United States v. South Buffalo Railway Co. et al. (333 U.S. 771)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 26, 1948 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 333 U.S. 771 · 68 S. Ct. 868
- Docket
- No. 198
- Argued
- February 2, 1948
- Decided
- April 26, 1948
- Term
- October Term 1947
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Jackson (R.H.)
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Burton, Justice R. H. Jackson (wrote), Justice Frankfurter, Justice Reed
- Dissenting
- Justice Douglas, Justice Black, Justice Rutledge (wrote), Justice Murphy
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Jackson ' delivered the opinion of the Court. The Government, by direct appeal from the District Court, invites us to reconsider and overrule the interpretation of the commodities clause of the Interstate Commerce Act promulgated in United States v. Elgin, Joliet & Eastern R. Co., 298 U. S. 492. That holding, in substance, is that the prohibition against a railroad company transporting any commodity which it owns or in which it has an interest, except for its own use, does not prevent it from transporting commodities of a corporation whose stock is wholly owned by a holding company which also owns all of the stock of the railway, unless the control of the railway is so exercised as to make it the alter ego of the holding company. The present challenge to that doctrine is predicated on the following facts: Bethlehem Steel Corporation (the holding company) owns substantially all of the stocks of South Buffalo Railway Company (South Buffalo) and of Bethlehem Steel Company (the Steel Company). At its Lackawanna plant, near Buffalo, N. Y., the Steel Company produces steel and from it fabricates various products. These commodities are transported by the South Buffalo from the plant to the rails of trunk-line carriers. In fact, South Buffalo provides the sole terminal connection between this industry and the trunk-line railroads. It operates about 6 miles of main-line…
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