Evidence - Privilege - Maintaining Action Where the Evidence May Affect the National Security

The plaintiff brought an action for the breach of a contract for the manufacture of certain arming mechanisms for the use of the United States Army. The defendant moved to dismiss the action on the grounds that the contract in question was classified as confidential by the army and that the disclosures of certain facts asserted to be material in the prosecution and defense of the action would be a violation of the Federal Espionage Laws. Held, motion denied. The court should invoke every proper judicial technique to keep state secrets unrevealed, but it should not dismiss a valid action until the court determines that further proceedings would actually disclose information injurious to the national security.

Ticon Corp. v. Emerson Radio & Phonograph Corp., 206 Misc. 727, 134 N. Y. S. (2d) 716 (1954).