holding the federal government liable for physical takings committed with the aid of the Philippine government
How later courts described this case
- holding the federal government liable for physical takings committed with the aid of the Philippine government
- holding the United States liable for a taking facilitated by an embargo imposed by the Philippine government
- holding United States liable for taking property of alien corporation located in Phillipines
- rejecting argument that Takings Clause did not apply to property located in a foreign country
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
JONES, Chief Judge
(dissenting in part).
At the time the contract of sale was made neither the buyer nor the seller had any knowledge that radar equipment had been left in the Leyte Depot. Certainly the Government had no thought of declaring the forbidden radar equipment surplus property and subject to sale, and the purchaser had no thought of securing property, the sale of which was forbidden. There was therefore a mutual mistake of fact. Althoff Mfg. Co. v. Althoff, 52 Colo. 501 , 123 P. 326 .
In addition under applicable military regulations the radar equipment could not have been declared surplus, and the officials in chárge had no authority to make a declaration of surplus that would include such equipment. Federal Crop Ins. Corp. v. Merrill, 332 U.S. 380 , 68 S.Ct. 1 , 92 L.Ed. 10 .
We think the plaintiff should recover on a weight basis the average value of the nón-military equipment located at the Leyte Air Depot. The Commissioner who heard the testimony found this value to be $36,825 at $1,120 per long ton. The evidence supports such a finding.
I would limit plaintiff’s recovery to that amount.
WHITAKER, Judge, joins in this dissent.