Beeline Express, Inc. v. United States

308 F. Supp. 721
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJanuary 21, 1970
DocketCiv. A. No. C-1058
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 308 F. Supp. 721 (Beeline Express, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beeline Express, Inc. v. United States, 308 F. Supp. 721 (D. Colo. 1970).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KERR, District Judge.

This is an action brought by Beeline, Express, Inc., hereinafter referred to as “Beeline”, whereby Beeline seeks to set aside, annul and suspend an order and report of the Interstate Commerce Commission, Division 1, entered on February 10, 1969, Consolidated Freightways v. Beeline Express, 108 M.C.C. 481. In its order the Commission required Beeline to cease and desist from conducting operations in interstate or foreign commerce which resulted in a violation of Section 206(a) (1) 1 of the Interstate Commerce Act.

On August 6, 1967, a complaint2 was filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission against Beeline alleging that Beeline was violating the terms of its certificate 3 by transporting commodities not authorized by the terms of its certi[723]*723ficate. The complaint charged that Beeline had been transporting general commodities under a commodity description limiting it to providing a service for the beekeeping industry.

The Commission by order of September 13, 1967, directed Beeline to satisfy or answer such complaint, and further ordered that the proceeding be handled under modified procedure in accordance with rules 1.45 to 1.54, inclusive, of the Commission’s General Rules of Practice. Although specific transportation, which was alleged as being conducted in violation of its certificate had been between points in Colorado and Utah, complainants sought an order requiring that Beeline cease and desist from the transportation of allegedly unauthorized commodities, which involved a commodity authorization to or from points in ten states.'

Complainants’ argument and supporting affidavits were filed on October 18, 1967, and Beeline’s answer and argument in response thereto was filed on November 17, 1967. In its answer to the complaint, Beeline admitted that all of the transportation of which complaint had been made, took place in the states of Colorado and Utah; denied that the transportation of such commodities was not authorized by the commodity description contained in its operating authority, and denied the commodities so transported were in excess of its authority or in violation of the Interstate Commerce Act.

By order dated March 11, 1968, the Commission assigned the matter to a Commission examiner for the recommendation of an appropriate order. The examiner served his report and recommended the cease and desist order on March 21, 1968. The hearing examiner foünd that the certificate issued to Beeline authorized only the transportation of such supplies which were at the time of movement definitely intended for use in connection with the occupation of beekeeping, or which were suitable for virtually no other use. The hearing examiner also found that Beeline had engaged in the transportation of commodities not authorized by its certificate in violation of Section 206 (a) (1) of the Interstate Commerce Act. He concluded that an order should be entered requiring Beeline to cease and desist from all operations in interstate or foreign commerce of the character found to be unauthorized, unless and until appropriate authority therefor is obtained.

On April 19, 1968, exceptions to the proposed report and recommended order were filed by Beeline, and on May 5, 1968, reply to said exceptions was filed by the complainants.

Upon consideration of exceptions by Beeline and replies thereto, the Commission, Division 1, issued a Decision and Order on July 5, 1968, wherein it was found that the evidence considered in the light of the exceptions and the reply did not warrant a result different from that reached by the examiner and the statement of facts. The conclusions and findings of the examiner being proper in all material respects, were therefore affirmed and adopted as the report of Division 1 of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Beeline was ordered to cease and desist from all operations in interstate or foreign commerce of the character found in the examiner’s report to be unlawful. It was further ordered that the statutory effective and compliance date of the order was fixed as September 5, 1968.

That Decision and Order was vacated by order entered November 8, 1968, by the Commission, Division 1, acting as an Appellate Division on its own motion. Upon reconsideration, Division 1, acting as an Appellate Division, on February 10, 1969, by Report of the Commission on Reconsideration affirmed the prior determination requiring Beeline to cease and desist from the unauthorized transportation of certain commodities in violation of Section 206(a) (1) of the Interstate Commerce Act. It was further ordered that the order was not to become effective until the completion of [724]*724judicial review in this action, which was filed September 4, 1968.

The scope of review of Commission orders is firmly and deeply established by a long line of well reasoned opinions. This Court will not modify or set aside orders of the Commission if they are issued within the scope of the Commission’s statutory authority and are supported by substantial evidence. United States v. Pierce Auto Freight Lines, 327 U.S. 515, 66 S.Ct. 687, 90 L.Ed. 821 (1946). This Court is bound by the Commission’s interpretation of a certificate of its own creation unless it is persuaded that it was arbitrary and capricious. Malone Freight Lines, Inc., v. United States, 107 F.Supp. 946 (N.D.Ala.1952), aff’d per curiam, 344 U.S. 925, 73 S.Ct. 497, 97 L.Ed. 712 (1953). The task of construing a certificate has been placed upon the Commission by Congress and such constructions will not be disturbed unless clearly erroneous. Denver Chicago Transport Company v. United States, 183 F.Supp. 785 (D.Colo.1960), aff’d per curiam, 364 U.S. 627, 81 S.Ct. 356, 5 L.Ed.2d 363 (1961). We must give due credit to the expert judgment of the Commission in the field Congress has confided in it. National Bus Traffic Association v. United States, 143 F.Supp. 689 (D.N.J.1956), aff’d per curiam, 352 U.S. 1020, 77 S.Ct. 589, 1 L.Ed.2d 595 (1957).

The facts of the case are not in dispute, and Beeline so admits in its answer to the complaint before the Commission, exceptions to the examiner’s report, and in its brief to this Court. In their complaint before the Commission, Consolidated Freightways, et al., alleged that Beeline transported numerous shipments of commodities unrelated to any service for the beekeeping industry between points in a ten-state area, and that such service amounted to general commodity movements between points in that ten-state area. Abstracts of shipments transported by Beeline showing all pertinent data were appended to verified statements attached to Consolidated’s argument in support of the complaint.4 [725]*725In its answer Beeline admitted the transportation and asserted that it held appropriate authority in that all such commodities transported were “supplies used by beekeepers”.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Savage Bros., Inc. v. Public Service Commission
723 P.2d 1085 (Utah Supreme Court, 1986)
George Transfer & Rigging Co. v. United States
380 F. Supp. 179 (D. Maryland, 1974)
Barnes v. Chatterton
375 F. Supp. 198 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1974)
United States v. Davenport
371 F. Supp. 537 (M.D. Pennsylvania, 1974)
Scott Truck Line, Inc. v. United States
339 F. Supp. 1169 (D. Colorado, 1971)
Ringsby-Pacific, Ltd. v. United States
334 F. Supp. 1403 (D. Colorado, 1971)
Lund v. United States
319 F. Supp. 552 (D. Colorado, 1970)
Continental Oil Company v. Burns
317 F. Supp. 194 (D. Delaware, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
308 F. Supp. 721, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beeline-express-inc-v-united-states-cod-1970.