Baltimore & Ohio R. Co. v. United States, 261 U.S. 592 (1923)
U.S. Supreme Court
Baltimore & Ohio R. Co. v. United States, 261 U.S. 592 (1923)
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company v. United States
No. 305
Argued March 12, 1923
Decided April 9, 1923
261 U.S. 592
Syllabus
1. The Dent Act, c. 94, 40 Stat. 1272, was intended to remedy irregularities and informalities in the mode of entering into the agreements to which it relates; not to enlarge the authority of the agents by whom they were made. P. 261 U.S. 596.
2. The "implied agreement" contemplated by this act is not an agreement "implied in law," or quasi contract, but an agreement "implied in fact" founded on a meeting of minds inferred, as a fact, from conduct of the parties in the light of surrounding circumstances. P. 261 U.S. 597.
3. Findings of fact showing that the claimant railway company constructed temporary barracks for troops who were guarding its property as well as that of the government, and undertook this without any order from their commanding officer, but voluntarily and without mentioning compensation, apparently from its own desire to provide for the comfort of the troops -- held an insufficient basis for implying an agreement that the government would pay the cost of construction. P. 261 U. S. 599.
57 Ct.Clms. 140 affirmed.
Appeal from a judgment of the Court of Claims dismissing the petition, after a hearing upon the merits, in an action to recover compensation under the Dent Act.