American Sugar Refining Company v. City of New Orleans

• Decision Date: 29 April 1901
• Docket Number: No. 535,535
• Parties: AMERICAN SUGAR REFINING COMPANY, Petitioner , v. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

181 U.S. 277

21 S.Ct. 646

45 L.Ed. 859

AMERICAN SUGAR REFINING COMPANY, Petitioner,

v CITY OF NEW ORLEANS.

No. 535.

Argued and Submitted March 18, 1901.

Decided April 29, 1901.

This was a petition for a writ of certiorari requiring the United States circuit court of appeals for the fifth circuit to certify to this court for its review and determination the case of American Sugar Ref. Co. v. New Orleans, No. 920, Nov. Term 1899, 43 C. C. A. 393, 104 Fed. Rep. 2, or in the alternative for a writ of mandamus to command the judges of said court to hear, try, and adjudge said cause.

The petition alleged that on June 14, 1899, the city of New Orleans brought suit by rule in a civil district court for the parish of Orleans, Louisiana, against the American Sugar Refining Company for a city license tax for the year 1899 for the sum of $6,250, with interest thereon, claiming said license tax solely by virtue of the laws of Louisiana and an ordinance of the city of New Orleans, as an occupation tax for carrying on the business of refining sugar and molassess in that city; that the American Sugar Refining Company petitioned the district court for an order removing the suit to the circuit court of the United States for the eastern district for Louisiana, the petition for removal being based solely upon the ground that the defendant was a corporation of New Jersey, and the plaintiff a corporation of Louisiana; which petition was granted, the bond required given, a certified copy of the record filed, and the suit dockated in the circuit court.

That thereafter, by order of the court, the city reformed its pleadings in some parts, 'the only difference of substance between said reformed petition and the original rule being that said reformed petition omitted the formal prayer for a recognition of a lien and privilege on defendant's property, and for an injunction against defendant carrying on its business.'

That the defendant answered:

'First. That it was a manufacturer, and as such exempt from license taxation under article 229 of the Constitution of the state of Louisiana of 1898, which exempts all manufacturers from state and municipal license taxation, except those of distilled, alcoholic, and malt liquors, tobacco, cigars, and cottonseed oil; and——

'Second. That the ordinance of the city of New Orleans under which said tax was claimed was based upon act No. 171 of the general assembly of Louisiana of 1898, and that the said act was in contravention of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, in that it exempted from license taxation planters and farmers who refine their own sugar and molasses, and thereby sought to make an illegal discrimination against those sugar refiners who were not planters and farmers, and denied to defendant, as one of such sugar refiners, the equal protection of the laws of the state of Louisiana; and that the said act and city ordinance based thereon were therefore unconstitutional and void as to defendant.'

That the suit was tried before the court and a jury, and evidence was adduced showing the nature and character of defendant's business in support of its claim that it was a manufacturer, which evidence of the defendant was uncontradicted in every particular; and also showing that the gross receipts of defendant's business were of such amount that, if liable at all for license tax, it was liable for the sum claimed; and defendant also filed an exception of no cause of action.

That at the close of the evidence defendant requested the court to direct the jury to render a verdict in its favor, which the court refused to do, and charged in plaintiff's favor, and plaintiff obtained a verdict and judgment. On defendant's application a bill of exceptions was duly settled and signed by the presiding judge; and the case carried on error to the United States circuit court of appeals for the fifth circuit. The cause was there heard, and on May 29, 1900, judgment was rendered by the circuit court of appeals dismissing the writ of error on the ground of want of jurisdiction. 43 C. C. A. 393, 104 Fed. Rep. 2. Petitioner thereupon applied for a rehearing, which was denied November 20, 1900.

Petitioner prayed for the writ of certiorari, or for the writ of mandamus as before stated. Leave was granted to file the petition, and a rule to show cause was thereupon entered, to which due return was made.

Messrs. Joseph W. Carroll and Charles Carroll for petitioner.

Mr. Samuel L. Gilmore submitted the case for respondent.

Mr. Chief Justice Fuller delivered the opinion of the court:

The jurisdiction of the circuit court rested on diverse citizenship, and not on any other ground, and had the circuit court of appeals gone on and decided the case, its decision would have been final, and our interposition could only have been invoked by certiorari.

This was so notwithstanding one of the defenses was the unconstitutionality of the ordinance. Colorado Cent. Consol. Min. Co v. Turck, 150 U. S. 138, 37 L. ed. 1030, 14 Sup. Ct. Rep. 35; Press Pub. Co. v. Monroe, 164 U. S. 105, 41 L. ed. 367, 17 Sup. Ct. Rep. 40; Ex parte Jones, 164 U. S. 691, 41 L. ed. 601, 17 Sup. Ct. Rep. 222. These, and many other cases to the same effect, related to the appellate jurisdiction of this court over the court of appeals under the 6th section of the judiciary act of March 3, 1891, but they necessarily involved consideration of our jurisdiction under the 5th section, and that of the court of appeals under the 6th section. By the 5th section appeals or writs of error may be taken from the district or circuit courts direct to this court in any case that 'involves the construction or application of the Constitution of the United States;' 'in which the constitutionality of any law of the United States, or the validity or construction of any treaty made under its authority, is drawn in question;' 'in which the Constitution or law of a state is claimed to be in contravention of the Constitution of the United States.' Section 6 provides that the circuit courts of appeals shall exercise appellate jurisdiction to review the final decisions of the district and circuit courts 'in all ca...