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· 12/10/1894

United States Ex Rel. International Contracting Co. v. Lamont

Citations

  • 155 U.S. 303
  • 15 S. Ct. 97
  • 39 L. Ed. 160
  • 1894 U.S. LEXIS 2275

Syllabus

<p>As mandamus will only lie to enforce a ministerial duty, as distinguished from a duty that is merely discretionary, and as the duty must exist at the time when the application is made, the Secretary of War cannot be required by mandamus to sign a contract for the performance of work by a party who is already under written contract with him to perform the same work for the Government at a lower price and under different conditions.</p>

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

  • “The duty to be enforced by mandamus must not only be merely ministerial, but it must be a duty which exists at the time when the application for the mandamus is made.”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: White

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