Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis Railway Co. v. Wallace
United States Supreme Court
288 U.S. 249 (1933)
- Written by Josh Lee, JD
Facts
The State of Tennessee taxed all gasoline that was stored in the state. The Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis Railway Company (plaintiff) stored gasoline in Tennessee, and filed a declaratory judgment action against the Tennessee attorney general, Wallace, and other state officials charged with collecting a gasoline privilege tax (defendants). The Tennessee Declaratory Judgments Act allows any person whose rights, status or other legal relations are affected by a statute to request a determination of any question of construction or validity arising under the statute. The plaintiff asserted that a tax imposed by the state of Tennessee on gasoline stored within the state was unconstitutional because it burdened interstate commerce. The trial court upheld the tax, as did the Tennessee state appellate courts. The plaintiff petitioned the United States Supreme Court for review.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Stone, J.)
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