When a statute is penal, when the penalty is limited, what is the test for this type of construction?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Tos v. Mayfair Packing Co., 160 Cal.App.3d 67, 206 Cal.Rptr. 459 (Cal. App. 1984):
Also, when a statute is penal, "we adopt the narrowest construction of its penalty clause to which it is reasonably susceptible in the light of its legislative purpose." (Hale v. Morgan (1978) 22 Cal.3d 388, 405, 149 Cal.Rptr. 375, 584 P.2d 512.)
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