§ 776. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision or part of this article or the application thereof to any person, firm or corporation, or circumstance, shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this article; or in its application to the person, firm or corporation, or circumstance, directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.