Wilson ex rel. Van Buren v. United States

The administrator of the estate of Thomas B. Van Buren, former US Consul-General at Yokohama, sought to recover fees collected for certifying transit invoices for goods passing through the US. The government had treated these as official fees and required them to be paid into the Treasury. The Court of Claims held that because the certification of transit invoices was not required by law, the act was unofficial, and the fees were the personal property of the consul. The court further held that the character of the fee was fixed at the time of the transaction and could not be altered by the fact that some goods were later stopped and entered for consumption in the US.

The estate administrator sought recovery of fees collected by a former consul-general for certifying transit invoices, which the government had treated as official fees payable to the Treasury. The Court of Claims held the certification was not required by law, making the fees unofficial and the personal property of the consul, with their character fixed at the time of the transaction regardless of later events involving the goods. The former judgment was affirmed.