United States v. Unexcelled Chemical Corp., Civ. A. 87-50.
| Decision Date | 22 June 1951 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. 87-50. |
| Citation | 99 F. Supp. 155 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES v. UNEXCELLED CHEMICAL CORP. et al. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
Alfred E. Modarelli, U. S. Atty., Newark, N. J., John J. Barry, Asst. U. S. Atty., Trenton, N. J., for plaintiff.
Lindabury, Steelman & Lafferty, Newark, N. J., Douglas H. Thayer, Talbot M. Malcolm, New York City, for defendant.
This is an action to recover liquidated statutory damages allegedly due the United States under the Walsh-Healey Act, 41 U. S.C.A. § 35 et seq. Defendant moves for summary judgment on the ground that the action is barred by the two-year period of limitation prescribed by the Portal-to-Portal Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 255.
The pleadings disclose as undisputed facts that on April 17, 1947 the Secretary of Labor commenced an administrative proceeding charging defendant with knowingly employing minors in violation of the Walsh-Healey Act. After hearing, the trial examiner on February 25, 1949, found that defendant had knowingly employed certain minors and ordered that defendant pay the United States $15,600 as liquidated damages. The present action was instituted on January 27, 1950. The decision of the trial examiner indicates that the employment of the alleged minors occurred during the years 1942 to 1945. The question arises therefore whether the Government's alleged cause of action accrued at the time the alleged violations occurred, or at the time the trial examiner rendered his decision.
The Walsh-Healey Act, 41 U.S.C.A. § 35, requires that contracts with the Government for the manufacture of materials in any amount exceeding $10,000 shall contain, among other representations and stipulations, the following: "That no male person under sixteen years of age and no female person under eighteen years of age and no convict labor will be employed by the contractor in the manufacture or production or furnishing of any of the materials, supplies, articles, or equipment included in such contract; * * *." The statute further provides, 41 U.S.C.A. § 36, that the breach or violation of such a stipulation "* * * shall render the party responsible therefor liable to the United States of America for liquidated damages, in addition to damages for any other breach of such contract, the sum of $10 per day for each male person under sixteen years of age or each female person under eighteen years of age, or each convict laborer knowingly employed in the performance of such contract, * * *". This section provides also that any sums due the United States may be recovered in suits brought in the name of the United States by the Attorney General. The Secretary of Labor, or an impartial representative designated by him, is authorized by the Act, 41 U.S.C.A. § 39, to hold hearings and make findings of fact with respect to alleged violations.
In United States v. Craddock-Terry Shoe Corporation, D.C.W.D.Va.1949, 84 F.Supp. 842, it was stated by way of dictum that the time when the limitation of the Portal-to-Portal Act begins to run is the date...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Tobin v. Mason & Dixon Lines
...Lance, Inc., v. United States, 4 Cir., 190 F.2d 204; United States v. Lovknit Mfg. Co., 5 Cir., 189 F.2d 454; United States v. Unexcelled Chemical Corp. D.C., 99 F.Supp. 155. Only one decision has been found wherein the statute of limitations was pleaded as a defense in a contempt proceedin......
-
Unexcelled Chemical Corp v. United States
...the cause of action arose when petitioner violated the statute and that the two-year statute of limitations began to run from the date. 99 F.Supp. 155. The Court of Appeals reversed, 196 F.2d 264, holding that actions brought by the United States to enforce the child labor provisions of the......
-
United States v. WH Kistler Stationery Co., Civ. No. 3187.
...342 U.S. 915, 72 S.Ct. 287. The District Court for the District of New Jersey, Meaney, J., also in 1951, held in U. S. v. Unexcelled Chemical Corp., 99 F.Supp. 155, that the two-year limitation period prescribed by the Portal-to-Portal Act began to run at the time of the alleged violation o......
-
United States v. Unexcelled Chemical Corp., 10612.
...cause will be remanded to the district court for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. 1 United States v. Unexcelled Chemical Corp., D.C.N.J., 1951, 99 F.Supp. 155. 2 52 Stat. 1062-1064, 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 3 52 Stat. 1067, 29 U.S.C.A. § 212. 4 52 Stat. 1069, 29 U.S.C.A. § 216(......