Illinois Packing Co. v. Snyder

• Citation: 151 F.2d 337
• Decision Date: 25 September 1945
• Docket Number: No. 223.,223.
• Parties: ILLINOIS PACKING CO. v. SNYDER, Administrator, Office of Federal Loan Administrator, et al.
• Court: U.S. Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals

151 F.2d 337 (1945)

ILLINOIS PACKING CO. v. SNYDER, Administrator, Office of Federal Loan Administrator, et al.

No. 223.

United States Emergency Court of Appeals.

Submitted June 22, 1945.

Decided September 25, 1945.

Irwin N. Walker and Peter B. Atwood, both of Chicago, Ill., for complainant.

John D. Goodloe, George B. Stoner, James L. Dougherty, and John C. Erickson, all of Washington, D. C., for respondents.

Before MARIS, Chief Judge, and MAGRUDER and McALLISTER, Judges.

MAGRUDER, Judge.

Illinois Packing Company in this proceeding challenges the validity of certain provisions of Amendment No. 2 (9 F.R. 1820) to Regulation No. 3 (8 F.R. 10826) issued by the Defense Supplies Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (6 F.R. 2972). A special subsidy of 80 cents per cwt. to nonprocessing slaughterers of cattle was established pursuant to a Directive of the Office of Economic Stabilization issued October 25, 1943 (8 F.R. 14641). The provisions of Amendment No. 2 to which complainant takes exception prescribe certain conditions upon the payment of the subsidy in question. To be eligible for the subsidy, a nonprocessing slaughterer, as defined, must be an "unaffiliated slaughterer"; that is, it must not "own or control" or be "owned or controlled by" a processor of meat, and the phrase "own or control" is defined as meaning "to own or control directly or indirectly a partnership equity or in excess of ten per cent of any class of outstanding stock * * *." It is alleged that the Defense Supplies Corporation held that complainant was not eligible to receive the special subsidy upon the ground that more than 10 per cent of its outstanding capital stock was owned or controlled by a processor of meat, Pfaelzer Brothers, of Chicago, Illinois.

In an earlier effort to raise the issues presented by the pending complaint, Illinois Packing Company filed with the Price Administrator a protest against the provisions of said Amendment No. 2. This protest was dismissed by the Administrator for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that he had no power in the premises, since the protested provisions were part of a subsidy regulation issued by another government agency, the Defense Supplies Corporation. Thereupon, Illinois Packing Company filed its complaint in this court. We dismissed this complaint, in Illinois Packing Co. v. Bowles, Em.App. 1945, 147 F.2d 554, 558, concluding that the protest was not a protest properly filed with the Price Administrator pursuant to section 203(a) of the Emergency Price Control Act, 50 U.S.C.A. Appendix § 923(a); that the Administrator had no choice but to dismiss the protest; and that the filing of the complaint, which named the Price Administrator as sole respondent, did not give us jurisdiction to review the validity of Amendment No. 2, issued by the Defense Supplies Corporation.

In our opinion in Illinois Packing Co. v. Bowles, supra, we went on to say that, as then advised, but reserving decision on the point, we thought complainant "might have filed its protest to Amendment No. 2 with the Defense Supplies Corporation and that, if such protest had been denied by that agency, the complainant might then have filed its complaint in this court under § 204 (a) of the Act, naming the Defense Supplies Corporation as respondent."

Taking its cue from our obiter dictum thus expressed, Illinois Packing Company started over again. It lodged a protest with the Federal Loan Administrator and the Defense Supplies Corporation against certain provisions of Amendment No. 2 to Regulation No. 3 of the latter Corporation. By vote of the directors of the Defense Supplies Corporation on April 9, 1945, the secretary of the Corporation, on behalf of the Corporation and the Federal Loan Administrator, was authorized to inform the Illinois Packing Company that its protest had been denied. Thereupon Illinois Packing Company filed the present complaint in this court.

Respondents, the Federal Loan Administrator and Defense Supplies Corporation, have filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for the reason that this court lacks jurisdiction to entertain it. The motion to dismiss must be denied.

Under section 204(d) of the Act, 50 U.S.C.A. Appendix § 924(d), this court, and the Supreme Court upon certiorari, are given "exclusive jurisdiction to determine the validity of any regulation or order issued under section 2 * * *." We have nothing to add to our reasons stated in Illinois Packing Co. v. Bowles, supra, for concluding that Amendment No. 2 is a "regulation or order issued under section 2".

We now reaffirm the reasons we tentatively advanced in that opinion for the further conclusion that this jurisdiction might be invoked by the filing of a complaint under section 204(a), following protest lodged with the Defense Supplies Corporation against the provisions of Amendment No. 2 and the denial of such protest by said corporation, all pursuant to the protest procedure in § 203 of the Act. Briefly, we shall discuss one or two further points pressed by respondents in their memorandum in support of the motion to dismiss.

Under section 203(a), "any person subject to any provision" of a regulation or order under section 2, 50 U.S.C.A. Appendix § 902, may file a protest. This is not a jurisdictional provision, but relates to the standing of a particular person to invoke our jurisdiction. In Buka...