Smyth v. Ames
1898 United States Supreme Court case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Smyth v. Ames, 171 U.S. 361 (1898), also called The Maximum Freight Case, was an 1898 United States Supreme Court case.[1] The Supreme Court voided a Nebraska railroad tariff law, declaring that it violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in that it takes property without the due process of law.[2] The Court defined the constitutional limits of governmental power to set railroad and utility rates by stating that regulated industries have the right to a "fair return". The ruling was later overturned in Federal Power Commission v. Hope Natural Gas Co.[3][4]
Smyth v. Ames | |
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Submitted May 9, 1898 Decided May 31, 1898 | |
Full case name | Smyth, Attorney General, et al. v. Ames, et al.; Smyth, Attorney General, et al. v. Smith, et al.; Smyth, Attorney General, et al. v. Higginson, et al. |
Citations | 171 U.S. 361 (more) 18 S. Ct. 888; 43 L. Ed. 197; 1898 U.S. LEXIS 1608 |
Holding | |
Voided Nebraska railroad tariffs and defined the constitutional limits of governmental power to set railroad and utility rates. | |
Court membership | |
| |
Case opinion | |
Majority | Harlan |
Laws applied | |
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Contract Clause | |
Overruled by | |
Federal Power Commission v. Hope Natural Gas Co., 320 U.S. 591 (1944) |
The decision was unanimous and the majority opinion was written by Justice John M. Harlan.