Galban Lobo Co. v. HenderSon

132 F.2d 153, 1942 U.S. App. LEXIS 2554
CourtEmergency Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 30, 1942
DocketNo. 2
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 132 F.2d 153 (Galban Lobo Co. v. HenderSon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Emergency Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Galban Lobo Co. v. HenderSon, 132 F.2d 153, 1942 U.S. App. LEXIS 2554 (eca 1942).

Opinion

VINSON, Chief Judge.

This case is before this court under Section 204 of the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942.1 The complainant filed its protest, under Section 203 of the Act, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix § 923, before the Price Administrator on March 2, 1942. The Administrator made his order of dismissal on May 12, 1942.

The case presents this question: Are the protest and review provisions of the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 available to a person whose complaint is based upon a transaction completed prior to the time the Act became law?

The facts with which we are concerned are: Complainant made a contract on October 27, 1941, to sell sugar to an American refining company. By a supplemental agreement, on December 8, the price of the sugar was to be that prevailing on any day complainant called on or before January 31, 1942. There were two shipments [155]*155of sugar, the second arriving January 2, 1942. On January 15, 1942, complainant called. Subsequently the refining company refused to pay the price effective on the call date because it claimed that, under the price schedule, complainant was limited to the maximum price prevailing on the date the sugars arrived. Complainant protested under the Act of 1942. The Administrator dismissed.

We present the pertinent evolution of law. On August 13, 1941, Price Schedule No. 16 pertaining to raw cane .sugar was issued, effective the following day, by the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply,2 which Office had been set up under Executive Order No. 8734. Price Schedule No. 16 set, inter alia, the maximum price for raw cane sugar in which complainant was dealing. Amendment No. 1 (no relevance here) was issued on October 23, 1941. Amendment No. 2 was issued on January 3, 1942, effective as of January 5th. This Amendment raised the maximum price. Amendment No. 3 was issued January 26, 1942, and became effective on the same day. This Amendment permitted forward pricing to the day the sugar arrived. On January 30th, the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 was approved. The Act created an Office of Price Administration with a Price Administrator at its head. On February 11th, the Administrator took office under the Act. On February 21st, Price Schedule No. 16, as amended, was reprinted in the Federal Register.

The complainant in its argument stresses the fact that it has made it§ protest timely and within the period established by the Act. It then argues that the Act covers its complaint, and that the time the transaction occurred is of minor importance.

The Price Administrator in his argument stresses the fact that the transaction was completed before the 1942 Act became effective. He then argues that the Act does not contemplate that its provisions for protest and review are to be applied to transactions which occurred under Executive Order price control.

It can readily be seen that the problem before us is one of statutory construction, and specifically, are the protest and review provisions of the 1942 Act applicable to a transaction which occurred not under the price control of the Act but under price schedules deriving their effect from Executive Order.

The problem arises chiefly because Congress made provision against any hiatus in price control between the time the Executive Order with its implementing price schedules was effective and the time the new law would become effective. This was done, after the bill reached the Senate, in Section 206, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix § 926. That Section, moreover, is the one most helpful in ascertaining the Congressional intent.

That Section reads: “Any price schedule establishing a maximum price or maximum prices, issued by the Administrator of the Office of Price Administration or the Administrator of the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply, prior to the date upon which the Administrator provided for by section 201 of this Act [section 921 of Appendix] takes office, shall, from such date, have the same effect as if issued under section 2 of this Act [section 902 of Appendix] until such price schedule is superseded by action taken pursuant to such section 2 [section 902 of Appendix], Such price schedules shall be consistent with the standards contained in section 2 [section 902 of Appendix] and the limitations contained in section 3 of this Act [section 903 of Appendix], and shall be subject to protest and review as provided in section 203 and section 204 of this Act [sections 923 and 924 of Appendix]. All such price schedules shall be reprinted in the Federal Register within ten days after the date upon which such Administrator takes office.”

This states that the price schedules issued and effective under the old form of price control were to be given life automatically under the Act of 1942, and that such price schedules were to have their new effect on the day the Administrator took office. That turned out to be February 11th. From here on the calendar date will be used.

Certain conditions had to be met for the price schedules to retain their effectiveness. They had to be consistent with the standards of Section 2, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix § 902; they had to meet the limitations of Section 3, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix § 903; [156]*156they had to be reprinted in the Federal Register in ten days.3

All price schedules effective under Executive Order on February 11th, however, became effective under the Act as though they were issued under Section 2. But no price schedule has any effect under the Act before February 11th. In order to perceive this clearly Section 206 may be reread, in part, as follows: “Any price schedule * * * issued * * * prior to [February 11th], shall, from, [February 11th], have the same 'effect as if issued under section 2 of this Act until such price schedule is superseded by action taken pursuant to such section 2. Such price schedules * * * shall be subject to protest and review as provided in section 203 and section 204 of this Act.” [Italics supplied.]

There are, in this Section, three significant instances of word usage which reveal the effect of price schedules under the Act, and the exact time that effect commenced. The first is that any price schedule already issued shall, from February 11th, have effect under the Act. This sets the exact date the price schedules are to be effective. The language used also says that the effect is from that time on.

The second group of words shows what kind of effect the price schedules are to have: the same as if issued under Section 2. The price schedules taken over are to have the same effect as price regulations to be issued under Section 2. This comparison also indirectly shows that the price schedules are effective under the Act only on and after February 11th, for no price regulation could have been issued earlier, and the price schedules are to be regarded as if issued under Section 2.

The third instance of significant word usage is that “such” is not applied to “price schedules” until the law has made “price schedules” effective under the Act after February 11th. “Such price schedules”, then, clearly means price schedules effective under the Act after February 11th, as distinguished from those effective before that time under Executive Order. Such price schedules are the ones subject to protest and review. That answers the precise problem of this case.

Such price schedules are subject to protest and review as provided in Sections 203 and 204.

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Related

Dargel v. Henderson
200 F.2d 564 (Emergency Court of Appeals, 1952)
United States v. Norstrand Corporation
168 F.2d 481 (Second Circuit, 1948)
Frank v. Henderson
133 F.2d 207 (Emergency Court of Appeals, 1942)
Galban Lobo Co. v. Henderson
132 F.2d 158 (Emergency Court of Appeals, 1942)

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Bluebook (online)
132 F.2d 153, 1942 U.S. App. LEXIS 2554, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/galban-lobo-co-v-henderson-eca-1942.