United States Ex Rel. Angarica v. Bayard
Citations
- 127 U.S. 251
- 8 S. Ct. 1156
- 32 L. Ed. 159
- 1888 U.S. LEXIS 1987
- 4 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 4628
Syllabus
<p>On a petition for a writ of mandamus to the Secretary of State to compel him to pay to the petitioner the interest or income derived from the investment of a sum of money received by a predecessor of his, in office, as part of an award made by the Spanish-American Claims Commission, which sum of money had been eventually paid to the petitioner: Held, that the Secretary was not liable to pay such interest or income, because</p> <p>(1) The award was to be paid by the Spanish government to the government of the United States.</p> <p>(2) It was paid by the Spanish government to the Secretary of State of the United States, representing the government of the United States.</p> <p>(3) The money withheld was withheld by the United States, and the petitioner’s claim, based on the withholding, was a claim against the United States.</p> <p>i(4) The case fell within the well-settled principle that interest is not allowed on claims against the United States, unless the government has stipulated to pay interest, or it is given by express statutory provision.</p> <p>•(5) No claim for the allowance of interest could be predicated on the language of any notification, or circular or letter which issued from the Department of State, during the administration of a predecessor of the Secretary; no binding contract for the payment of interest was thereby created; and the present Secretary was at liberty to act on his own judgment, irrespective of anything contained in any, ..such notification, circular or letter.</p>
How courts have described this case
Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.
- stating that awards of interest are not allowed against the United States “whether they arise in the ordinary business of administration or under private acts of relief, passed by Congress on special application”
- disallowing interest as an item in assessment against United States for money withheld from awardee
- disallowing interest as an item in assessment against United States for money withheld from awardee
- applying the “well-settled principle, that the United States are not liable to pay interest on claims ... in the absence of express statutory provision”
- “[It is a] well-settled principle that the United States are not liable to pay interest on claims against them, in the absence of express statutory provisions to that effect.”
- “It has been established as a general rule, in the practice of the government, that interest is not allowed on claims against it, whether such claims originate in contract or in tort.”
Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).
Judges: Blatchford
Read full opinion on CourtListenerSourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).
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