Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. v. Public Utilities Commission

275 P. 780, 47 Idaho 346, 1929 Ida. LEXIS 120
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 14, 1929
DocketNo 4252.
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 275 P. 780 (Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. v. Public Utilities Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. v. Public Utilities Commission, 275 P. 780, 47 Idaho 346, 1929 Ida. LEXIS 120 (Idaho 1929).

Opinions

*349 BRINCK, District Judge.

In this action appellants appealed to this court from an order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission made August 20, 1923, reducing the rate for the transportation of logs one-half of the 25 per cent increase that had been made in 1920 by the Interstate Commerce Commission by order Ex parte 74. This court, in a decision rendered March 25, 1925 (Railway Co. v. Public Utilities Com., 41 Ida. 181, 238 Pac. 970), affirmed the order *350 of the Public Utilities Commission appealed from. On January 4, 1926, the supreme court of the United States granted a writ of certiorari to this court in this case (269 U. S. 550, 46 Sup. Ct. 201, 70 L. ed. 406), and reversed the decision of this court on May 16, 1927. (Chicago, M. & St. P. R. Co. v. Public Utilities Com., 274 U. S. 344, 47 Sup. Ct. 604, 71 L. ed. 1085.) The mandate issued by the supreme court of the United States to this court reversing the decision of this court ordered that the judgment of this court should be reversed with costs, and that the said appellants, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. et al., recover against the said appellee $894 for their costs herein expended and have execution therefor.

Pending the hearing in this court and in the supreme court of the United States, this court suspended the operation of the order of the Public Utilities Commission reducing the rates, and ordered that the several appellants each pay into court from time to time, there to be impounded until the final decision of the case, all sums of money which they might collect from any corporation or person in excess of the sums they could have collected if the orders of the Commission had not been suspended. The funds so deposited with the clerk under the orders that were made were by the clerk deposited with the state treasurer, under the provisions of C. S., sec. 165, which is as follows:

“Any state officer, department, board or institution having or receiving money in trust or for safekeeping pending its final disposition or distribution shall deposit the same in the state treasury in a special suspense fund from which it may be withdrawn or distributed under rules and regulations promulgated by the department of finance.”

The state treasurer in turn deposited the fund in banks and received interest thereon.

Subsequently to the filing in this court of the mandate of the supreme court of the United States the principal sum which had been received from the railroad companies was repaid to them, and appellants thereafter filed their petition for the entry of judgment against the respondent for the *351 costs of the appeal to the supreme court of the United States, their costs in this court, and the interest which the state treasurer had received upon the deposited fund, -which petition is resisted by respondent.

Appellants are entitled to judgment for the costs which were taxed in the supreme court of the United States (Fairmont Creamery Co. v. Minnesota, 275 U. S. 70, 48 Sup. Ct. 97, 72 L. ed. 168), but not to their costs in this court. In so far as the Public Utilities Commission is a party to this proceeding, the state is a party. (Thomas v. State, 16 Ida. 81, 100 Pac. 761.) Costs against the state are allowed only when provided by statute, either expressly or by necessary implication. (15 C. J. 328, sec. 815; State v. Kinne, 41 N. H. 238.)

Provision is made by C. S., sec. 7223, for the payment of costs by the state when costs are taxed against the state; but the only statute that has been called to our attention under which it is urged costs may be taxed against the state in this proceeding is C. S., see. 7212, providing generally that upon appeal, except when a new trial is ordered or a judgment modified, the prevailing party shall recover costs. It is commonly considered that a general statute of this nature does not apply to the state (25 R. C. L. 418; State v. Williams, 101 Md. 529, 109 Am. St. 579, 4 Ann. Cas. 970, 61 Atl. 297, 1 L. R. A., N. S., 254; note, 8 Ann. Cas. 398), particularly when the state is a party in its governmental capacity. (Re Estate of Ward, 133 Minn. 117, 157 N. W. 1070, 158 N. W. 637, L. R. A. 1916E, 1288.) Appellant’s costs in this court are therefore disallowed.

This court might have ordered the funds which were deposited with the clerk to be deposited in a bank or trust company at interest (C. S., sec. 2511), in which event interest would have been distributed, in accordance with C. S., sec. 2512, to the parties entitled to the principal fund upon the determination of the ease. No such order, however, was made or asked in this ease; and in the absence thereof the funds were handled in the statutory way, *352 being turned over by the clerk to the state treasurer as provided in C. S., sec. 165, supra. Acting presumably under C. S., see. 318, the state treasurer deposited the funds in state depositories. That section provides that the treasurer shall so deposit “all moneys of the state of Idaho coming into his hands.” C. S., sec. 325, provides that all sums paid to the state by such depositories for the privilege of keeping said moneys on deposit shall be apportioned by the auditor and credited by the treasurer to the account of the general fund. If C. S., sec. 318, authorized the treasurer to place this fund with a depository, C. S., sec. 325, undoubtedly controls the disposition of the interest.

A statute strictly analogous to sec. 318 was construed in Washington County v. Weiser Nat. Bank, 43 Ida. 600, 255 Pac. 210. There the public depository law (Sess. Laws 1921, chap. 256) authorized the treasurer of a depositing unit to deposit “all moneys of the depositing unit coming into his hands” (see. 24). The depositing unit in that case was the county, and in an action upon a depository bond it was held that moneys in the hands of the county treasurer, but beneficially belonging to other taxing units, were included within the meaning of the term “moneys of the depositing unit.” The court there expressly relied upon and approved the rule of Myers v. Board of Commissioners, 60 Kan. 189, 56 Pac. 11, which held that “funds of the county,” which the statute there considered provided should be deposited, included all of the moneys and securities in the possession of the county treasurer. In Spratley v. Board, 56 Kan. 272, 43 Pac. 232, relied upon in Myers v. Board, supra, the question was raised as to whether the county treasurer was authorized to deposit funds which had been deposited with him by certain railroad companies in condemnation suits, pursuant to a statute. The court there says:

“Although the condemnation money was not owned by the public, it nevertheless was public money within the meaning of the statute requiring the placing of funds in the public depositories.

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

Related

State v. Thompson
803 P.2d 973 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1990)
State v. Spurr
755 P.2d 1315 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1988)
State v. Peterson
746 P.2d 1013 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1987)
Rickel v. Board of Barber Examiners
629 P.2d 656 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1981)
Averitt v. City of Coeur D'Alene
605 P.2d 515 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1980)
American Oil Company v. Neill
414 P.2d 206 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1966)
AERO SERVICE CORP.(WESTERN) v. Benson
374 P.2d 277 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1962)
Electors of Big Butte Area v. State Board of Education
308 P.2d 225 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1957)
Tracy v. Peterson
265 P.2d 393 (Utah Supreme Court, 1954)
Chastain's, Inc. v. State Tax Commission
241 P.2d 167 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1952)
Mohrmann v. Fry
254 N.W. 153 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1933)
Lawrence v. American Surety Co.
249 N.W. 3 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1933)
City of Idaho Falls v. Pfost
23 P.2d 245 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1933)
Twin Falls Canal Co. v. Carter
295 P. 431 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1931)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
275 P. 780, 47 Idaho 346, 1929 Ida. LEXIS 120, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chicago-milwaukee-st-paul-railway-co-v-public-utilities-commission-idaho-1929.