Stanford

Plaintiff manufactures a target pistol which combines the features of a “cap pistol” and a “BB gun”. The defendant is the Postmaster of Alhambra, California, who has refused to accept the plaintiff’s product for delivery through the United States mail. The reason for defendant’s refusal is predicated on his conclusion that the target pistols are “firearms” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C.A. § 1715 , which provides:

Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment determining its product not to be non-mailable matter within the meaning of the aforementioned provision of law, and has moved for pendente lite relief in the form of a preliminary injunction pursuant to Rule 65, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A.

The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the Postmaster General, whose official residence is in the District of Columbia, is an indispensable party to the action.

The test of whether an action may be brought in a local forum against a subordinate governmental official, or must be brought in the District of Columbia against his superior, was formulated by the United States Supreme Court in Williams v. Fanning, 332 U.S. 490 , 68 S.Ct. 188 , 92…