Far East Conference et al. v. United States et al. (342 U.S. 570)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 10, 1952 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 342 U.S. 570 · 72 S. Ct. 492
- Docket
- No. 15M
- Argued
- January 30, 1952
- Decided
- March 10, 1952
- Term
- October Term 1951
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority author
- Justice Frankfurter
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Minton, Justice Burton, Justice R. H. Jackson, Justice Frankfurter (wrote), Justice Reed
- Dissenting
- Justice Douglas (wrote), Justice Black
Opinion excerpt
Me. Justice Frankfurter delivered the opinion of the Court. This is a suit in the District Court for New Jersey to enjoin violations of the Sherman Law. 26 Stat. 209, 15 U. S. C. §§ 1 and 2. The defendants were the Far East Conference, a voluntary association, and its constituent members, steamship companies engaged in what is known as' the “outbound Far East trade.” The Conference was organized in 1922, and the Conference Agreement under which it .operates was approved by the United States Shipping Board, exercising authority under the Shipping Act of 1916, as amended. Under this Agreement there has been established a dual system of rates, called the contract and noncontract rate system. Shippers who agreed to use exclusively bottoms of Conference members paid one rate'; those who did not bind themselves by such exclusive patronage contract paid a fixed higher rate. Shippers who adhered to the exclusive patronage contract were not tied to a particular carrier; they were free to choose among Conference carriers. The Conference members, however, were obligated to supply facilities sufficient to handle freight destined for the Far East. This system of two levels of freight rates constituted the gravamen of the Government’s suit. Admitting the dual-rate system, the defendants, justified on the merits but moved that the complaint be dismissed. on the ground that the nature of the…
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