E. B. Law & Son, Inc. v. United States

247 F. Supp. 846, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7751
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Mexico
DecidedApril 12, 1965
DocketCiv. A, No. 5803
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 247 F. Supp. 846 (E. B. Law & Son, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Mexico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
E. B. Law & Son, Inc. v. United States, 247 F. Supp. 846, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7751 (D.N.M. 1965).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The plaintiff commenced this action to set aside certain orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission entered in a proceeding entitled No. MC-106278 (Sub-No. 21) E. B. Law and Son, Inc. Extension — El Paso, Texas. Plaintiff contends that the Commission by its report and order restrictively construed its existing certificate to prevent it from hauling certain petroleum products. The court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1336 and 49 U.S.C.A. § 17(9) to review the order of the Commission.

The plaintiff is engaged in the business of transporting petroleum products in interstate commerce by motor carrier, and holds certificates of public convenience and necessity from the Interstate Commerce Commission. A certificate was issued to the plaintiff in 1951 in the proceeding designated No. MC-106278. This certificate authorized plaintiff to operate over certain routes to carry “refined petroleum products, in bulk, in tank [848]*848trucks, except refined liquefied gases, casing head gasoline, and residuary petroleum products.” Plaintiff engaged in business under the above authority, and in 1963, a new asphalt refining plant located in El Paso, Texas, began production of asphalt and sales to points within the plaintiff’s territory. The complaint asserts that the plaintiff sought to haul this asphalt, but was refused by reason of the shipper’s uncertainty as to the commodity scope of the plaintiff’s certificate, the question apparently being raised by the shipper as to whether the asphalt would be under the general category of a refined petroleum product or whether it would be excluded as a residuary petroleum product. In order to obtain an interpretation from the Commission, the plaintiff filed an application to transport asphalt and other products from El Paso to points within its territory. In accordance with accepted practice, the plaintiff at the same time filed a motion to dismiss the application on the ground that the authority was contained in its existing certificate.

A hearing on plaintiff’s application was held before a joint Board, and evidence. was introduced and testimony was heard. The application was opposed by a competing carrier, Whitfield Tank Lines, Inc., which was an intervening defendant in this action. In due course, the Board filed an order and report. Thereafter Division I of the Interstate Commerce Commission filed its report and order which was contrary in some respects to the joint Board’s findings. The Commission’s order found that the original certificate of the plaintiff was ambiguous as to the products under consideration. It also held that the certificate excluded asphalt.

The plaintiff duly filed a petition for reconsideration, but its petition was denied. Plaintiff thereafter commenced this proceeding.

It is apparent from the authorities, as the plaintiff fully recognizes in its brief, that the Interstate Commerce Commission has the primary responsibility for the interpretation of its certificates. The plaintiff states that this authority of the Commission is not limitless, and we agree. The position of the reviewing court in a case involving the interpretation of a certificate has been passed upon by the Supreme Court in a series of cases which include Andrew G. Nelson, Inc. v. United States, 355 U.S. 554, 78 S.Ct. 496, 2 L.Ed.2d 484, and Service Storage & Transfer Co. v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 359 U.S. 171, 79 S.Ct. 714, 3 L.Ed.2d 717. The same issue has been of course considered by a large number of district courts, including Mitchell Bros. Truck Lines v. United States, D.C., 225 F.Supp. 755; W. T. Mayfield Sons Trucking Co. v. United States, D.C., 211 F.Supp. 619, and Malone Freight Lines, Inc. v. United States, D.C., 107 F.Supp. 946. No useful purpose would be served by a further statement of these principles. Suffice it to say that if the proceedings conform to law, the Commission’s interpretation of the certificate will be accepted unless it is clearly erroneous (Andrew G. Nelson, Inc. v. United States, supra), or unless it is capricious,. arbitrary, or an abuse of discretion.

The plaintiff here urges that the Commission ignored relevant evidence pertaining to several issues. Specifically it urges that the Commission did not consider the record of the proceedings wherein the certificate in question was originally granted (No. MC-103871). As in any case, the Commission must consider all relevant evidence on the issues presented: W. T. Mayfield Sons Trucking Co. v. United States, supra; Bird Trucking Co. v. United States, D.C., 159 F.Supp. 717. The Commission here specifically found that the certificate of the plaintiff was ambiguous, and held that under such circumstances it could search the record of the original proceedings in order to ascertain the meaning (94 M.C. C. p. 537). There follows in its report a statement of applicant’s contention that the original record does not show an intent to exclude asphalt because it was not mentioned. The Commission then stated [849]*849that there was also no mention of other petroleum products in the record which were included within the exclusion. The Commission also states that the amendment limiting the scope of the hearing was made without explanation of its meaning. Thus it clearly appears that the Commission did give consideration to the record of the source proceedings. The Commission apparently concluded that there was no assistance to be given by such record in the interpretation of the certificate. The plaintiff disagrees with the Commission’s conclusion or inference to be drawn from the record in the source proceedings, but the question is whether or not consideration was given by the Commission. The record clearly shows that such consideration was given. The inferences to be so drawn from the record are for the Commission unless they are arbitrary or clearly erroneous, and we cannot say that they are.

Plaintiff further objects that the Commission does not discuss or mention evidence relied upon and presented by the plaintiff. The record shows the relevant evidence was considered, and the Commission need not mention or refer to all the evidence presented in its Eeport.

The plaintiff for its next point urges that the Commission must give consideration to trade usage in arriving at the meaning of the terms used in the certificate. The authorities are clear that the determination of trade usage in the transportation field by the Commission is well within its powers, and is a matter peculiarly within its experience. The plaintiff in effect urges that the Commission did not give sufficient consideration to usage within the transportation industry, and again disagrees with the inferences drawn by the Commission. The Commission stated that as a matter of practice in interpretation of commodity descriptions, industry or trade usages or practices in the transportation industry are to be followed rather than literal definitions or dictionary definitions. The Commission also stated that there was no evidence which was indicative of a common usage or understanding in the transportation industry as to the meaning of “residuary petroleum products.” The record thus shows that due consideration was given to such evidence. The Commission again found that the solution was not to be found in the use of the terms by the transportation industry. The plaintiff disagrees with this conclusion, but we certainly cannot say that it was arbitrary.

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Bluebook (online)
247 F. Supp. 846, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7751, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/e-b-law-son-inc-v-united-states-nmd-1965.