Sutcliffe Storage & Warehouse Co. v. United States

162 F.2d 849 (1947)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Sutcliffe Storage & Warehouse Co. v. United States

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
162 F.2d 849 (1947)

Facts

On April 13, 1942, Sutcliffe Storage & Warehouse Co. (plaintiff) executed a lease of certain property to the United States Navy that was effective until June 30, 1943. The original lease was subsequently renewed by three renewal leases. Each renewal lease was for a period identical to that of the original lease. On June 15, 1942, the Navy allegedly began to occupy and use additional premises that were not included in the leases. In February 1946, Sutcliffe brought four actions against the United States (defendant) in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts seeking damages for the Navy’s occupancy and use of the additional premises. Each action claimed damages of less than $10,000, and covered a period corresponding to one of the leases, with the first action covering the period from June 15, 1942 to June 30, 1943. The district court granted the United States’ motions to dismiss the three actions covering the periods that corresponded to the renewal leases, on the grounds that they were brought for inseparable parts of the claim in the first action. Sutcliffe appealed, arguing that the general rule against splitting causes of action does not apply here because if it is precluded from trying these actions separately, it will be forced to bring suit in the Court of Claims in Washington under 28 U.S.C.A. § 41(20), because its claims will aggregate to more than $10,000.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Clark, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 806,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials
  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership