Webster Eisenlohr, Inc. v. Kalodner

In a suit over whether Webster Eisenlohr's (plaintiff) preferred stockholders had exclusive or shared voting rights, the district judge Kalodner (defendant), on his own initiative, appointed a special master to investigate a financial report and buyout-offer letter the company had separately sent stockholders, believing them potentially misleading, even though neither party had questioned the truth or reliability of those documents. Webster sought writs vacating that order.

Whether a court may order the investigation of matters that were not raised by the parties in the course of the litigation.