Court : US Supreme Court
mcdermott v. wisconsin - 228 u.s. 115 (1913) u.s. supreme court mcdermott v. wisconsin, 228 u.s. 115 (1913) mcdermott v. wisconsin nos. 112, 113 argued january 17, 20, 1913 decided april 7, 1913 228 u.s. 115 error to the supreme court of the state of wisconsin syllabus state legislation in regard to labeling articles in interstate commerce which are required to be branded under the federal pure food and drugs act is void so far as it interferes with the provisions of such act and imposes a burden on interstate commerce, and so held as to certain provisions of the wisconsin statute. congress not only has the right to pas laws regulating legitimate commerce among the states and with foreign nations, but also has full power to bar from the channels of such commerce illicit and harmful articles. congress may itself determine the means appropriate to this purpose; and, so long as they do no violence to the other provisions of the constitution, congress is itself the judge of the means to be employed in exercising the powers conferred on it in this respect. the pure food and drugs act must be construed in the light of the purpose and power of congress to exclude poisonous and adulterated food from interstate commerce. hipolite egg co. v. united states, 220 u. s. 45 . articles the shipment or delivery of which in interstate commerce is prohibited by 2 of the food and drugs act are those which are adulterated or misbranded within the meaning of the act in the light of those .....
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wheeler v. city and county of denver - 229 u.s. 342 (1913) u.s. supreme court wheeler v. city and county of denver, 229 u.s. 342 (1913) wheeler v. city and county of denver no. 473 argued january 7, 1913 decided june 10, 1913 229 u.s. 342 appeal from the circuit court of the united states for the district of colorado syllabus the fact that the plaintiff in a taxpayer's suit against a municipality was solicited to bring the suit and was indemnified against liability for costs and fees is not enough, in itself, in the absence of any illegal purpose to make the case collusive so as to deprive the court of jurisdiction. cashman v. amador canal co., 118 u. s. 58 , distinguished. the motives of litigants in seeking federal jurisdiction are immaterial. blair v. chicago, 201 u. s. 401 . a plaintiff is not to be charged with bad faith in bringing an action simply because, after it was commenced, the same issue was raised and decided adversely in an action between other parties. the appellants filed a bill in equity in the circuit court for the eighth circuit, district of colorado, against the city and county of denver and the other appellees, who constitute the public utilities commission to restrain them from paying out any moneys authorized by the provisions of an amendment to the charter of the city, and likewise to restrain them and each of them from issuing or attempting to issue $8,000,000 of bonds authorized at an election directed by the amendment to the charter of page 229 .....
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owensboro v. cumberland tel. & tel. co. - 230 u.s. 58 (1913) u.s. supreme court owensboro v. cumberland tel. & tel. co., 230 u.s. 58 (1913) owensboro v. cumberland telephone & telegraph company no. 244 argued april 22, 1913 decided june 16, 1913 230 u.s. 58 appeal from the circuit court of the united states for the western district of kentucky syllabus rights conferred by a municipal ordinance on a corporation qualified to conduct a public business come from the state through delegated power to the city. a municipal ordinance granting to a corporation qualified to carry on a public business, such as a telephone system, the right to use the streets for that purpose is more than a mere revocable license; it is the granting of a property right, assignable, taxable and alienable, an asset of value and a basis of credit. such a grant is one of property rights in perpetuity unless limited in duration by the grant itself or by a limitation imposed by the general law of the state or by the corporate powers of the municipality. the powers of municipalities of kentucky to grant licenses in the streets for telephones were not limited in 1889 as to time, and, under a charter provision giving power to regulate streets and alleys, a municipality had ample power to grant a franchise to a telephone company to place and maintain poles and wires thereon. a corporation is capable of taking a grant of street rights of longer duration than its own corporate existence if the grant expressly .....
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union oil co. of california v. smith - 249 u.s. 337 (1919) u.s. supreme court union oil co. of california v. smith, 249 u.s. 337 (1919) union oil co. of california v. smith no. 8 submitted november 13, 1918 decided march 31, 1919 249 u.s. 337 error to the supreme court of the state of california syllabus in order to create valid rights or initiate a title as against the united states under the mining laws, a discovery of mineral within the location is essential. p. 249 u. s. 346 . for the purpose of exploring for mineral, a qualified person who has entered peaceably upon vacant public land is treated as a licensee or tenant at will of the united states and allowed, as of necessity, a right of possession, the extent of which, i.e., whether confined to pedis possessio or coterminous with the boundaries of his inchoate location -- is not here decided. id. the right of possession before discovery may be maintained only by continued actual occupancy by a qualified locator or his representatives engaged in persistent and diligent prosecution of work looking to the discovery of mineral. p. 249 u. s. 348 . discovery may follow the marking and recording of a mining claim, and perfect the location as of the time of discovery, provided no rights of third parties have intervened. p. 249 u. s. 347 . the terms "assessments," "annual assessment labor," and "assessment work" in acts of congress, as in the practice of miners, have nothing to do with the locating or holding of a claim before .....
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carbon steel co. v. lewellyn - 251 u.s. 501 (1920) u.s. supreme court carbon steel co. v. lewellyn, 251 u.s. 501 (1920) carbon steel company v. lewellyn no. 535 argued january 12, 1920 decided march 1, 1920 251 u.s. 501 certiorari to the circuit court of appeals for the third circuit syllabus the rule of strict construction will not be pressed so far as to reduce a taxing statute to a practical nullity by permitting easy evasion. p. 251 u. s. 505 . the munitions manufacturer's tax payable under the act of september 8, 1916, c. 463, 301, 39 stat. 780, by persons "manufacturing" shells, etc., and computed as an excise of 12 1/2 percent upon the net profit from the sale or disposition of such article "manufactured" page 251 u. s. 502 within the united states, applies to the profits derived from sale of shells under contract to the british government by one who performed the manufacture in its early stage only, and had the subsequent operations performed by subcontractors, furnishing them the steel so partly manufactured, with some of the other materials, retaining ownership of materials when furnished, and control of the operations, and owning the shell when completed. p. 251 u. s. 503 . this liability is not affected by the fact that the subcontractors paid a similar tax on their profits. p. 251 u. s. 506 . 258 f. 533 affirmed. the case is stated in the opinion. mr. justice mckenna delivered the opinion of the court. petitioner brought this action against lewellyn, who is .....
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forged steel wheel co. v. lewellyn - 251 u.s. 511 (1920) u.s. supreme court forged steel wheel co. v. lewellyn, 251 u.s. 511 (1920) forged steel wheel company v. lewellyn no. 526 argued january 8, 9, 1920 decided march 1, 1920 251 u.s. 511 certiorari to the circuit court of appeals for the third circuit syllabus a rough shell forging is a "part" of a shell in the sense of the munition tax act. p. 251 u. s. 512 . worth bros. co. v. lederer, ante, 251 u. s. 507 ; aud carbon steel co. v. lewellyn, ante, 251 u. s. 501 , followed. 258 f. 533 affirmed. the case is stated in the opinion. page 251 u. s. 512 mr. justice mckenna delivered the opinion of the court. action brought by petitioner against lewellyn, collector of internal revenue in the district court for the western district of pennsylvania, to recover the sum of $246,920.18 exacted from petitioner as a tax under the munitions tax act, and paid under protest. interest was also prayed from november 27, 1917. the tax was exacted upon the ground (and it was so alleged) that that sum was the tax on the amount of the net profits received by petitioner from the manufacture and sale of certain steel forgings used in the manufacture of shells. the circumstances said to show the tax to have been illegally exacted were detailed, of which there was denial by the collector, and upon issues thus formed, the case was tried to a jury, which, in submission to the instructions of the court, returned a verdict for petitioner for the amount .....
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eibel process co. v. minnesota & ontario paper co. - 261 u.s. 45 (1923) u.s. supreme court eibel process co. v. minnesota & ontario paper co., 261 u.s. 45 (1923) eibel process company v. minnesota & ontario paper company no. 178 argued january 5, 8, 1923 decided february 19, 1923 261 u.s. 45 certiorari to the circuit court of appeals for the first circuit syllabus 1. the eibel patent, no. 845,224, for an improvement on fourdrinier papermaking machines, whereby, mainly through a substantial elevation of the breast-roll end of the moving screen or "papermaking wire," the liquid stock discharged upon the screen acquires, through gravity, an additional speed, enabling it to keep pace with the screen at the critical paper-forming point, thus avoiding injurious disturbances of the stock when the screen moves very rapidly, and making possible a much speedier production of good paper than was theretofore obtained from the machines without the improvement held a new and useful invention. p. 261 u. s. 52 . 2. the prompt and general adoption of the improvement, with increased productivity of the machines to which it was applied, is strong evidence of its novelty and usefulness. p. 261 u. s. 56 . 3. previous adoption of a comparatively slight pitch of the screen, but for another and distinct purpose, did not constitute anticipation of this invention. p. 261 u. s. 58 . 4. oral evidence of prior discovery must be clear and satisfactory to sustain an attack on a patent. p. 261 u. s. 60 . .....
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westinghouse elec. & mfg. co. v. formica ins. co. - 266 u.s. 342 (1924) u.s. supreme court westinghouse elec. & mfg. co. v. formica ins. co., 266 u.s. 342 (1924) westinghouse electric & manufacturing company v. formica insulating company no. 102 argued october 22, 23, 1924. decided december 8, 1924 266 u.s. 342 certiorari to the circuit court of appeals for the sixth circuit syllabus 1. an assignment of a patent, or of the invention upon which a patent is subsequently granted to the assignee, though not required to be under seal, works an estoppel as by deed, preventing the assignor from denying the novelty and utility of the patented invention when sued by the assignee for infringement. p. 266 u. s. 348 . 2. this estoppel, however, distinct from any that might arise in pais from special representation, while it estops the assignor from denying the validity of the claims, does not prevent him from narrowing or qualifying their construction by showing the state of the art. pp. 266 u. s. 350 -352. 3. the estoppel is applicable to claims added by an assignee and allowed by the patent office after the assignment which were foreshadowed by the specifications sworn to by the assignor and accompanying his application. p. 266 u. s. 353 . 4. but it will not be enlarged by a claim originally made by the assignor but so manifestly invalid that it was promptly rejected by the patent office as embracing the prior art. p. 266 u. s. 354 . 5. patent no. 1,284,432, issued to the plaintiff as .....
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united states v. swift & co. - 270 u.s. 124 (1926) u.s. supreme court united states v. swift & co., 270 u.s. 124 (1926) united states v. swift & company nos. 288 and 289 submitted november 24, 1925 decided march 1, 1926 270 u.s. 124 appeals from the court of claims syllabus 1. a finding by the court of claims that a general who signed a contract for army supplies was the representative of the quartermaster's department in that regard held conclusive on this court as a finding of fact, or of mixed law and fact, where the result involved consideration of apparent conflicts of jurisdiction of many food supply agencies during the war, and of orders from the war department and quartermaster's department, the effect of which was limited in practice, all of which were before the court of claims. p. 270 u. s. 137 . 2. orders for the purchase of bacon for the army, accepted by the seller and signed by the proper representatives of the quartermaster's department and the food administration, held authorized in writing on behalf of the government. p. 270 u. s. 138 . 3. the authority of the representative of the packing house products branch of the subsistence division of the quartermaster general's office at chicago, to purchase meat products for the army, which was repeatedly exercised and recognized, was not affected by the assignment of another officer as the purchasing and contracting officer for the packing house products and produce division of the office of the depot .....
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timken roller bearing co. v. pennsylvania r co - 273 u.s. 665 (1927) u.s. supreme court timken roller bearing co. v. pennsylvania r co, 273 u.s. 665 (1927) 273 u.s. 665 timken roller bearing company, plaintiff in error, v. the pennsylvania railroad company,* and thomas p. goodbody, as receiver of the hydraulic steel company, plaintiff in error, v. the pennsylvania railroad company. nos. 168, 178. supreme court of the united states february 28, 1927 messrs. luther day and rufus s. day, both of cleveland, ohio (donald w. kling, of cleveland, ohio, of counsel), for plaintiff in error. messrs. andrew squire, thomas m. kirby and andrew p. martin, all of cleveland, ohio, for defendant in error. per curiam. dismissed for lack of jurisdiction in this court on the authority of transportes maritimos do estado v. almeida, 265 u.s. 104, 105 , 44 s. ct. 449, and oliver american trading co. v. united states of mexico, 264 u.s. 440, 442 , 44 s. ct. 390. footnotes [ footnote * ] dismissal set aside 274 u.s. 181 , 47 s. ct. 550, 71 l. ed. -.[ timken roller bearing co v. pennsylvania r co 273 u.s. 665 (1927) ]
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