United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Oklahoma Nat. Gas Co. v. Russell, 261 U.S. 290 (1923)

Oklahoma Natural Gas Company v. Russell

Nos. 406 and 419

Argued February 20, 21, 1923

Decided March 5, 1923

261 U.S. 290

Syllabus

1. In its application to cases involving orders of state administrative boards, Jud.Code § 266 was not confined, by the Amendment of March 4, 1913, to those in which the constitutionality of a statute is challenged, but applies also where the order is attacked as in itself unconstitutional. P. 261 U. S. 292.

2. A public service company which is being actually subjected to a confiscatory limitation of its rates imposed by an order of a state board, and which has appealed to the state supreme court for a revision of the order pursuant to the state law, and been denied a supersedeas, is not debarred by the fact that the appeal remains undecided from obtaining injunctive relief from the federal court. P. 261 U. S. 292. Prentis v. Atlantic Coast Line Co., 211 U. S. 210, distinguished.

3. Where the district court has erroneously declined to entertain an application for a preliminary injunction, this Court, as a general rule, will remand the case for determination of the merits, and not decide for itself in the first instance. P. 261 U. S. 293.

Reversed.

Appeals from orders of the district court denying applications for preliminary injunctions to restrain the enforcement of state orders fixing the rates of the appellant gas companies.

Page 261 U. S. 291