Slavens v. United States
United States Court of Claims
On the Proofs. The Reporters’ statement of the ease: The following are the facts of the case as found by the court: I. The claimant is a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Kansas City, in the State of Missouri. II.
Read the full summary
On the Proofs. The Reporters’ statement of the ease: The following are the facts of the case as found by the court: I. The claimant is a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Kansas City, in the State of Missouri. II. That on September 15, 1892, the then Postmaster-General of the United States, acting therein on behalf of the United States, advertised for proposals for transporting the mails in various cities, and among others, on route No. 204001, being the “covered regulation wagon mail messenger, transfer, and mail-station service,” at the city of Boston, Mass. III. That pursuant…
1Dissent
Nott, Oh. el.,
dissenting:
1. Mr. elustice Davis, in the case of Otis (20 C. Cls. R., 315), laid down as the rule of construction for these mail-messenger contracts of the Post-Office that the “new or additional mail-messenger or transfer service” which is to be performed “without additional compensation” must be construed to mean service similar in nature to that required by the contract. Ho also held that a contract prepared at the Post-Office, leaving the contractor no choice as to form or phraseology, must be construed in a doubtful case in favor of justice and against the Government. A…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Clark v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1877
- United States v. OtisSupreme Court of the United States · 1887
- Otis v. United StatesUnited States Court of Claims · 1885
- Union Transfer Co. v. United StatesUnited States Court of Claims · 1901