Stratton v. St Louis Southwestern Ry Co

Decision Date15 February 1932
Docket NumberNo. 178,178
Citation284 U.S. 530,76 L.Ed. 465,52 S.Ct. 222
PartiesSTRATTON, Secretary of State of the State of Illinois, v. ST. LOUIS SOUTHWESTERN RY. CO. Re
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Messrs. Bayard Lacey Catron and Oscar E. Carlstrom, both of Springfield, Ill., for appellant.

Mr. Josiah Whitnel, of East St. Louis, Ill., for appellee.

Mr. Justice STONE delivered the opinion of the Court.

This case is here on appeal, Jud. Code §§ 238, 266 (28 USCA §§ 345, 380), from a final decree of a District Court of three judges for the Southern District of Illinois, enjoining the assessment and collection from appellee of the minimum annual corporation franchise tax of $1,000, under sections 105, 107, 112, 114, of the Illinois Corporation Act (Smith-Hurd Rev. St. 1931, c. 32), as an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce, and as violating the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. After argument here on the merits, the cause was again argued by direction of the Court, argument being limited to the question of the jurisdiction of the District Court, both with respect to the amount involved in the suit and its jurisdiction as a court of equity.

The bill sets up as ground for equitable relief the threat of revocation of appellee's certificate of authority to do business within the state for failure to pay the tax, pursuant to sections 92 and 94 of the act, and the consequent irreparable injury to its business. The equity jurisdiction of the District Court was challenged by appellant's motion below to dismiss the bill of complaint, and by the assignments of error here, and the question presented, like that in Matthews v. Rodgers, 284 U. S. 521, 52 S. Ct. 217, 76 L. Ed. 447, decided this day, is whether, under state laws, the appellee is afforded such an adequate remedy, by payment of the tax and the maintenance of a suit at law to recover it, as to preclude resort to the preventive jurisdiction of equity.

By the laws of Illinois, as appellant argues, a tax paid under duress and protest that it is illegally exacted may be recovered at law in an action of assumpsit, brought either against the taxing body, the state excepted, see Harvey & Body v. Olney, 42 Ill. 336; or against the collecting officer, see Yates v. Royal Insurance Co., 200 Ill. 202, 65 N. E. 726; School of Domestic Arts and Science v. Harding, 331 Ill. 330, 163 N. E. 15. See, also, German Alliance Insurance Co. v. Van Cleave, 191 Ill. 410, 413-414, 61 N. E. 94, and Hawkins v. Lake County, 303 Ill. 624, 629, 136 N. E. 487, in each of which the court entertained bills by numerous taxpayers to enjoin the collection of taxes or to compel their refund, on the express ground that to do so would avoid a multiplicity of suits at law.

Recovery of the tax may not be had, even though illegally exacted, unless its payment is procured by duress. See Richardson Lubricating Co. v. Kinney, 337 Ill. 122, 168 N. E. 886. But where the payment is of a corporate franchise tax like the present, made to avoid forfeiture of the franchise, which would result from nonpayment, there is such duress as entitles the taxpayer to recover. O'Gara Coal Co. v. Emmerson, 326 Ill. 18, 21, 156 N. E. 814; Western Cartridge Co. v. Emmerson, 335 Ill. 150, 166 N. E. 501. See Chicago & Eastern Illinois Ry. Co. v. Miller, 309 Ill. 257, 140 N. E. 823.

By the Illinois statute, applicable to the present tax, Smith-Hurd's 1931 Revised Illinois Statutes, c. 127, § 172, § 2(a), it is provided that:

'It shall be the duty of every officer, board, commission, commissioner, department, institute, arm or agency brought within the provisions of this Act by Section 1 hereof to hold for thirty days all moneys received for or on behalf of the State under protest and on the expiration of such period to deposit the same with the State Treasurer unless the party making such payment shall within such period file a bill in chancery and secure a temporary injunction restraining the making of such deposit, in which case such payment shall be held until the final order or decree of the court.'

This statute, for reasons stated at length in Matthews v. Rodgers, supra, can neither enlarge nor diminish the equity jurisdiction of the federal courts. It does not purport to confer any new remedy for the recovery of the tax. Nor does it impair the existing legal remedy, but supplements it by...

To continue reading

Request your trial
45 cases
  • Great Northern Life Ins Co v. Read
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • April 24, 1944
    ...50 S.Ct. 121, 123, 74 L.Ed. 478; Union Pac. Railroad Co. v. Dodge County, 98 U.S. 541, 544, 25 L.Ed. 196; Stratton v. St. Louis S.W. Ry., 284 U.S. 530, 532, 52 S.Ct. 222, 76 L.Ed. 465. 5 Keifer & Keifer v. R.F.C., 306 U.S. 381, 59 S.Ct. 516, 83 L.Ed. 784, is not to the contrary. When author......
  • Standard Oil Co. v. Fox, 3312.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 4th Circuit. Southern District of West Virginia
    • March 1, 1934
    ...S. 121, 50 S. Ct. 270, 74 L. Ed. 737; Matthews v. Rodgers, 284 U. S. 521, 52 S. Ct. 217, 76 L. Ed. 447; Stratton v. St. Louis S. W. Ry. Co., 284 U. S. 530, 52 S. Ct. 222, 76 L. Ed. 465. See, also, Id., 282 U. S. 10, 51 S. Ct. 8, 75 L. Ed. 135. Section 11 of the West Virginia statute provide......
  • Rosewell v. Salle National Bank
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • March 24, 1981
    ...284 U.S. 521, 528, 52 S.Ct. 217, 220, 76 L.Ed. 447 (1932) (Mississippi refund remedy); Stratton v. St. Louis Southwestern R. Co., 284 U.S. 530, 534, 52 S.Ct. 222, 223, 76 L.Ed. 465 (1932) (Illinois refund remedy), found adequate two state refund remedies that apparently did not pay interest......
  • Meredith v. City of Winter Haven
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • November 8, 1943
    ...or with the fiscal affairs of the state, Matthews v. Rodgers, 284 U.S. 521, 52 S.Ct. 217, 76 L.Ed. 447; Stratton v. St. Louis, S.W.R. Co., 284 U.S. 530, 52 S.Ct. 222, 76 L.Ed. 465; Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. v. Huffman, 319 U.S. 293, 63 S.Ct. 1070, 87 L.Ed. 1407; or with the state admini......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT