Commercial Cable Co. v. Burleson

Background

Two U.S. cable companies sued to stop the Postmaster General from controlling their marine cable lines after a 1918 presidential proclamation and a wartime joint resolution. The companies said the President lacked authority, had wrongly used that power, and failed to provide adequate compensation. The lower court dismissed their bills for lack of equity, concluding the matters were not a proper subject for relief and that compensation procedures were constitutionally adequate.

Reasoning

While the appeals were pending, the Government returned the cable lines and no longer claimed an interest in them. The United States acknowledged the cases had become moot. The companies argued the Court should still decide because the original seizure was wrongful and might recur, and because future revenue claims might follow. The Court rejected those fears as insufficient to keep the suits alive. Following prior practice, the Court reversed the lower decrees and directed the lower court to replace them with dismissals without prejudice and without costs.

Real world impact

Because the Government returned the property and revenues that had been kept separate, the Court did not decide whether the President’s wartime control was lawful or whether compensation procedures fully satisfied the Constitution. The companies therefore receive no final judicial vindication on the merits now. If a similar controversy arises later, the owners may bring a new suit, but this decision leaves the earlier seizure dispute legally unresolved.