United States v. Allied Oil Corp. et al. (341 U.S. 1)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 9, 1951 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 341 U.S. 1 · 71 S. Ct. 544
- Decided
- April 9, 1951
- Term
- October Term 1950
- Vote
- 7–0
- Majority author
- Justice Black
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Black delivered the opinion of the Court. Section 205 (e) of the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942, as amended, authorized the Price Administrator under certain circumstances to institute damage actions against sellers of commodities who charged more than prescribed ceiling prices. Pursuant to this section, the consolidated cases now before us were brought in the District Coui’t by the Administrator in his own name “for and on behalf of the United States,” and were properly pending there on April 23,1947. On that day the President, in connection with the termination of price controls, promulgated Executive Orders Nos. 9841 and 9842: No. 9841, among other things, transferred various price administration functions to the Secretary of Commerce; No. 9842, so far as here material, authorized the Attorney General to conduct certain § 205 (e) litigation “in the name of the United States or otherwise as permitted by law . . . .” In view of these orders the Attorney General promptly moved to substitute the United States as party plaintiff in the present proceedings. Although the district judge granted the motion, he dismissed the complaints in 1950 on the ground that there had been an improper substitution because the suits could not be maintained in the name of the United States. The Court of Appeals affirmed. 183 F. 2d 453. It held that the President in his Executive…
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