Affiliations

• Dupont Engineering Co. v. Nashville Banner Pub. Co.

  Cites Washington Post Co. v. Chaloner — 47 App. D. C. 66, reversed.

• Tennessee Electric Power Co. v. Tennessee Valley Authority

  District Court, E.D. Tennessee · 1938-01-24 · cited 15×

  The case involved nineteen private power companies challenging the constitutionality of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 and seeking to enjoin the TVA from constructing dams, generating and selling hydroelectric power, and competing with their operations in multiple states. The companies alleged that the TVA exceeded its statutory authority, engaged in coercion and conspiracy, and violated constitutional limits on federal power under the commerce and national defense clauses. The court dismissed the bill and denied the injunction, holding that the TVA Act is constitutional because it authorizes the government to dispose of property (hydroelectric power) generated at dams built for legitimate federal purposes like flood control and navigation. The court further reasoned that the complainants lacked exclusive franchises and could not claim immunity from lawful government competition, and that no fraud or overreach by the TVA was shown.

  federal powerbusiness & regulatory

  Read the full opinion inline ▾ (8,661 words)

• American Airways, Inc. v. Wallace

  District Court, M.D. Tennessee · 1932-03-31 · cited 4×

  This case involved a suit by American Airways, a nonresident airline primarily engaged in interstate commerce, seeking to enjoin Tennessee state officials from collecting a state excise tax on the storage and distribution of gasoline used to refuel its planes at in-state landing fields. The tax was imposed under Tennessee statutes as a privilege tax on businesses storing or distributing gasoline, computed on withdrawals from storage. The court denied the application for a temporary injunction, holding that the tax applied to the plaintiff's in-state business activities and did not constitute an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause. It reasoned that the tax targeted the privilege of engaging in storage and distribution within the state rather than directly regulating or burdening interstate transportation, and that the airline was not an instrumentality of the federal government exempt from such taxation. The court also noted the availability of an adequate remedy at law through payment under protest and a refund suit.

  taxesfederal powerbusiness & regulatory

  Read the full opinion inline ▾ (3,322 words)

• Dupont Engineering Co. v. Nashville Banner Pub. Co.

  District Court, M.D. Tennessee · 1925-03-09 · cited 18×

  This case involves a libel action brought by a nonresident corporation against a newspaper publisher for publishing allegedly false and defamatory statements about the plaintiff's business operations and management in connection with a government-related project. The matter came before the court on the defendant's demurrer, which challenged whether the publication was libelous per se and thus actionable without allegations of special damages. The court held that the publication was libelous per se because it reflected on the corporation's business affairs, fraud, or mismanagement, allowing the suit to proceed without special damages under established defamation rules applicable to corporations. It further determined that the publication was subject to a qualified privilege as a good-faith report of an official interview on a matter of public interest, which would rebut presumed malice but could be overcome by proof of actual malice. Most grounds of the demurrer were overruled, with one sustained to permit amendment of the pleadings.

  free speechtorts & liability

  Read the full opinion inline ▾ (10,746 words)