Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Co. v. Scofield, Shurmer & Teagle

2 Ohio C.C. 305
CourtOhio Circuit Courts
DecidedJanuary 15, 1887
StatusPublished

This text of 2 Ohio C.C. 305 (Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Co. v. Scofield, Shurmer & Teagle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Circuit Courts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Co. v. Scofield, Shurmer & Teagle, 2 Ohio C.C. 305 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1887).

Opinion

Baldwin, J.

This is what is known as a discrimination case.

[306]*306The plaintiffs below, Scofield, Shurmer & Teagle, set forth, substantially , that they were manufacturers of refined petroleum oil in the city of Cleveland; that it was necessary for them, in order to reach their customers, to use the means of conveyance offered by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company; that a very large share of the business of manufacturing and distributing refined petroleum for Cleveland was done by the Standard Oil Company (in fact it appears that it did nine-tenths of all the business); that the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company gave a rebate to the Standard Oil Company on all rates of freight which were charged to other customers. It is not claimed that the rates of freight which were charged other customers, were unreasonable in themselves; but it is said that the Standard Oil Company did very much the larger share of all the business, and that the giving of a steady rebate to it on all freights operated very much in its favor, and would make it difficult for any other oil company to do business in competition with it, and tended to the destruction of the business of any other company. The petition alleged that they sent a number of barrels of oil, on which a certain fixed discrimination of ten cents a barrel was made. Then it set forth that they themselves, Scofield, Shurmer & Teagle, had tank cars which they offered to have used upon this line of railway for the purpose of transporting oil; but that the railway company refused to receive their oil in bulk in such cars, although they did so for the Standard Oil Company, and that in that a still larger discrimination was made in favor of the Standard Oil Company. They further alleged that the railway company, still discriminating, refused any of their cars to be switched over to the works of Scofield, Shurmer & Teagle, and that caused them quite an expense. They claimed, perhaps, a thousand dollars damages by reason of the necessary cartage, and their petition closed with the allegation that their business had suffered very much generally, and they claimed damages to the amount of $100,000.

It is claimed by the plaintiff in error, by amendments that were allowed by the court to be made to the petition in error to this court, that the state court has no jurisdiction in this matter.

[307]*307Sections 3368 and 3378, of the statutes of Ohio, forbid discrimination, and provide for the assessment of certain fines.

It is claimed in this case that the rights which Scofield, Shurmer & Teagle, the plaintiffs below and the defendants in error in this case, had, were common law rights, and that notwithstanding this statute which gives certain specific remedies, they had a right of redress at common law against this corporation for. such discrimination. So far as that matter is concerned, it seems to be completely settled by a case between the same parties and relating substantially to the same kind of transactions in the 43 Ohio St. That was an action for an injunction against threatened discrimination, and this is an action for damages for discriminations which have already taken place. I do not propose to read that case; it is a very long one, and, for some of the purposes of this case, it is fortunately very full. A portion of the syllabi are as follows :

“ (1.) A railroad company, organized under the statutes of Ohio, is a common carrier, and is subject to judicial control to prevent the abuse of its powers and privileges.

“ (2.1 Where a lower rate is given by such corporation to a favored shipper, which is intended to give, and necessarily gives, an exclusive monopoly to the favored shipper, affecting the business and destroying the trade of other shippers, the latter have a right to require an equal rate for all under like circumstances.

(3.) Where such a corporation, as a common carrier, in consideration of the fact that a shipper furnished a greater quantity of freights than other shippers during a given term, agrees to make a rebate on the published tariff on such freights to the prejudice of the'other shippers of like freights under the same circumstances, Held: Such a contract is an unlawful discrimination in favor of the larger shipper, tending to create monopoly, destroy competition, injure, if not destroy the business of smaller operators, contrary to public policy, and will be declared void at the instance of parties injured thereby.

“ (4.) Such a contract of discrimination cannot be upheld simply because the'Jfavored shipper may furnish for shipment during the year a larger freightage in the aggregate than any [308]*308other shipper, or more than all others combined. A discrimination resting exclusively on such a basis will not be sustained.

“ (5.) Although a court will ordinarily look to the interest of a common carrier as an element in the case when a contract with him relating to freightage is attempted to be upheld or set aside, such a contract will not be sustained by the courts simply because the business to be done under it is i largely profitable’to him.”

It is not necessary for me to read the other syllabi, or to read any part of the opinion, and sufficient to say that a large share of the opinion in this case is made up of a discussion of whether or not there was a right at common law and outside of any statute, on the part of the plaintiffs in that case to secure the relief which was there sought, and after a full discussion of the subject the court arrived at the very satisfactory conclusion that there were those common law rights.

Then we stand in this position : The supreme court of the state of Ohio have decided, and in our opinion have wisely decided, that the plaintiffs in this case have a common law right to relief, and that brings us again to the claim that was suggested, that notwithstanding there is that common law right, it is a regulation of inter-state commerce, and the state courts have no right to grant a remedy in such a case.

It is claimed that a large share, if not all, of the shipments which had been made by the plaintiff below in this case, were made outside of the state. I believe the statement was made on one side that that every shipment on which it was proved and claimed that there was a rebate, was made to places that were outside of the state.

The claim that the state court has no jurisdiction, is based upon a late decision of the supreme court of the United States, made since the decision in 43 Ohio St., 557, and upon the following clause of the constitution of the United States :

The congress shall have power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.”

It is claimed that that power of congress is an exclusive power. In fact the supreme court of the United States, in 118 [309]*309United States Supreme Court Reports, say that it is an exclusive power, and that the regulation of commerce among the states is confided exclusively to Congress under the constitution.

This case of Railway Company v. The State of Illinois, in the 118th United States Reports, 557, was a case arising upon a statute of the state of Illinois, which the supreme court of that state had held was intended to apply to contracts of shipment made from one place in Illinois to places in other states.

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Bluebook (online)
2 Ohio C.C. 305, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lake-shore-michigan-southern-railway-co-v-scofield-shurmer-teagle-ohiocirct-1887.