Cors accepted 75% of the Administration's compensation amount and sued for an additional $20,000, as he was permitted to do by section 902(d) of the Merchant Marine Act (codified at 46 U.S.C. § 1242).

[1] The Court also acknowledged that the improvements made to the ship had a market value higher than the amount Cors expended, largely because he oversaw repairs himself.

The Merchant Marine Act contained a clause that, while awarding the "just compensation" for the requisition, "in no case shall the value of the property taken or used be deemed enhanced by the causes necessitating the taking or use."

The Administration argued that this clause prevented the value of the ship that was due to the war effort from being required as part of the just compensation.

Stating "[i]t is not fair that the government be required to pay the enhanced price which its demand alone has created", the Court rejected the pure market value test.