United States v. Atlantic Refining Co.

The Elkins. Act, 32 Stat. 847, as amended, 49 U. S. C. §§ 41, 43, and the Interstate Commerce Act, 24 Stat. 380, as amended, 49 U. S. C. § 6 (7), make it unlawful for a common carrier to grant rebates to individual shippers by any device whatsoever, or to discriminate in favor of any shipper directly or indirectly. In 1941 the United States brought a complaint against appellees and several other major oil companies .and their common carrier pipeline subsidiaries claiming that the pipelines were granting illegal transportation rebates to their shipper-owners under the guise of paying…