Hargleroad Bulk Carriers, Inc. v. Ruan Transport Corp.

112 N.W.2d 743, 173 Neb. 151, 1962 Neb. LEXIS 6
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 12, 1962
DocketNo. 35033
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 112 N.W.2d 743 (Hargleroad Bulk Carriers, Inc. v. Ruan Transport Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hargleroad Bulk Carriers, Inc. v. Ruan Transport Corp., 112 N.W.2d 743, 173 Neb. 151, 1962 Neb. LEXIS 6 (Neb. 1962).

Opinion

Brower, J.

This is an appeal from an order of the Nebraska State Railway Commission, hereinafter referred to as the commission. The order was entered January 26, 1961, and is entitled “Order Nunc Pro Tunc Granted: Motions to Dismiss Sustained.”

The appellants are Hargleroad Bulk Carriers, Inc., and E. Dorothea and Corwin J. Hargleroad, doing business as Hargleroad Van and Storage Company. The Hargleroad Bulk Carriers, Inc., will be referred to as the Hargleroad Company and the Hargleroad Van and Storage Company as the Hargleroad Partnership.

The appellees are the Nebraska Small Truckers Association; Paul Littrell; Ruan Transport Corporation; Earl Houk, doing business as Western Nebraska Truck Line; [153]*153Denver Chicago Transport Co., Inc., of Nebraska; Wheeler Transport Service, Inc.; and Melton Transport Company of Nebraska. They will be designated simply as appellees.

In order that the questions under consideration may be understood it is necessary to review chronologically the matters in controversy so far as they are pertinent to this discussion.

On October 24, 1945, the Hargleroad Partnership filed with the commission an application to acquire the operating rights of one George B. Fergus who had previously been granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity. His certificate gave him authority to operate as a common carrier of “Commodities Generally” over “irregular routes to and from all parts of the State of Nebraska.” This application was thereupon docketed by the commission as application No. M-7553. On the same day the commission without giving notice and without a hearing granted the application and issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity under application No. M-7553, purporting to give the same authority to the Hargleroad Partnership as had been held by Fergus.

In July 1949, this court in the case of In re Application of Neylon, 151 Neb. 587, 38 N. W. 2d 552, held the commission had no authority to grant such transfers and issue the new certificates applied for in such cases without notice and hearing and that their action in so doing was void.

In October 1956, the partnership commenced transporting liquid petroleum in bulk tank vehicles under the Fergus certificate No. 7553. Thereafter, in November 1956, certain competitors of the Hargleroad Partnership carrying petroleum products commenced an action in the district court for Adams County seeking to enjoin the partnership from operating without a valid certificate of public convenience and necessity. The defendants demurred to the petition. The demurrer was sustained by [154]*154the trial court and the action dismissed.. The plaintiffs thereupon appealed to this court.

In R. B. “Dick” Wilson, Inc. v. Hargleroad, 165 Neb. 468, 86 N. W. 2d 177, the court reversed the judgment of the trial court and remanded the cause for further proceedings. In the opinion the court stated there was a failure to give notice to interested parties and to have a hearing on the granting of the certificate to the Hargleroad Partnership. It also cited In re Application of Richling, 154 Neb. 108, 47 N. W. 2d 413, to the effect that such a certificate was invalid. It reversed the order and remanded the cause to the trial court for further proceedings. It appears from the record before us that no further proceedings were had in this action.

On November 29, 1957, the Hargleroad Partnership filed an application seeking a certificate of public convenience and necessity to transport commodities generally over irregular routes to and from all parts of the State of Nebraska, which was the same authority supposedly acquired from Fergus. This application was docketed as M-7553, supplement No. 1. It was regularly set for hearing on January 10, 1958, and proper notice was given and a hearing had.

At the conclusion of the hearing the commission granted application No. 7553, supplement No. 1, on a “temporary basis pending further hearing and final adjudication” and issued a temporary authority to the Hargleroad Partnership to conduct the transportation proposed in said application. The order granting authority ended with the following:

“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED by the Commission that the granting of this temporary authority creates no presumption that any permanent authority will be granted hereafter.

“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that operations pursuant to this order shall be subject to such terms, conditions' ánd limitations as have been, or may hereafter be, prescribed by the Commission.”

[155]*155The temporary character of the order and certificate was likewise recited in the findings of the commission.

Thereafter application No. M-7553, supplement No. 1, was referred to the examiner and the hearing, .after several continuances, was finally set. for June 10, 1958, at 9:30 a.m. On that day the examiner heard the same and took the evidence offered by the applicant and numerous protestants, including some of the appellees herein.

On June 26, 1958, the examiner filed his report and on November 26, 1958, filed the transcript of the evidence taken on June 10, 1958. In his report he recommended that the commission grant authority to operate to the applicant. He further recommended however that the service authorized, instead of applying to “commodities generally” as sought by the applicant and as set forth in the certificate, purportedly granted on transfer of the Fergus authority in 1945, be restricted as far as the commodities were concerned to those specified in the certificate later granted by the commission. He also recommended that certificate No. M-7553, which was issued on the transfer of the Fergus authority, be revoked and cancelled.

Exceptions to the report were made by the Hargleroad Partnership and certain protestants. A hearing was had before the commission and after being taken under advisement an order was made on December 29, 1959, in application No. M-7553, supplement No. 1, overruling the exceptions and granting the applicant a certificate of public convenience and necessity. In the findings the commission recited that the examiner’s report should be approved. It set out the proposed service as follows: “3. That the proposed service is or will be required by the present or future public convenience and necessity to the following extent:

“SERVICE AND ROUTE OR TERRITORY AUTHORIZED: (A) Commodities generally, except those requiring special equipment, between all points in Ne[156]*156braska, over irregular routes. (B) Household goods and emigrant movables, heavy machinery, contractor’s equipment and articles of unusual size or weight requiring the use of special equipment, between all points in Nebraska, over irregular routes.”

The order following, so far as is necessary for this discussion, is quoted here:

“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED by the Nebraska State Railway Commission by the action of the majority thereof that Application No. M-7553 of E. Dorothea & Corwin J. Hargleroad, dba Hargleroad Van & Storage Co., Hastings, Nebraska, be, and the same is hereby, Granted in Part; that the temporary authority granted in Application No. M-7553, Supplement No. 1, of E. Dorothea & Corwin J. Hargleroad dba Hargleroad Van & Storage Co., Hastings, Nebraska on January 10, 1958, be, and the same is hereby, revoked and cancelled and that a certificate of public convenience and necessity be, and the same is hereby, issued to E. Dorothea & Corwin J.

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Bluebook (online)
112 N.W.2d 743, 173 Neb. 151, 1962 Neb. LEXIS 6, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hargleroad-bulk-carriers-inc-v-ruan-transport-corp-neb-1962.