Case Name: THE GREAT WESTERN INSURANCE COMPANY v. THE UNITED STATES
Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1884-11-10
Citations: 20 Ct. Cl. 520
Docket Number: 
Parties: THE GREAT WESTERN INSURANCE COMPANY v. THE UNITED STATES.
Judges: Mr. Justice Miller delivered the opinion of the Supreme Court, November 10, 1884.
Reporter: United States Court of Claims Reports
Volume: 20
Pages: 520–520

Head Matter:
THE GREAT WESTERN INSURANCE COMPANY v. THE UNITED STATES.
(19 C. Cls. R., 206; 112 U. S. R., 510.)
On the claimants Appeal.
Tliis is one of the “Alabama Insurance Cases.” The claimants allege that the defendants presented their claim at Geneva as their agent; that the Tribunal of Arbitration awarded a sum in gross for the payment of all claims referred to it; that the Court of Commissioners of Alabama Claims has ceased to exist, and that the remainder of the money received from Great Britain has been covered into the Treasury and mingled with the private funds of the trustee. The defendants move to dismiss for want of j urisdiction.
The court below decides—
(1.) When a government seeks reparation from a foreign power for injuries done to its citizens, its authority is not derived from them nor subject to their instruction or revocation.
(2.) The government cannot be held liable on an implied assumpsit for money had and received in its sovereign capacity from another sovereign.
(3.) The government cannot be held liable as a trustee for money received from a foreign power, in pursuance of a treaty, for the satisfaction of claims of American citizens, unless the trust be declared by treaty or statute.
(4.) When the demands of American citizens on account of the depredations of the Confederate cruisers became reclamations by the sovereignty of this nation against Great Britain, they passed into the domain of international law, and the authority of the government over them became supreme.
(5.) This court has not jurisdiction of an action to recover a part of the Alabama fund in the Treasury. The obligation to pay it is not a contract express or implied.

Opinion:
The judgment of the court below is affirmed on the ground that the claim was one arising out of treaty stipulations, whereof the court below is prohibited from exercising jurisdiction by Revised Statutes, § 1066.
Mr. Justice Miller delivered the opinion of the Supreme Court, November 10, 1884.