Denver & Salt Lake Railroad v. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad

67 Colo. 155
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedSeptember 15, 1919
DocketNo. 8938
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 67 Colo. 155 (Denver & Salt Lake Railroad v. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Denver & Salt Lake Railroad v. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, 67 Colo. 155 (Colo. 1919).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Scott

delivered the opinion of the court.

On February 10, 1916, the Public Utilities Commission of this state entered an order fixing the division of certain through rates between the petitioner and other railroad companies. From this order, the petitioner and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company applied to this court for a review.

On February 4, 1918, the court rendered its decision in said causes. Denver & Salt Lake Ry. Co. v. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Ry. Co., 64 Colo. 229, 171 Pac. 74; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Ry. Co. v. Public Utilities Commission, 64 Colo. 263, 171 Pac. 86.

The court in both cases reversed and set aside the order of the commission. This was principally because of the incorrect methods and rules adopted by which the commission reached its conclusions, all of which will fully appear in the several opinions of the court in the cases cited.

The order of the court in the case of the petitioner is in the precise words as follows:

“For the reasons stated the decision and order of the commission will be reversed and set aside, and the cause remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with the views herein expressed.”

The remittiturs in both cases were received by the commission on March 29, 1918.

Prior to the decisions of the Supreme Court and on the 27th day of December, 1917, upon stipulation of all parties, [157]*157the commission entered a new and different order covering the matters involved.

On March 29, 1918, the petitioner requested the commission to set the cases for further hearing and determination, which date was fixed by the commission for April 18, 1918, when all the parties appeared.

The respondents then filed their objections to further consideration of the matter and asked for a dismissal of the proceedings by the commission, which request was granted. The objection which seems to have been relied on by the Commission and by reason of which it dismissed the proceedings, was as follows:

“The Denver & Salt Lake, upon its application to the Supreme Court for a writ of review, neither made an application for nor filed an application for a suspension, nor filed any suspending bond, as provided by section 53 of the Public Utilities Act. The order fixing divisions consequently was in effect all of the time the writ of review was pending, and furthermore during all. of the time the writ of review was pending, the Moffat road voluntarily and without protest accepted the divisions ordered in by the order in the three cases at bar.”

The findings of the commission upon these objections and motions to dismiss are as follows:

“The commission finds the effect of such failure to be that the divisions fixed by it in these cases were in operation for the period from August 1, 1915, to December 27, 1917, and that the commission’s order was never stayed or suspended; that the Commission is without power to change such divisions, as the rates under Which these divisions were made are no longer in existence, and the commission cannot make divisions operativé for the period from August 1, 1915, to December 27, 1917.”

Lipón application of the petitioner a rule issued out of this court on June 26, 1918, to the Public Utilities Commission, to show cause why it should not proceed with the hearing and determination of this cause as directed by the court, [158]*158This proceeding is upon the return and answer in the premises.

The question, then, to be determined is what was the force and effect of the decisions of the Supreme Court upon the rules and orders of the commission, fixing and determining the division of the joint rates to which the parties were entitled, and what were the duties and powers of the Commission in the premises as affected by the judgments of the court.

Section 52 of the Public Utilities Act provides among other things that:

“Upon hearing, the supreme court shall enter judgment either affirming, setting aside or modifying the order or decision of the commission. The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure of this State relating to writs of review shall so far as applicable and not in conflict with the provisions of this act, apply to proceedings had in the Supreme Court under the provisions of this section.”

Then unless otherwise provided by the act, the effect of the judgment of the court upon review is precisely the same as provided by the Civil Code and the rules of this court in other cases.

We find nothing in the statute in this particular in conflict with the Code, or our court rules.

It is plain that the commission was thereby commanded to hear the cause de novo; to determine the questions involved in the original hearing, and to determine these in the light of the methods and the law applicable as announced by the court. It has no discretionary powers in the premises. It was its plain duty to obey.

The power of the Supreme Court in the case of this primarily legislative tribunal with but limited quasi-judicial powers, is expressly conferred by the statute, and the same power and procedure is directed to be exercised over such tribunal as in case of judicial tribunals.

The rule announced by this court in Galbreath v. Wallrich et al., 48 Colo. 127, 109 Pac. 409, 139 Am. St. 263, is:

“The rule is that where the mandate of an appellate court [159]*159directs a specific judgment to be entered, the tribunal to which such mandate is directed must yield obedience thereto. No modification of the judgment so directed by the appellate tribunal can be made by the trial court, nor can any provision be engrafted upon or taken from it.”

The court further said in the opinion in that case:

“The reason for that rule is obvious. When a particular judgment is directed by the appellate court, the lower court is not acting of its own motion, but in obedience to the order of its superior. What that superior says, it shall do, it must do, and that alone. Public interests require that an end shall be put to litigation, and when a given cause has received the consideration of this court, its merits determined, and then remanded with specific directions, the court to which such mandate is directed has no power to do anything but to obey the mandate; otherwise, litigation would never be ended, and the supreme tribunal of the siiate would be shorn of that authority over inferior tribunals with which it is invested by our fundamental law. By permitting the filing of the supplemental answer and cross-complaint the trial court is proceeding contrary to what we directed. True, by this pleading none of the issues settled by the judgment we directed are to be relitigated, but that is not the question. We directed a particular judgment, and nothing is left for the trial court to do but to enter it. By the supplemental answer and cross-complaint it is sought to show that because something has happened since the original judgment was entered, and which was not in issue in the case, the judgment we have directed should not be rendered. To pursue this course is to ignore our mandate.

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

Related

Atlantic Richfield Co. v. District Court, Montrose County
794 P.2d 253 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1990)
Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. Co. v. American Sugar Refining Co.
130 S.W.2d 1030 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1939)
Toll v. Casey
18 P.2d 310 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1932)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
67 Colo. 155, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/denver-salt-lake-railroad-v-chicago-burlington-quincy-railroad-colo-1919.