Chicago & North Western Transportation Co. v. Soo Line Railroad

384 F. Supp. 226, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12391
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedFebruary 5, 1974
Docket73 C 1018
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 384 F. Supp. 226 (Chicago & North Western Transportation Co. v. Soo Line Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chicago & North Western Transportation Co. v. Soo Line Railroad, 384 F. Supp. 226, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12391 (N.D. Ill. 1974).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER

MARSHALL, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and defendant’s cross-motions pursuant to Rules 12(b) (6) and 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, for a dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted or in the alternative for summary judgment. Jurisdiction is founded on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331(a) and 1337. For the reasons hereinafter stated, plaintiff’s motion is Granted and defendant’s motions are Denied.

Plaintiff Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (hereafter “North Western”) seeks to recover $10,756.64 from defendant Soo Line Railroad Company (hereafter “Soo”) as the total costs North Western incurred in re-icing 560 refrigerator cars delivered to it by the Soo.

North Western’s Wood Street Terminal operates as a receiving and distribution point for carloads of perishable produce moving to Chicago on common carriers by rail. In this capacity North Western operates as a switching carrier. It receives no portion of the through line-haul freight charges collected from the shipper.

Common carriers by rail are obligated by their tariffs to provide protection against heat and cold to shipments of perishables in refrigerator ears. This obligation extends throughout the period when a perishable shipment is under the control of a rail carrier. Consequently, the North Western is obligated to provide protective services to shipments of perishables while they are under its control at the Wood Street Terminal.

In return for providing this protective service, the originating carrier is paid a standard refrigeration service charge by the shipper. The charge is set forth in National Perishable Freight Committee Perishable Protective Tariff 18, I.C.C. No. 37, published and on file with the Interstate Commerce Commission, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 6(1) and covers the shipper’s obligation to pay for protective services given between the points of origin and final destination.

The rights and obligations of rail carriers between each other with respect to through shipments moving over more than one carrier are covered by division agreements among the carriers. These division agreements include National Perishable Freight Committee Division Sheet 7 (hereafter “Division Sheet 7”) and National Perishable Freight Committee Circular 20-F (hereafter “Circular 20-F”) to which North Western and Soo are parties. Switching carriers are paid for re-icing services performed on their lines pursuant to Division Sheet 7. Item 124 of Division Sheet 7, applicable to re-icings performed at stations in Illinois, provides that in the case of the immediate re-icings of cars upon delivery, the originating carrier pays the switching carrier from the standard refrigeration rate paid to it by the shipper.

Rule 235 of Circular 20-F and Rules 225(B) and (D) of Perishable Protective Tariff 18 in part provides:

Rule 235 of Circular 20-F, Part 2— “Applicable only for account of the Chicago and North Western Railway Company . . . unless otherwise provided by tariff, billing, local agreement, established practice or special instructions, cars under refrigeration should be re-iced to capacity before delivery to connections, or agent of delivering line should arrange for immediate re-icing by connection, if any icing facilities are maintained at such interchange or receiving line.”
*228 Rules 225(b) and (D) of Perishable Protective Tariff 18— 225(b)
“After arrival of car in the terminal train yard serving destination, and up to time car is in process of unloading on team track, or until private lock or seal has been applied, or until placed on private track, car will be re-iced to capacity when necessary . . . 225(D)
“ . . . Cars placed on hold, inspection or delivery tracks, at intermediate stop points, hold points, or at destination with bunkers less than three-fourths full of ice, will be re-iced to capacity and expense included in Standard Refrigeration charge. tf

Read together these provisions obligate a rail carrier delivering a refrigerator car to a switching line to deliver the car with its ice bunkers at least three-fourths full. Rules 225(B) and (D) further provide that the cars should be re-iced to capacity by the switching line when they arrive with bunkers less than three-fourths full and thereafter when necessary.

During the period June 1, 1965 to December 31, 1969, Soo delivered 560 refrigerator cars to North Western for switch movement at the Wood Street Terminal: 317 were less than three-fourths full on delivery; 243 required refilling subsequent to their delivery and during the time the cars were under North Western’s control. Ten of the cars were re-iced more than once. Accordingly, North Western performed 570 re-icings of the Soo’s cars during the above period.

The cost to North Western of re-icing the cars during the time they were under its control was $24,935.60, including the cost of the ice ($24,092.00) and the cost of supervising the re-icing operations ($843.60). Soo refuses to pay this amount. Instead, it argues that the North Western has received the full compensation to which it is entitled, from the amount paid to it under Division Sheet 7, Item 124 ($14,178.96) which included the partial cost of supervision paid by the originating carrier. This amount was paid out of the standard refrigeration service charge collected from the shipper and was not paid by Soo unless Soo happened to be the originating carrier.

North Western seeks the difference between its actual cost of re-icing services performed on Soo’s refrigerator cars and the standard refrigeration rate collected by North Western from the originating carrier pursuant to Item 124 of Division Sheet 7. The dispute reduces to whether North Western can recover under the provisions of the division agreements between North Western and Soo, North Western’s costs over and above amounts collected by it under Item 124 of Division Sheet 7.

The court has concluded that North Western is entitled to reimbursement for its total cost of re-icing Soo’s cars. North Western’s tariffs obligate it to re-ice Soo’s cars. It should not be penalized for fulfilling its tariff obligations. North Western does not receive any revenue from the through line-haul charge. Thus it has no revenue against which to offset the cost of re-icing except that which is provided by Item 124 of Division Sheet 7. Soo Line, on the other hand, may offset any expense incurred because of re-icing against the line-haul revenue generated by the cars.

Division Sheet 7, Item 30-K, paragraph (A) 13 reads:

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384 F. Supp. 226, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12391, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chicago-north-western-transportation-co-v-soo-line-railroad-ilnd-1974.