C.H. (Skeet) Smith Trucking Co. v. Bill Hodges Trucking Co.

671 F. Supp. 1329, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9595
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 5, 1987
DocketNo. CIV-86-1165-P
StatusPublished

This text of 671 F. Supp. 1329 (C.H. (Skeet) Smith Trucking Co. v. Bill Hodges Trucking Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
C.H. (Skeet) Smith Trucking Co. v. Bill Hodges Trucking Co., 671 F. Supp. 1329, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9595 (W.D. Okla. 1987).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

PHILLIPS, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court upon the defendants’ various Motions for Summary Judgment. Plaintiffs claims are based upon restraint of trade and monopolization allegations arising under the Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 1px solid var(--green-border)">2. For the reasons set forth below, defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment are hereby GRANTED.

Plaintiff is an Oklahoma corporation with its principal place of business in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Plaintiff’s company was formed in 1979 and is primarily engaged in the intrastate transportation of oil field commodities. Defendant Turner Brothers Trucking Company (“Turner”) is an Oklahoma corporation with its principal place of business in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and is engaged in the transportation of oil field commodities. Defendant Bill Hodges Trucking Company (“Hodges”), Garrett Bros., Inc. (“Garrett”), and Bill Jackson Rig Company, Inc. (“Jackson”), are also Oklahoma corporations engaged in the transportation of oil field commodities. Defendant Louis J. Bodnar (“Bodnar”) is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Oklahoma and previously served as counsel for the codefendants herein.

The facts presented to the Court upon a Motion for Summary Judgment must be construed in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Board of Education v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853, 863, 102 S.Ct. 2799, 2806, 73 L.Ed.2d 435 (1982); United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962). The Court is precluded from granting summary judgment where there is genuine dispute as to a fact which is material, that is a fact which is relevant under the applicable substantive law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Only disputes over facts which might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment. Id. “The plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to the party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Bright v. Moss Ambulance Service, Inc., 824 F.2d 819 (10th Cir.1987). Finally, the movant must show entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Ellis v. El Paso Natural Gas Co., 754 F.2d 884, 885 (10th Cir.1985).

FACTS

The intrastate transportation of oil field commodities is extensively regulated by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (“OCC”) (Turner Br. at 3).1 The OCC actively supervises all activities of motor carriers and requires all motor carriers to obtain a certificate declaring that “public convenience and necessity” require that the services be performed by the carrier. The OCC extensively regulates (a) the tariffs, rates, fares and charges of carriers; (b) the points within which motor carriers may transport oil field commodities; and (c) the size and weight of each shipment or load. Id; See Al O.S. § 161 et seq.

An applicant carries the burden of proving to the OCC that existing carriers are not providing reasonably adequate service. In addition, there is a presumption, in the absence of competent evidence to the contrary, that intrastate common carriers operating under existing certificates are rendering adequate service between the points or within the areas authorized to be served by them. 47 O.S. § 166.

[1331]*1331Plaintiff has set out the procedure for obtaining a motor carrier certificate from the OCC as follows:

a. Application is filed.
b. Order of Commission referring Cause to Referee for hearing and setting date of hearing.
c. Publication of hearing notice in newspaper in county of applicant’s place of business.
d. Commission docket circulated giving notice of each applicant’s name, address and commodities and area requested in application. Listing in Commission docket must be at least fifteen (15) days prior to date of hearing.
e. Hearing must be set within forty-five (45) days of the filing of the application. Hearing held at which applicant and any protestants appear and evidence presented.
f. Referee’s report and recommendations issued.
g. Order of Commission issued if no exceptions are taken to the report and recommendations of the Referee.
h. Exceptions to the report by any party adversely affected must be filed within five (5) days after the filing of the report.
i. Hearing before the Commission on exceptions — no evidence taken
j. Commission Order must be issued within sixty (60) days of teh [sic] final hearing.
k. Issuance of certificate or permit upon compliance with requirements of filing insurance, tariffs, and purchase of identification devices. In the case of haulers of deleterious substances, a license for disposal and proof of access to an approved disposal well is required. [Complaint at ¶ 6, pp. 6-7].

Plaintiff’s antitrust claims hinge upon the alleged conspiratorial activities of the defendants, in proceedings before the OCC, and their protests of the applications of plaintiff and others. Plaintiff has summarized its claims by stating that as early as February 14, 1975, the defendants entered into a jointly funded program to protest applications for authority to transport oil field equipment and supplies before the OCC; that defendants utilized a single attorney, Bodnar, on November 6, 1978, to facilitate these protests through a reporting system; that defendants intended to protest all applications for authority to transport oil field commodities between points in the State of Oklahoma, with or without merit, and with intentional design to delay, harass and deter new competitors in the marketplace; that said program of baseless, repetitive litigation persisted during the “oil boom”; that defendants’ actions resulted in a situation where plaintiff was denied authority for a period of approximately 4V2 years from the time of his first application; and that defendants’ actions constituted antitrust violations for which plaintiff has suffered injuries. (PI. Brief at 35-36).2

Plaintiff first applied for statewide authority on September 14, 1979.

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Bluebook (online)
671 F. Supp. 1329, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9595, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ch-skeet-smith-trucking-co-v-bill-hodges-trucking-co-okwd-1987.