collects books as a hobby and does not sell them, is not required to get a permit from the city because he is not "engaging in, conducting, managing or otherwise carrying on the business of buying, selling, exchanging or otherwise dealing in secondhand books and magaziines, secondhand text books, or secondhand educational materials." Slip op. at 4 (quoting L.A. , Cal., Mun. Code §103.310(a),(b)).

The court rejected the city's argument that a collector who either buys or sells books, even for personal enjoyment, is a "book dealer." It held that the term "the business of" requires that the collector actually engage in a commercial activity that provides goods or services (and since this is LA, "entertainment" is included) to others. Purchasing books for yourself, or setting up a table at  a swap meet to advertise your willingness to buy used books as Mr. Hopp did, is not a "business." The court also held that Hopp is not a "dealer" of used books because he does not sell them.

We realize that this opinion is somewhat off the usual topics for this blog, but we're hoping that someone can tell us if there is more here than what appears on the surface. The city  claimed that it was cracking down on Hopp because  it "is merely trying to curtail crime and prevent used book purchasers from becoming 'fences.'" Slip op. at 9. Really? Are used book bufffs actually crime kingpins worthy of Joe Friday's rapt attention?