Howard R. Ward v. Northern Ohio Telephone Company

300 F.2d 816, 1962 U.S. App. LEXIS 5492, 43 P.U.R.3d 452
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedApril 3, 1962
Docket14569
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 300 F.2d 816 (Howard R. Ward v. Northern Ohio Telephone Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Howard R. Ward v. Northern Ohio Telephone Company, 300 F.2d 816, 1962 U.S. App. LEXIS 5492, 43 P.U.R.3d 452 (6th Cir. 1962).

Opinion

McALLISTER, Circuit Judge.

Appellant Ward is the operator of a radio station duly licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. Appellee telephone company which formerly furnished telephone lines to him to carry radio broadcasts from the source of the program to the transmitter for broadcast, now refuses to continue that service, and claims that it is under no obligation to do so, since it is a company engaged only in intrastate telephone business within the State of Ohio, and subject only to the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Upon appellant’s petition filed against appellee telephone company for damages for refusal to furnish such lines, the district court held that it had no jurisdiction over the subject matter of the claims set forth, and dismissed appellant’s petition.

*817 It is contended by appellant that appellee company unlawfully refused to furnish telephone lines to him in his capacity as operator of a radio station transmitting radio for broadcast purposes across state lines; that appellee company, although it has all of its telephone facilities located in only one state, is subject to damages for its refusal to furnish such telephone lines to him, under the provisions of federal statutes; that a federal question was presented to the district court by appellant’s petition, setting forth such facts; and that the district court erred in dismissing his petition on the ground that it had no jurisdiction over the subject matter of the claims set forth therein.

Appellee telephone company contends that it is not doing business in interstate commerce as a common carrier engaged in interstate communication; that all of its facilities are located in one state and that it is therefore engaged only in intrastate communication; that it is only a connecting carrier, and, except for limited purposes of accounting and furnishing reports, not relevant in this case, it is not subject to the provisions of the Federal Communications Act which require a telephone company to furnish wire service to radio stations, under which Act appellant brought his suit; and that, in any event, it is specifically exempted from the provisions of the statute which require telephone companies to furnish such wire service.

Title 28 U.S.C.A. § 1337 provides: “The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action or proceeding arising under any Act of Congress regulating commerce or protecting trade and commerce against restraints and monopolies.”

Title 47 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq. provide for the furnishing of interstate and foreign communication by wire or radio, upon reasonable request; prohibits unjust and unreasonable discrimination and preferences; regulates charges to be made for services; provides that such charges or services, whenever referred to in the Act, shall include those in connection with the use of wires in chain broadcasting or incidental to radio communication of any kind; sets forth the carrier’s liability for damages for violation of the Act; and provides for actions to recover such damages. 1

*818 It is agreed that all of the facilities of appellee telephone company are located in the State of Ohio. Nevertheless, it is conceded by appellee company that it is subject to the provisions of Title 47 U.S. C.A. §§ 219-220, inclusive, to the extent that it is required to account to, and render certain requested reports to, the Federal Communications Commission.

Title 47 U.S.C.A. §§ 152 and 153, governing telephone companies engaged in interstate communication, and excepting certain companies from the application of its provisions, is also relevant in the light of certain contentions of appellee. 2

In spite of a number of issues presented, and the complexities of relevant statutory provisions, there is a single controlling issue in this ease; whether a telephone company, with all of its facilities located in one state, engaging only in intrastate telephone communication except for physical connections with carriers in other states, is subject to federal statutes requiring it to furnish telephone lines to radio stations broadcasting across state boundaries.

In the case of In re: Capital City Telephone Company, 3 F.C.C. Reports, 189, the Federal Communications Commission determined one of the main questions raised in this controversy. In that case, the Capital City Telephone Company was located entirely in the State of Missouri and leased its telephone lines to a radio station within the State of Missouri. In its decision, the Commission said:

“Congress was cognizant of the fact that wires were used in connection with broadcasting. The inten *819 tion of Congress to clothe the Federal Communications Commission with jurisdiction over charges and services for wires used in radio communication is evidenced by Section 202(b) which reads: ‘Charges or services, whenever referred to in this Act, include charges for or services in connection with the use of wires in chain broadcasting or incidental to radio communication of any kind.’
“The fact that the wires used to carry the program from the microphone to the transmitter may be confined to a single state does not mean that the wires are not used in interstate communication. The contract or leasing arrangement may be for a wire service which begins and ends within a single state. The complete transmission, however, is an interstate communication and is therefore subject to legislation by Congress under the commerce clause. * * *
“In view of the express provisions of the Communications Act relative to the use of wires in connection with broadcasting, it is indisputable that Congress has legislated on that question. It is a well established rule of constitutional interpretation that when Congress has legislated on a subject which is within its jurisdiction, such legislation is exclusive and the power therein granted by Congress is exclusive of all other powers. * * *
“The interstate communication of a broadcasting company begins at the microphone, passes over the wires to the transmitter, and then through the ether, constituting a continuous interstate communication which, because of its very nature, must be subject to federal regulations. * * *
“This Commission has exclusive regulatory jurisdiction over wires and wire service furnished by a telephone carrier to a radio broadcasting station, even though such wires do not cross state or national bound • aries.” (Emphasis supplied.)

Where lines, therefore, are furnished for broadcast purposes to a radio station by a telephone company, the telephone company is engaged in interstate communication, and is in interstate commerce, subject to federal law, even where all the property of the company is located within a single state. “No state lines divide the radio waves, and national regulation is not only appropriate but essential to the efficient use of radio facilities.” Federal Radio Commission v. Nelson Brothers Bond and Mortgage Company, 289 U.S. 266

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Bluebook (online)
300 F.2d 816, 1962 U.S. App. LEXIS 5492, 43 P.U.R.3d 452, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howard-r-ward-v-northern-ohio-telephone-company-ca6-1962.