Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. United States

Reed, Justice (Ret.),

sitting by designation, delivered the opinion of the court:

During the years from 1942 through 1945 the plaintiff and its connecting carriers transported quantities of army half-tracks over its lines within the United States at the instance of the defendant. The bills of lading indicated that the articles were to be shipped at the “class rate,” and, indeed, the Government paid for the service on that assumption. Recently the defendant recouped certain amounts from other debts owing the plaintiff on the theory that it was obligated to pay for the transport at the “commodity…