United States v. Commodities Trading Corp.

In United States v. Commodities Trading Corp., 339 U.S. 121 (1950), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the war-time seizure of pepper from the Commodities Trading Corp. entitled it to receive "just compensation" in the form of the ceiling prices allowed by the war-time price controls, but no more. Justice Hugo Black, writing for the Court, said:

We have considered all other contentions of Commodities and find that none of them present reasons sufficient to justify awarding Commodities an amount in excess of ceiling prices. In the final analysis all its arguments rest on the principle that the Government must pay Commodities for potential profits lost because of war and the consequent price controls. We cannot hold that the Fifth Amendment requires the Government to give owners of requisitioned goods such a special benefit.

Justices Felix Frankfurther and Robert Jackson wrote separate dissents.