Gruic v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

21 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 505
CourtSummit County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedMarch 15, 1919
StatusPublished

This text of 21 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 505 (Gruic v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Summit County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gruic v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 21 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 505 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1919).

Opinion

Treash, J.

On December 28, 1918, plaintiff, Isaac Gruic, filed his petition in this court claiming damages for personal injuries and loss of property in the sum of $25,580, against the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company and the Director General of Railroads of the United States of America, for being struck and run into on February 4, 1918, by a train while driving a bob sled across the Tenth avenue crossing of said railroad in the city of Akron, and bases his cause of action against the defendants upon the negligence of the defendants in running their train on and over said crossing at a high and dangerous rate of speed within the corporate limits of the city of Akron, and without giving timely warning of the approach of said train to said crossing, and without maintaining gates or barriers or other means of preventing such injuries at said crossing.

The crossing is alleged to have been located in a populous and densely populated part of the city, and much frequented by triffic, and the relative positions of the surroundings grounds, streets, tracks and embankments and roads are such that a person approaching said railroad tracks is unable to hear or see a train approaching until very near said crossing.

To this petition defendant, the Director General of Railroads of the United States, has filed a demurrer on the ground and for the reason that there is a misjoinder of parties defendant.

On December 28, 1917, the President, in pursuance of the act of Congress of August 29, 1916, took control of the transportation systems of the country as a war measure, effective January 1, 1918'.

March 21,1918, Congress passed what is known as the “federal control act” providing for the operation of transportation systems while under federal control, for the just compensation of .their owners, and for other purposes.

October 28, 1918, the Director General of Railroads, by authority of the President, issued General Order No. 50|, directing that suit should no longer be maintained against the railroads, but should be brought against the Director General of Railroads alone.

[507]*507January 11, 1919, an amendment made to this order known as General Order No. 50-a, was issued providing as follows:

“General Order No. 50, issued October 28, 1918, is hereby amended to read as follows:
“It is therefore ordered, that actions at law, suits is equity, and proceedings in admiralty hereafter brought in any court based on contract, binding upon the Director General of Railroads, claim for death or injury to person, or for loss and damage to property, arising since December 31, 1917, and growing out of the possession, use control, or operation of any railroad or system of transportation by the Director General of Railroads, which action, suit, or proceeding but for federal control might have been brought against the carrier company, shall be brought against the Director General of Railroads, and not otherwise; provided, however, that this order shall not apply to actions, suits, or proceedings for the recovery of fines, penalties, and forfeitures. ’ ’

Under favor of this order, the Director General of Railroads of the United States files his demurrer and asks that this action be dismissed as to defendant the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company.

Authority for making this order is claimed under a provision of Section 10 of the railroad control act, reading as follows:

‘ ‘ Section 10. That carriers while under Federal control shall be subject to all laws and liabilities as common carriers, whether under state or federal laws or at common law, except insofar as may be inconsistent with the provisions of this act or any other act applicable to such federal control or with any order of the President.”

Two questions are presented by this demurrer:

I. Has Congress the right to enact this legislation assuming that it vests the power claimed on behalf of the defendant.

II. Does the federal control act of Congress grant, this power to the President.

We will consider the latter of these questions first.

Admittedly, the chief executive has no such power unless bestowed by appropriate enactment of Congress. Whence then comes this power? _ -

[508]*508The Director General invokes that portion of Section 10 of the railroad control act passed March 24, 1918, quoted above, and maintains that the clause:

“That carriers while under federal control shall be subject to all laws and liabilities as common carriers — except insofar as may be inconsistent with any order of the President.”

not only provides how the laws and liabilities of railroads may be changed, but grants' unlimited powers to the President to repeal and suspend all laws and liabilities against railroads, and bar any suits against them in the courts.

In other words, the conclusion from this construction is that Congress has abdicated and surrendered to the President all its functions of lawmaking as regards the railroads, and the President acting upon this presumption has decreed through his Director General of Railroads that the railroads, while under federal control, must no longer be sued in the courts.

With this contention we can not agree.

1. The first rule of construction of a statute is that it must be construed as a whole. Some parts can not be selected and others disregarded.

In the language of Mr. Chief Justice White, in VanDyke v. Cordova Copper Company, 234 U. S. 188-191; 34 Sup. Cut. 884-885; 58 L. ed. 1273:

“We may not, in order to give effect to these words, virtually destroy the meaning of the .entire context; that is, give them a significance which would be clearly -repugnant to the statute looked at as a whole, and destructive to its obvious intent.”

The various provisions of an act should be read so that all, if possible, may have their due and conjoint effect without repugnancy or inconsistency. New Lamp Co. v. Ansonio Glass Co., 91 U. S., 656-662; 23 L. ed. 336; Aaron v. U. S., 204 Fed. 943.

Applying this cannon of construction to the act as is our duty, how untenable is the contention claimed.

The very next sentence of Section 10 reads:

[509]*509“Actions at law or suits in equity may be brought by and against such carriers, and judgments rendered as now provided by law; and in any action at law or suit in equity against the carrier, no defense shall be made thereto upon the ground that the carrier is an instrumentality or agency of the federal government. ’ ’

As if to remove all possible doubt as to the character of the control that was to be exercised by the President, Congress specifically said “Actions at law or suits in equity may be brought by and against such carriers, and judgments rendered as now provided by law. ’ ’

And then further as settling the question which had already been raised by the railroads, that by federal control they had been relieved of responsibility for their acts while under federal control, the statute next provided:

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Bluebook (online)
21 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 505, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gruic-v-baltimore-ohio-railroad-ohctcomplsummit-1919.