Atlantic Coast Line Railroad v. United States

The plaintiff sues for freight charges admittedly earned in carrying freight for the Government, but not paid because the Government claimed that the plaintiff had overcharged it on former shipments, and deducted the amount of the alleged overcharges from the freight earned. The question is whether the plaintiff did overcharge the Government on the former shipments and, if so, whether it was lawful for the Government to pay itself for the overcharges by deducting their amount from the freight later earned by the plaintiff.

At an earlier stage of this case the plaintiff made a motion for a…