Morrisdale Coal Co. v. United States

55 Ct. Cl. 310, 1920 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 85, 1920 WL 640
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedApril 26, 1920
DocketNo. 34436
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 55 Ct. Cl. 310 (Morrisdale Coal Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morrisdale Coal Co. v. United States, 55 Ct. Cl. 310, 1920 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 85, 1920 WL 640 (cc 1920).

Opinion

Hat, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is a petition brought by the Morrisdale Coal Co., a corporation of the State of Pennsylvania, to recover from the United States the sum of $15,337.37. To this petition of the plaintiff the defendants have demurred.

The plaintiff alleges in its petition that it was during the times mentioned therein engaged in the business of mining and shipping Morrisdale and Cunard bituminous coals, having its principal place of business in the city of Philadelphia ; that the President of the United States, by virtue of the act of Congress approved August 10, 1917, did, on August 23, 1917, by Executive order, appoint Harry A. Garfield Fuel Administrator and delegate to him such powers and authority as had been invested in the President by the act aforesaid in so far as the same were applicable to fuel; that prior to August 23,1917, the plaintiff had entered into bona fide contracts for the supply of coal to buyers, the requirements of such contracts aggregating the plaintiff’s entire output; that more than 90 per cent of the business of the plaintiff consisted in furnishing all the necessary bunker coals required by the buyers for definite periods of time for the use of all steamers at certain specified ports; that during the period June to November, 1918, the total amount of coal called for under the contracts then in existence between the plaintiff and the buyers was 160,354.65 tons, with certain monthly requirements. It is further alleged that during the period June to November, 1918, the quantity of coal mined and shipped by the plaintiff totaled 112,756 tons, which was 47,598.65 tons less than the quantity contracted for the period of June to November, 1918; that during the period aforesaid the Federal Fuel Administration requisitioned and compelled plaintiff to divert 12,823.89 tons of coal. It is further alleged in said petition that the price received by the [312]*312plaintiff for the coal so requisitioned or diverted was $3,304 per gross ton, whereas the price stated in the contracts under which this coal had been previously sold was $4.50 per gross ton. The petition further alleges that upon each ton of coal requisitioned or diverted by the Fuel Administration the plaintiff suffered the loss of $1,196, and upon the whole quantity requisitioned or diverted its loss amounted to $15,-337.37, for which amount it sues.

The plaintiff in bringing its action relies for relief upon the provisions of the act of August 10,1917, and in its brief filed in this cause relies further upon the provisions of the fifth amendment to the Constitution.

The sections of the act of August 10,1917, which deal with the requisitioning and diversion of fuel are sections 10 and 25, 40 Stat., 279, 284.

Section 10 provides—

“ That the President is authorized, from time to time, to requisition foods, feeds, fuel, and other supplies necessary to the support of the Army or the maintenance of the Navy, or any other public use connected with the common defense, and he shall ascertain and pay a just compensation therefor. * * * If the compensation so determined be not satisfactory to the person entitled to receive the same, such person shall be paid seventy-five per centum of the amount so determined by the President, and shall be entitled to sue the United States to recover such further sums as, added to said seventy-five per centum, will make up such amount as will be just compensation * * *.”

In pursuance of the provisions of the act of August 10, 1917, the President, on March 15, 1918, issued a proclamation, appointing Harry A. Garfield Fuel Administrator, and delegated to him the powers which were conferred upon the President by the act aforesaid (40 Stat., 1757).

The petition in this case does not allege that the coal was requisitioned by the President or by the Fuel Administration for public use, nor that the compensation which it received was ascertained by the President or the Fuel Administration, nor that the compensation was unjust, nor that the plaintiff was not satisfied with the compensation it received, nor does the petition allege from whom the compensation was received. We therefore conclude that the petition does not show a cause of action under section 10 of the act.

[313]*313Section 25 of the act of August 10, 1917, deals entirely with the subject matter of fuel, and provides—

“ That the President of the United States shall be, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered, whenever and wherever in his judgment necessary for the efficient prosecution of the war, to fix the price of coal and coke, whenever and wherever sold, either by producer or dealer, to establish rules for the regulation of and to regulate the method of production, sale, shipment, distribution, apportionment, or storage thereof among dealers and consumers, domestic or foreign.”

It is further provided that if any producer or dealer fails or neglects to conform to such prices and regulations the President is authorized to take over the plant or business of such producer or dealer and to operate the same, and provision is made.for the conduct of the business so taken over by the President. (40 Stat., 284, 285.) There is nowhere in this section or in the statute any provision made for suits by individuals or corporations against the United States in cases where the President or the Fuel Administration in the exercise of the powers conferred by the statute diverts coal among dealers and consumers, and thereby incidentally causes the dealer to receive less for his product than he might have received had he been allowed to distribute his product in accordance with his own plans and methods.

The plaintiff, however, seems to rely upon the following provision of the statute:

“ The maximum prices so fixed and published shall not be construed as invalidating any contract in which prices are fixed, made in good faith, prior to the establishment and publication of maximum prices by the commission.” 40 Stat., 286.

The plaintiff construes this provision to mean that whenever the President or the Fuel Administration, in the exercise of the powers conferred upon them by the statute, diverts coal from one consumer to another, and the dealer has a contract made in good faith with the consumer from whom the coal is diverted at a price higher than that received by him from the consumer to whom the coal is diverted, then the United States must pay the difference in price to the dealer. We do not think that is the meaning of the provisions of the [314]*314act. What is meant is that as between the parties to a contract made in good faith prior to the establishment and publication of a maximum price, neither party can substitute the price fixed and published by the Government in place of the price fixed by the contract.

We conclude, therefore, that there is nothing in section 25 of the act which, under the allegations of the petition, gives to the plaintiff a right of recovery.

This brings us to consider whether or not the plaintiff has a right of action under the fifth amendment to the Constitution. Have the defendants by diverting the coal of the plaintiff from the consumers with whom it had a contract to consumers with whom it had no contract, thereby causing the plaintiff to lose a part of its contract price, taken the property of the plaintiff for public use without just compensation ?

The act of August 10,1917, reads as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
55 Ct. Cl. 310, 1920 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 85, 1920 WL 640, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morrisdale-coal-co-v-united-states-cc-1920.