United States v. Standard Oil Co.

OPINION AND ORDER

This is a civil action brought by the Government charging the defendant, Standard Oil Company of California, with violations of Section 3 of the Sherman Act ( 15 U.S.C. § 3 ). The complaint alleges that the defendant has violated said Act by combining to unreasonably restrain and monopolize the distribution and sale of petroleum products in the Territory of American Samoa, and by entering into contracts in unreasonable restraint of that trade. Defendant has moved to dismiss the action for lack of jurisdiction.

Section 3 of the Sherman Act provides in pertinent part:

It is apparent that American Samoa is not the “District of Columbia”, nor a “State”, nor a “foreign nation”. Therefore, if the Sherman Act is to extend to Samoa, then such possession must fall within the category of “Territories”.

At the time of the Sherman Act (1890), the United States had no insular possessions and Congress could not, therefore, have had Samoa in mind. But this is not determinative so long as the word “territory” as used in the Sherman Act can properly be applied to American Samoa. The issue here is basically the same as was presented in Puerto Rico v. Shell Co., 302 U.S. 253 ,…