United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Southern Pacific Co. v. United States, 272 U.S. 445 (1926)

Southern Pacific Company v. United States

No. 239

Argued October 6, 1926

Decided November 22, 1926

272 U.S. 445

Syllabus

1. Military impedimenta were shipped by the War Department by expedited service over a railroad which was bound by land grant acts to transport property of the United States "at rates not exceeding 50 percent of those paid by private shippers for the same kind of service." The railroad had no tariff for such service available to the public at large, but had filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission a special tariff for the government in such cases without land grant deductions. Held, (1) that no contract of the United States to pay the special tariff rate could be implied from the fact that the shipments were made when the special tariff was the only one applicable on file, in the absence of proof that the contracting officers then knew of that tariff; (2) that, the special tariff was filed without statutory authority; hence the officers were not chargeable, as a matter of law, with knowledge of it. P. 272 U. S. 447.

2. To recover in the Court of Claims the reasonable value of service rendered the government, the claimant must prove its value. P. 272 U. S. 448.

60 Ct.Cls. 662 affirmed.

Certiorari (270 U.S. 103) to a judgment of the Court of Claims rejecting the petitioner's claim on account of transportation service rendered to the United States.

Page 272 U. S. 446