A court applying North Carolina law would very likely conclude that the Cooperative's By-laws constitute an express written agreement between the Cooperative and its members.

—stating that according to a board of trade regulations, "an essential element of a bona fide sale of tobacco at auction is that there shall be assigned to such sale an adequate set of buyers prepared to bid at the competitive sale," with "adequate set of buyers" meaning buyers representing "each of the three major domestic tobacco companies" and "[b] uyers of at least three …

—the articles of association for the purposes expressed in the charter and by-laws of Lumberton Tobacco Board of Trade, Inc., constitute a contract between it and its members, including the present plaintiff, which imposes certain obligation on the members among themselves and with respect to the corporation.

—this Court held that the charter and bylaws of an association may constitute a contract between the organization and its members wherein members are deemed to have consented to all reasonable regulations and rules of the organization.

—the delegation by an association of tobacco warehousemen to its board of governors of authority to promulgate rules and regulations for the orderly marketing and handling of tobacco on auction warehouse floors did not empower the board of governors to prohibit altogether auction sales of tobacco because of the absence of buyers representing either of three named …

Boards of trade did occasionally overstep their bounds in attempting to protect their members' share of the tobacco market.

—rejecting a board's attempt to enjoin a warehouse from holding sales when a minimum number of buyers would not be present

—it is here appropriate to note that this action was instituted 25 July, 1953, and plaintiff alleges in its complaint that defendant is a corporation duly created, organized and existing with its principal office and place of business in the city of Lumberton, North Carolina, "the purpose of its creation being `in order that persons, firms and corporations engaged in the tobacco …

Warehouse Assoc. states that courts will enforce only those "rules and regulations which are not unreasonable, immoral, unlawful, or contrary to public policy."

And since the enactment of the statute of 1933, the principle has been recognized in the light of the provisions of the statute.