Baer Brothers Mercantile Company v. Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company

MR. JUSTICE LAMAR, after making the foregoing statement of facts, delivered the opinion of the court. In proceedings before the Commerce Commission the plaintiff secured an order requiring the defendant to pay it $3,438.27 as reparation for unreasonable freight-rates charged and collected, the fixing of a new and just rate being left for future decision. The carrier failed to make the payment required and the plaintiff thereupon brought suit and recovered judgment for the sum awarded together with interest and attorneys' fees. This judgment was reversed by the Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that the order was void on its face and could not be the basis of a recovery for the reason that, while reparation had been awarded on the ground that the old rate was unreasonable, the Commission had not fixed a new and just rate for the future.