Hugo Black

“ Here, respondents joined themselves together in order jointly to restrain petitioners; they executed joint bonds; and they invoked the action of equity which has traditionally exerted its power not merely to assess damages caused by improvident injunctions but also to prevent the harmful consequences of an unnecessary multiplicity of causes of action. The circumstances of this case call so strongly for an assessment by equity that we think the court erred in dismissing the motion for assessment of damages. ”

“ For even assuming that the court properly dismissed the counterclaim without a hearing on the merits, it does not follow that its dismissal was a final adjudication of either the procedural or the substantive right of petitioners to invoke the court's jurisdiction by a motion to assess damages. Some of the damages asserted in the motion-such as the costs of the litigation-were not asserted in the counterclaim, and such damages could not well have been determined until after final adjudication of the issues which caused the three judge court to be invoked. ”

“ In addition to this, part of the damages for which petitioners seek recovery is made up of various items of cost and expense incurred in the litigation; if petitioners succeed on the merits, there might conceivably be serious problems raised by the seventy-six respondents as to the portion of damages fairly attributable to each-a problem peculiarly appropriate to equity, and preeminently adapted to settlement by a single court. ”