FCC v. AT&T · ¶33

In Meeker v. Lehigh Valley R. Co., 236 U. S. 412 (1915), the Court considered the Hepburn Act, which authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to prepare a report and “make an order directing” rail carriers “to pay” “damages” to customers who had been charged unreasonable rates. 34 Stat. 590. But the shipper could enforce the order only by succeeding in a subsequent jury trial where the report would serve as prima facie evidence. See ibid. The Court rejected a Seventh Amendment challenge to this enforcement structure, which “cut[ ] off no defense,” “interpose[d] no obstacle to a full contestation of all the issues,” and took “no question of fact from” the “jury.” Meeker, 236 U. S., at 430.

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