Court of Claims, 1904

Adams v. United States

Adams v. United States
Court of Claims · Decided May 2, 1904
39 Ct. Cl. 452; 1904 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 54; 1903 WL 838

Counsel

Mr. George A. King and Mr. W. T. S. Gurtis for the claimants., Mr. John W. Trainer (with whom was Mr. Assistant Attorney-General Pradt) for the defendants.

Adams v. United States

Opinion of the Court

Per Curiam:

The court is of the opinion that the provisions of the treaty with France of 778 (Public Treaties, p. 203, arts, xxm, xxiv, and xxvii can not be extended to a fraudulent transaction. If this vessel was bound to a neutral port, the 40 horses on board were innocent cargo, and she *456was not subject by the terms of the treaty to search and detention by French cruisers. If she was sailing to a belligerent port, the 40 horses were contraband, and, by the terms of the treaty, France had a right to seize and remove from her the contraband portion of the cargo. Her sailing, in fact, to a belligerent port under a false destination must have been designed to deprive France of her lawful right to seize the contraband on board and was a fraudulent transaction, which the treaty was, not intended to cover or protect. The owner of the vessel was the owner of the cargo. In the opinion of the court the claimants have no right to indemnity.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.