Inland Motor Freight, Inc. v. United States

145 F. Supp. 275, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4178, 1956 WL 92490
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Washington
DecidedOctober 17, 1956
DocketCiv. No. 1293
StatusPublished

This text of 145 F. Supp. 275 (Inland Motor Freight, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Inland Motor Freight, Inc. v. United States, 145 F. Supp. 275, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4178, 1956 WL 92490 (E.D. Wash. 1956).

Opinion

LINDBERG, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Inland Motor Freight, Inc., hereinafter referred to as Inland, seeks [276]*276to set aside a cease and desist order of the Interstate Commerce Commission directing Inland not to perform such operations as were found by the Commission to be beyond the scope of Inland’s Certificate MC-59077.

The controversy developed with the filing of a complaint on September 29, 1953 by Portland-Pendleton Motor Transportation Company and Consolidated Freightways, Inc. against Inland under Section 204 of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C.A. § 304, charging Inland with engaging in unauthorized transportation. The proceedings thus instituted were conducted under modified procedure.1 2Joint Board No. 45, the matter' having been referred to it by the Commission,3 on June 28, 1954 entered a report and order in which it found that Inland lacked authority to engage in the transportation complained of and recommended that a cease and desist order be entered against it, and thereafter on March 9, 1955 Division 5 of the Commission entered a report and order3 wherein it likewise found that Inland had been engaging in transportation in excess of its authority and ordered it to cease and desist therefrom. Inland filed a “Petition for Reconsideration” and an “Alternate Petition for Rehearing”, both of which were denied by order dated July 18, 1955 although before entering said order the Commission, by Division 5, on July 14, 1955, apparently for the purpose of clarification, modified its findings in its report of March 9, 1955.4

On August 31, 1955 Inland instituted this proceeding to set aside the orders of the Commission, alleging5 “That the interpretation by the Interstate Commerce Commission in its several Orders of the authority conferred by the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity upon the plaintiff is in error as a matter of law and that the denial of plaintiff’s Petition for Rehearing is in violation of the due process clause of the Constitution of the United States.”

In presenting its case before us the plaintiff, Inland contends that the order of the Interstate Commerce Commission should be set aside because:

(1) The commission has erroneously construed Inland’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, particularly misconstruing the meaning of the restriction involved and erred in holding that it may not transport (a) explosives, and (b) other commodities between Seattle, Washington and the Umatilla Ordnance Munitions Depot in northeastern Oregon;

(2) It is void in that it rests its finding in part on evidence not in the record;

(3) A fair hearing has been denied by the refusal to grant a rehearing as required by Section 7(d) of the Admin[277]*277istrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C.A. § 1006(d);

(4) The order as modified is ambiguous and confusing and does, not inform plaintiff what acts in issue it may perform and what acts in issue it must refrain from performing.

It would appear that plaintiff’s contentions 2 and 3 are alternative and based upon the same grounds.

Plaintiff relies principally upon its first contention of error.

An admittedly true copy of the Certificate is set out as Exhibit “A” attached to the Petition. It consists of eight sheets and is too lengthy to set forth herein in full. The following is a brief but sufficient description of the pertinent parts. Under the heading “Regular Routes” appearing on the first page of the Certificate there are set forth on the first four sheets of the Certificate thirty-four individually-described routes. The first is between specified points in Idaho; the second through the twenty-first from and to specified points in the State of Washington; the twenty-second through the twenty-fourth between Spokane, Washington and specified points in Idaho; the twenty-fifth between Portland, Oregon and Lewiston, Idaho; the twenty-sixth between Seattle, Washington and the Junction of U. S. Highway 410 and 730 (which route meets the twenty-fifth route at said junction); the twenty-seventh route between Portland, Oregon and Buena, Washington; the twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth and thirty-first between named points in Washington and named points in Idaho, the thirtieth, thirty-second, thirty-third and thirty-fourth between named points in Idaho.

The two routes upon which Inland relies to perform the service here in question are the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth listed routes (hereinafter • respectively referred to as the Portland-Lewis-ton route and the Seattle-Junction route) are set forth in the Certificate as follows:

Between Portland, Oregon and Lewis-ton, Idaho:

From Portland over U. S. Highway 30 to Umatilla, Oregon, thence over U. S. Highway 730 to junction U. S. Highway 410, and thence over U. S. Highway 410 to Lewiston, and return over the same route.

Between Seattle, Washington, and the junction of U. S.- Highway 410 and 730:

From Seattle over Alternate U. S. Highway 10 via Renton, Washington to junction U. S. Highway 10, thence over U. S. Highway 97 to Yakima, Washington,- and thence over U. S. Highway 410 to junction U. S. Highway 730, and return over the same route.

Following the thirty-four routes above referred to there appears the following restriction or limitation:

“Service is authorized to and from, intermediate points on the above-specified routes, as follows: those in Oregon restricted to pick-up only on eastbound traffic, and delivery only on westbound traffic; those on U. S. Highway 195 between Spokane and Rosalia, Washington, including Ros-alia, restricted to traffic moving to or from points south of Rosalia; Toppenish, Washington, and those on U. S. Highway 99, 10, 97, 410 and Alternate U. S. Highway 10 between Tacoma, Washington, and Prosser, Washington, restricted to traffic moving to or from points east of Prosser; those on Washington Highway 2H between Spokane and junction U. S. Highway 10 (near the Washington-Idaho State line) restricted to traffic moving to or from points other than those on the indicated portion of Washington Highway 2H; all other intermediate points on the above-specified routes unrestricted.” (Italics supplied.)

In interpreting the limitation, particularly the underscored portion, the Commission held that the restriction prohibited the transportation complained of and ordered its discontinuance. In its report [278]*278and order the Commission, Division 5, stated, in part:

“Its (Inland’s) 6 contention that the words ‘those in Oregon’ in the restriction clause in question refer only to routes within that State is wholly untenable. The restriction in question is against certain service at points on Oregon routes previously described in that certificate, irrespective of whether the movement is from or to a point or over a route within or without that State. The restriction is indented on the certificate in a manner to bring it flush with the preceding ‘between’ paragraphs and clearly applies to all of them. It is significant also that the grants in question as well as the restriction are to be found in substantially the same form in compliance orders issued to the defendant as a result of ‘grandfather’ proceedings as early as 1939.

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Bluebook (online)
145 F. Supp. 275, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4178, 1956 WL 92490, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/inland-motor-freight-inc-v-united-states-waed-1956.