Garrett Freightlines, Inc. v. United States

236 F. Supp. 594, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8047, 1964 WL 117719
CourtDistrict Court, D. Idaho
DecidedDecember 14, 1964
DocketNo. 2297
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 236 F. Supp. 594 (Garrett Freightlines, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Idaho primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garrett Freightlines, Inc. v. United States, 236 F. Supp. 594, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8047, 1964 WL 117719 (D. Idaho 1964).

Opinion

FRED M. TAYLOR, Chief Judge.

This court has jurisdiction of this action by virtue of Title 28 U.S.C.A. § 1346, and venue is vested in this court under the provisions of Title 28 U.S.C.A. § 1402 (a).

The parties have filed a stipulation of facts, affidavits supporting their contentions and documents relating thereto. The stipulation of facts provides that the cause be submitted to the court for final decision on the record. The defendant then filed a motion for summary judgment and the plaintiff filed a counter-motion for summary judgment. Both of these motions were supported by briefs. The court is cognizant of the fact that these motions delve into the question of whether or not there is a genuine question of fact, and if there is such a question, the court must then decide the cause on the merits. However, the court is of the opinion that the parties, by their stipulation, have submitted all the evidence that is available, and because of this fact, the result of either determining the cause on the motions or the merits would be the same. This' court will decide the cause on the motions, but believes that the result would be the same even if decided on the merits, due to the fact that the parties have stipulated to the completeness of the evidence.

Due to the procedural manner by which this suit has progressed, this court would make several observations. Concerning the stipulation of facts, this court is of the opinion that both parties intended this document to mean that all the possible evidence in the ease has been put into the record. That is, neither side has any more evidence regarding the issues at hand. And secondly, that when both parties to a lawsuit move for a summary judgment, the inference of such action is that they both admit that there is not a question of fact remaining which would necessitate further proceedings.

Plaintiff is a motor carrier. During the month of November of 1957, plaintiff transported seven semi-trailer loads of engines for the government, the defendant, under government bills of lading. Plaintiff billed and received payment from defendant for the transportation by it of the seven shipments of freight. ' The charges were based upon tariff rates applicable where the exclusive use of the carrier’s vehicle is requested by the shipper and is provided by the carrier. Subsequently, as a result of a post-audit, the government determined that there had been an overpayment for the transportation of the seven shipments, and deductions equalling the amount of the claimed overpayment were made from amounts due plaintiff for the transportation of other government freight. By this suit plaintiff seeks to recover the amount of these deductions. Plaintiff has stated its claim in two causes: the first cause of action is based on the deductions concerning five semi-trailers moving under a government bill of lading, and the second cause of action is based on the deductions concerning two semi-trailers moving under another bill of lading. The freight, the manner of shipping and the bills of lading in both causes are identical. Because the quéstions relating to each cause of action are substantially the same, this court will treat both causes of action the same for the purpose of deter[596]*596mining the respective rights of the parties.

The shipments involved in this suit originated from the manufacturer’s plant in Ramapo, New York. Denver-Chieago Trucking Co., not a party to this suit, transported the seven shipments from Ramapo, New York, to Denver, Colorado, and the plaintiff transported the shipments from Denver to their final destination at Travis Air Force Base, California. Each bill of lading for the shipment bears the following notation: “EXCLUSIVE USE OF THESE VEHICLE AUTHORIZED. To Meet Deadline Date 14 November 1957 at Destination. * * * ” The evidence shows that “exclusive use” was requested by the shipper. The trailers involved wei-e not loaded to full visual or weight capacity. However, the floor area of each trailer was completely used and there was no more room in the trailers for additional generator sets. The shipper marked on the top of the generator sets “no stowage on top”. It appears from the evidence that the freight remained in the same trailers during the trip, but that plaintiff attached its own cabs to the trailers to transport them from Denver to Ti'avis Air Force Base.

The defendant’s defense is comprised of three parts: (1) that plaintiff has not proved actual performance of exclusive-use-of-vehicle service, but if it has then, (2) that exclusive-use-of-vehicle service does not materially differ from truckload service, or (3) that the exclusive-use tariff does not apply in preference to the truckload tariff to vehicles loaded to capacity. The defendant urges, and this court agrees, that the plaintiff has the burden of showing exclusive-use service was performed. United States v. New York, N. H. & Hartford R. R. Co., 355 U.S. 253, 78 S.Ct. 212, 2 L.Ed.2d 247. This court must first decide if under the evidence submitted, the plaintiff has satisfied its burden of showing that it rendered exclusive-use service pursuant to the authorization.

The plaintiff’s position in regard to its burden of proof is somewhat complicated due to the fact that they have destroyed most of the records that would tend to show the type of service the shipments were accorded. It does not appear that this destruction of records differs in any respect from the general business practices of other trucking companies. Destruction of records is authorized under the Federal Motor Carrier Act (U.S. Code, Title 49, Secs. 301 to 307, as amended) and the rules and regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Destruction of Records, Part 203 — Carriers and Brokers, Sections 203-307, 20 Fed. eral Register p. 2582. This in itself would not seem to preclude the plaintiff from maintaining this action, especially in the light of the confusion regarding the basis for the deductions in this case. The plaintiff may still go ahead and 'attempt to make a prima facie case even in the absence of these records. There is also an absence of any notation on the bills of lading or the consignee’s receipt in regard to whether seals had been affixed to the trailers in question. The court is of the opinion that this in itself is not fatal to the plaintiff’s case. In order for this court to determine if exclusive-use service was rendered pursuant to the request, all that is necessary to find from the facts is that the freight was not transferred from the original trailers during the trip and that no additional freight was added to the trailers while they were in transit. While there are no driver’s log books of how these precise shipments were treated by the trucking companies, the plaintiff has submitted affidavits showing the general practices of both companies in regard to shipments involving a request for exclusive-use. These affidavits also shed some light on the case by commenting on the freight bills that were preserved and the notations thereon. The evidence shows that the shipments were rendered expedited service by the use of a two-man sleeper cab operation which provided against the necessity of stopping in transit. The plaintiff’s freight bills have the notation “not ckd at Den”, meaning that plaintiff did not follow its customary practice of opening the trailers at Denver when it as[597]*597sumed the responsibility of the shipment. The evidence also shows that the freight was not transferred to other trailers during the trip.

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Bluebook (online)
236 F. Supp. 594, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8047, 1964 WL 117719, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garrett-freightlines-inc-v-united-states-idd-1964.