Hill v. Wallace

Background

The dispute involves the Future Trading Act, a federal law approved August 24, 1921, and actions around the Chicago Board of Trade. The order names the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago and its directors, several federal officers (including the Secretary of Agriculture and tax officials), and the parties who asked the court for relief. The Court advanced the case to January 3, 1922, and the challengers were required to post a bond to keep the order in place.

Reasoning

The central question was whether the Court should temporarily stop the Board and federal officials from taking steps required by the new law until the case is finally decided. The Court granted that temporary relief. It barred the Chicago Board of Trade from seeking or accepting a “contract market” designation, from admitting representatives of producer cooperatives as the law would require, and from changing its rules to comply with the Act. It also restrained named federal officials from collecting taxes or penalties or otherwise enforcing the Act against the Board or its members while the case is pending and for twenty days after final judgment. The order is conditional on the challengers filing a $25,000 bond within ten days.

Real world impact

The ruling pauses enforcement of key parts of the Future Trading Act for the Board of Trade and its members while litigation continues. It protects current members from tax collection or prosecution related to that law for the specified period. This is a temporary measure and could be changed by the Court’s final judgment.