United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Ingram-Day Lumber Co. v. McLouth, 275 U.S. 471 (1928)

Ingram-Day Lumber Co. v. McLouth

No. 126

Argued December 6, 7, 1927

Decided January 3, 1928

275 U.S. 471

Syllabus

1. Plaintiff contracted to furnish defendant a specified quantity of lumber, knowing that it was to be used by defendant in building boats but not that they were being built under a contract between the defendant and the Fleet Corporation. Afterwards, the Fleet Corporation, acting under Executive Orders and the Act of June 15, 1917, cancelled its contract, notifying defendant to make no further commitments or expenditures, and defendant, without acting or purporting to act under authority of the Corporation, stopped deliveries of lumber by the plaintiff.

Held:

(1) That the damages recoverable by the plaintiff from the defendant, were not measured as where "just compensation" is claimed from the United States under the statute for cancellation of the government's own contracts, but included anticipated profits. P. 275 U. S. 473.

(2) Plaintiff's rights under its own contract were not dependent on the continued existence of defendant's contract with the Fleet Corporation. P. 275 U. S. 474.

2. Appellate review in this case, where a jury was waived in writing, held limited to the sufficiency of the facts specially found to support the judgment and to rulings excepted to and presented by bill of exceptions. P. 474.

13 F.2d 581 reversed.

Certiorari, 273 U.S. 684, to a judgment of the circuit court of appeals which affirmed a judgment, 6 F.2d 471, not including anticipated profits, recovered by the petitioner in an action brought against McLouth and revived against his administrator.

Page 275 U. S. 472