Brake Delivery Service v. United States

306 F. Supp. 629, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10833
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedNovember 18, 1969
DocketCiv. No. 69-829-F
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 306 F. Supp. 629 (Brake Delivery Service v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brake Delivery Service v. United States, 306 F. Supp. 629, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10833 (C.D. Cal. 1969).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

PER CURIAM:

This action seeks judicial review of an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission entered in Docket No. MC-121634, Kerner Trucking Service, Inc. By its Order the Commission authorized the issuance of a Certificate of Registration, pursuant to the provisions of Section 206(a) (6) of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. § 306(a) (6).

This court has jurisdiction and venue pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. §§ 1336, 1398, 2284 and 2321-2325; 49 U.S.C. §§ 17(9) and 305(g) and (h); and 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706. A three-judge court was convened pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2284 and 2325.

Statement of the Case

The case involves the proceedings of two separate administrative agencies: The California Public Utilities Commission (P.U.C.) and the Interstate Commerce Commission (Commission).

On July 13, 1967, Kerner Trucking Service, Inc. (Kerner) filed an application with the P.U.C. for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to operate as a highway common carrier for the transportation of property within a limited area of the State of California. Kerner also requested authority to transport general commodities within the limits of the intrastate authority in interstate commerce pursuant to the provisions of Section 206(a) (6) of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. § 306 (a) (6).

Public hearings were held on the application before an examiner assigned by the P.U.C. Plaintiffs, along with others, appeared as protestants at the hearings, cross-examined witnesses and presented opposition to the application.

On July 23, 1968, the P.U.C. issued its Opinion and Order, Decision No. 74425, granting the requested intrastate operating authority to Kerner and finding that the public convenience and necessity required Kerner’s operation in interstate commerce coextensive with the intrastate operations, with certain limiting exceptions.

The P.U.C. found that the operations of existing carriers did not adequately meet the needs of small shippers for flexible pick-up and delivery service and that Kerner had demonstrated the ability to provide this service. The application was therefore granted, the P.U.C. concluding:

“Public convenience and necessity require that the proposed service be authorized in intrastate operations, and in interstate and foreign commerce coextensive with the intrastate operations. * * * ”

Following the issuance of the P.U.C. Decision, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (6) of Section 206(a) of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. § 306(a) (6), Kerner made timely application to the Commission for a Certificate of Registration. Subsection (6) permits motor carriers operating entirely within the boundaries of a single state to transport interstate commerce without obtaining a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Commission. The only prerequisite to such an interstate operation within a single state is that the motor carrier prove to the proper state agency that such interstate operations are required by public convenience and necessity.

Following the filing of the application of Kerner, plaintiffs and other protestants filed with the Commission a petition for reconsideration of the P.U.C. decision. The Commission issued its Order denying the petition for reconsideration filed by plaintiffs and issued a Certificate of Registration to Kerner after determining that the findings of the P.U.C. in regard to the interstate operations of Kerner were supported by the evidence.

[632]*632 Issue Presented

This case presents a single question:

Whether the record supports the Commission’s grant of the certificate of registration.

Scope of Review

Plaintiff concedes that in a case of this nature the court’s scope of review is limited.

In Consolo v. Federal Maritime Commission, 383 U.S. 607 at 619-621, 86 S.Ct. 1018, 16 L.Ed.2d 131 (1966), the Supreme Court held:

“Section 10(e) of the Administrative Procedure Act (60 Stat. 243, 5 U.S.C. See. 1009(e) (1964 ed.)) gives a reviewing court authority to ‘set aside agency action, findings and conclusions found to be (1) arbitrary, capricious, [or] an abuse of discretion * * * [or] (5) unsupported by substantial evidence * * *.’ Cf. United States v. Interstate Commerce Comm., 91 U.S.App.D.C. 178, 183-184, 198 F.2d 958, 963-964, cert. denied, 344 U.S. 893, 73 S.Ct. 212, 97 L.Ed. 691. We have defined ‘substantial evidence’ as ‘such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.’ Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. National Labor Relations Board, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 217, 83 L.Ed. 126. ‘[I]t must be enough to justify, if the trial were to a jury, a refusal to direct a verdict when the conclusion sought to be drawn from it is one of fact for the jury.’ National Labor Relations Board v. Columbian Enameling & Stamping Co., 306 U.S. 292, 300, 59 S.Ct. 501, 505, 83 L.Ed. 660. This is something less than the weight of the evidence, and the possibility of drawing two inconsistent conclusions from the evidence does not prevent an administrative agency’s finding from being supported by substantial evidence. National Labor Relations Board v. Nevada Consolidated Copper Corp., 316 U.S. 105, 106, 62 S.Ct. 960, 961, 86 L.Ed. 1305; Keele Hair & Scalp Specialist, Inc. v. FTC, 5 Cir., 275 F.2d 18, 21.
“Congress was very deliberate in adopting this standard of review.

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Bluebook (online)
306 F. Supp. 629, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10833, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brake-delivery-service-v-united-states-cacd-1969.