Hutton v. Schell
U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York
This was an action [by Benjamin H. Hutton, survivor] against [Augustus Schell) the collector of the port of New York, to recover back duties paid under protest, and which were alleged by the plaintiffs to have been illegally exacted by the defendant, on sundry importations of goods from Europe.
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This was an action [by Benjamin H. Hutton, survivor] against [Augustus Schell) the collector of the port of New York, to recover back duties paid under protest, and which were alleged by the plaintiffs to have been illegally exacted by the defendant, on sundry importations of goods from Europe. It now came up for a second trial, having been once tried in December, 1866. On the first trial, all the questions now raised were passed upon by the court, except the question as to the construction and application of some of the protests. A verdict was rendered for the plaintiffs, and a reference was…
1Opinion of the CourtSmalley, District Judge
(charging jury). This case depends, almost exclusively, upon legal questions. It is, virtually, an action against the government. No execution can issue against the collector, unless, in the opinion of the court, he acted in bad faith, or, in the language of the law, “without probable cause.” Against any errors of judgment, or erroneous constructions of law, the collector, as the law now stands, is protected.
The plaintiffs claim, in substance, that, commencing in July, 1857, and continuing through a period of years, until 1861, during nearly the entire time while the defendant held the office…
2Cited by3 opinions
- United States v. Heffernan Paper Co.Court of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1926
- Roessler & Hasslacher Chemical Co. v. United StatesCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals · 1911
- Sterling v. HollisterHawaii Supreme Court · 1873