Nix v. Hedden
| Nix v. Hedden | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Submitted April 24, 1892 Decided May 10, 1893 |
|
| Full case name | John Nix, John W. Nix, George W. Nix, and Frank W. Nix v. Edward L. Hedden, Collector of the Port of New York |
| Citations | 149 U.S. 304 (more)
149 U.S. 304; 13 S. Ct. 981; 37 L. Ed. 745; 1893 U.S. LEXIS 2303
|
| Prior history | Judgment for defendant, 39 F. 109 (C.C. S.D.N.Y. 1889) |
| Subsequent history | None |
| Holding | |
| Tomatoes are "vegetables" and not "fruit" within the meaning of the Tariff Act of 1883 based on the common meaning of those words. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Gray, joined by unanimous |
| Laws applied | |
| Tariff Act of 1883 (Mongrel Tariff) | |
Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that, under U.S. customs regulations, the tomato should be classified as a vegetable rather than a fruit. The Court's unanimous opinion held that the Tariff Act of 1883 used the ordinary meaning of the words "fruit" and "vegetable", instead of the technical botanical meaning.
John Nix (died 1895) was the founder of the John Nix & Co. fruit commission in New York City, which opened in 1839. John Nix & Co. was one of the largest sellers of produce in New York City at the time, and was one one of the first companies to ship produce from Virginia, Florida, and Bermuda to New York.
The Tariff Act of March 3, 1883 required a tax to be paid on imported vegetables, but not fruit. The case was filed as an action by John Nix, John W. Nix, George W. Nix, and Frank W. Nix against Edward L. Hedden, Collector of the Port of New York, to recover back duties paid under protest. Botanically, a tomato is a fruit because it is a seed-bearing structure growing from the flowering part of a plant.
At the trial, the plaintiffs' counsel, after reading in evidence definitions of the words "fruit" and "vegetables" from Webster's Dictionary, Worcester's Dictionary, and the Imperial Dictionary, called two witnesses, who had been in the business of selling fruit and vegetables for 30 years, and asked them, after hearing these definitions, to say whether these words had "any special meaning in trade or commerce, different from those read".
...
Wikipedia