Nix v. Hedden | |
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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) 13 S. Ct. 981; 37 L. Ed. 745; 1893 U.S. LEXIS 2303 |
Case history | |
Prior | Judgment for defendant, 39 F. 109 (C.C. S.D.N.Y. 1889) |
Subsequent | 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 | |
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Case opinion | |
Majority | Gray, joined by unanimous |
Laws applied | |
Tariff Act of 1883 (Mongrel Tariff) |
Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court unanimously held that tomatoes should be classified as vegetables rather than fruits for purposes of tariffs, imports and customs. Justice Horace Gray delivered the opinion of the Court in holding that the Tariff Act of 1883 used the ordinary meaning of the words "fruit" and "vegetable", instead of the technical botanical meaning.[1]