McWhorter v. Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad

24 Fla. 417
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 15, 1888
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 24 Fla. 417 (McWhorter v. Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McWhorter v. Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad, 24 Fla. 417 (Fla. 1888).

Opinion

The Chief-Justice

delivered the opinion of the court:

Appellants are Commissioners under an act of the Legislature of Florida of 1887, “ to provide for the regulation A? railroad freight and passenger tariffs in this State; to ¡prevent unjust discrimination in the rates charged for kir&nsportation of passengers and freights, and to prohibit [457]*457railroad companies, corporations and. lessees in this State from charging other than just and reasonable rates, and to punish the same and prescribe a mode of procedure and rules of evidence in relation thereto, and to appoint Commissioners and to prescribe their powers and duties in relation to the same.” They bring this case here for a reversal of the decree overruling their demurrer to the bill of the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad Company against them, which also enjoins them from “ promulgating as binding upon the complainant the rates for transportation of freight and passengers heretofore prescribed by the defendants tor the complainant, or other rates substantially the same as said rates, and from procuring or permitting the institution of any suits against the complainant for any alleged charges by the complainant in excess of the said rates heretofore fixed, or in excess of any other rates which may be fixed by the defendants for the complainant substantially the samo as the said rates.”

The gravamen of the bill is, that the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad Company is a corporation of the State of Florida, empowered to construct and operate a railroad from some point on the Apalachicola river to the city of Pensacola; that the road was completed and began to operate in April, 1883, and has been operated ever since; that the defendants were appointed Commissioners under the act above mentioned; that they have fixed rates for freight and passenger transportation on the railroads of the .State, including that of complainant, which they have determined to be just and reasonable charges to be made said railroads, and have ordered the several companies, including complainant, not to make any charges greater than the rates so fixed ; that they have fixed three cents per mile as the uniform rate to be charged by complainant for passengers, and have fixed rates for freight varying [458]*458with the distance of transportation, and with certain classification of the various kinds of freight, which they have arbitrarily adopted; that the rates thus fixed were made in spite of facts hereinafter stated and argument thereon before defendants; and as authorized by the act, complainant protested to defendants against the enforcement of said rates, but the defendants refused to change the same, and thereupon complainant appealed to the Board of Revisers provided by the act, but that board confirmed the action of defendants; that complainant, for reasons hereinafter stated, declined to adopt the rates thus preseribedj and have charged for passengers and freight more than said rates, but the rates so charged were just and reasonable, and in no instance has it made a charge that was not just and reasonable, never having charged for passengers more than five cents per mile, the rate authorized by its charter; that consequent upon such charges by complainant, which defendants allege to be in violation of the act and of their order, they demanded that complainant restore to the persons so charged the excess over the rates fixed by them ; and upon complainant’s refusal they have procured the Attorney-General of the State ' to bring several suits (naming them) to recover the penalties prescribed by the act for charges in excess of rates so fixed; that numerous persons who have been charged by complainant more than the rates fixed by defendants, relying on the authority of defendants to fix rates, have brought suits against complainant to recover damages for said alleged excessive charges ; that said suits of the State and of the said persons are now pending, and the defendants announce their intention to procure other suits to be brought by the Attorney-General for every case of a charge by complainant in excess of the rates fixed by them, and that there are numerous eases of such excess, and com[459]*459plainant will continue to so charge until it be judicially determined that it has not the right to do so; that defendants have not the power to determine the justice or reasonableness of complainant’s charges, because that involves a judicial function which they are inhibited from exercising by the Constitution of the State; that if not judicial, it is legislative, and cannot be exercised by defendants ; that if defendants have any power whatever in the premises it is restricted to fixing rates that are in fact just and reasonable, and they cannot require complainant to reduce its rates to charges which are not reasonable and just to it; and that the rates prescribed by defendants are much less than those heretofore charged by complainant for the same services, and are neither just and reasonable; for though its charges have been much greater than is allowed by the rates fixed by defendants, and have brought a much larger gross income than would be realized from said rates, yet complainaut has not only failed to realize any interest upon its investment, but has failed to realize enough to meet the necessary expenses connected with the operation and ownership of its road.

The bill then proceeds to give figures and statements as to the cost of construction and equipment of the road, and its actual value and as to earnings and expenses of its operation, going to show excess of expenses over earnings, and actual loss from the operation of the road during the more than the five years of such operation to date ; and alleges facts in regard to the condition and business of the country through which the road runs to show that such loss, even on the basis of its charges, will probably continue for some years. It further alleges that the rates prescribed by defendants are also unreasonable and unjust when compared with those permitted by them to other roads in the State, [460]*460giving figures to show the difference ; and that a reduction of its charges to the rates prescribed by defendants would compel complainant to forego any possibility of earning any interest on its investment or any income from the operation of its road, and that to continue the operation at an actual loss would render its road valueless ; and that defendants cannot under the law so act as to produce this result, for thereby complainant would be deprived ot its property withouc due process of law contrary to provision of section 1, Article XIV, of the Constitution of the United States. The prayer of the bill was for the relief which was granted by the injunction.

On the argument of the demurrer to the bill the Commissioners filed an affidavit, intended mainly to show that in their dealings with complainant they were not led to expect such complaints as the bill makes, and they say that if application had been made to them for a change or increase in the rates and it had appeared to them reasonable and just, they doubtless would have made proper changes, as they did in cases of application by other roads.

The preliminary question raised by the demurrer arises on two of its grounds, the 3d and 4th, viz: 3d, that the court has no jurisdiction of the makers set forth in complainant’s bill, or to grant relief in the premises, and 4th, that this is in eftect a suit against the State.

We will consider first whether this is in effect a suit against the State. If it is, it. is well understood that it can not be sustained, unless by consent of the State.

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Bluebook (online)
24 Fla. 417, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcwhorter-v-pensacola-atlantic-railroad-fla-1888.