Merchants' & Manufacturers' Traffic Ass'n v. United States

231 F. 292, 1915 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1688
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedDecember 15, 1915
DocketNo. 191
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 231 F. 292 (Merchants' & Manufacturers' Traffic Ass'n v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Merchants' & Manufacturers' Traffic Ass'n v. United States, 231 F. 292, 1915 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1688 (N.D. Cal. 1915).

Opinion

MORROW, Circuit Judge.

The petitioners are applying to this court, upon the bill of corqplaint and affidavits, for an interlocutory injunction to restrain in part an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission, dated April 30, 1915, and the tariff filed by certain of the [294]*294transcontinental rail carriers pursuant to said order (Supplement 16 to Transcontinental Freight Bureau West-Bound Tariff No. 1-N), in so *far as the said order charges for west-bound transcontinental commodities destined to Sacramento, Stockton, San Jose, and Santa Clara any greater amount than is charged for the transportation of like commodities to San Francisco or Oakland.

[ 1 ] A preliminary motion to dismiss the bill has been made by the United States on grounds that appear to be sufficiently stated in the objections that the petitioners do not bring the suit as common carriers or as shippers; that they have no such interest in the orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission sought to be annulled and enjoined as to enable them to maintain the suit; that it does not appear that they will sustain irreparable injury, or any injury, by reason of any orders of the Commission made subject of complaint; and that the petitioners have no standing in a court of equity to maintain the suit.

Three of the petitioners are traffic associations formed for the pur2pose of representing jobbers and merchants located at Sacramento, Stockton, and San Jose in traffic matters in which all the parties represented are interested. The remaining petitioner, Santa Clara, is a municipal corporation representing the interests of the citizens of that municipality. All of the petitioners are authorized by section 13 of the Act to Regulate Commerce (Act Feb. 4, 1887, 24 Stat. 379) to apply to the Interstate Commerce Commission by petition for relief in certain matters; that is to say, they may become parties to certain proceedings before the Interstate Commerce Commission, thus recognizing their right to represent the interest of others before that body. And it is further provided in the section that:

“No complaint sball at any time be dismissed because of the absence of direct damage to the complainant.”

It is further provided, in section 2 of the Act to Further Regulate ■Commerce with Foreign Nations and Among the States (Act Feb. 19, 1903, 32 Stat. pt. 1, p. 847) :

“That in any proceeding for the enforcement of the provisions of the statutes relating to interstate commerce, whether such proceedings be instituted before the Interstate Commerce Commission or be begun originally in any Circuit Court of the United States, it shall be lawful to include as parties, in addition to the carrier, all persons interested in or affected by the rate, regulation, or practice under consideration, and inquiries, investigations, orders, and decrees may be made with reference to and against such additional parties in the same manner, to the same extent, and subject to the same provisions as are or shall be authorized by law with respect to carriers.”

The purpose of these statutes is plainly to meet a situation and bring in all parties interested in the controversy, to the end that the entire question involved may be settled and determined in the one proceeding. Such being the purpose, we see no objection to classes of persons similarly situated being represented by an association or other organization and coming into the controversy under the common name. This, we think, brings this case within the well-known rule that bills may be filed^in the name of an unincorporated association, [295]*295and by parties on behalf of others similarly situated. In Foster’s Federal Practice (5th Ed.) § 114, the rule is stated as follows:

“Glass Suits.—Wlien a number of persons have a common interest in a tiling which is the subject of litigation, and in some instances when a number o£ persons have a common interest in a question which is before the court for decision, one or more may sue or be sued in behalf of the rest. Judge Story-divides the first of these divisions into two: ‘(1) When the question is one of a common and general interest, and one or more sue or defend for the benefit of the whole; and (2) when the parties form a voluntary association for public or private purposes, and those who sue or defend may fairly be presumed to represent the rights and interests of the whole.’ But there seems to be no reason for treating the two classes separately. They are called ‘class suits,’ ‘creditors’ suits,’ or ‘stockholders’ suits,’ as the case may be.”

Moreover, the equity rules seem to contemplate such a suit for the common benefit of all where the parties are numerous and have a. common or general interest. Equity rule No. 37 (198 Fed. xxviii, 115 C. C. A. xxviii) provides:

“All persons having an interest in the subject of the action and in obtaining the relief demanded may join as plaintiffs and persons having a united interest must be joined on the same side as plaintiffs or defendants.”

Equity rule No. 38 (198 Fed. xxix, 115 C. C. A. xxix) provides that:

“When tile question is one of common or general interest to many persons constituting a class so numerous as to make it impracticable to bring them all before the court, one or more may sue or defend for the whole.”

We think under these rules this action may be maintained by the petitioners. The motion to dismiss is therefore denied.

[2] After the passage of the Act of February 4, 1887, to Regulate Commerce (24 Stat. 379), it became unlawful, under section 4 of the act, for a carrier to charge or receive any greater compensation in the aggregate for the transportation of passengers or like kind of property for a shorter than for a longer distance over the same line or route in the same direction, the shorter being included within the longer distance. But there was a qualification provided in the statute that the transportation for the shorter and longer distances must he under substantially similar circumstances and conditions. There was a further provision that upon application to the Interstate Commerce Commission a carrier might in special cases after investigation by the Commission be authorized to charge less for the longer than for the shorter distance.

The controversy in the present case has its origin in proceedings arising out of an application made to the Interstate Commerce Commission by the Railroad Commission of Nevada. Prior to that application, all points in Nevada (which points are designated as intermountain points) had been charged much higher rates on both classes of west-bound freight, viz. freight designated as class freight and freight designated as commodities, than had been charged to Pacific Coast terminals. Sacramento, Stockton, San Jose, and Santa Clara, as well as other points in California, had long prior to such time been designated as “Pacific Coast terminals” and were such at the time of the [296]*296application to the Interstate* Commerce Commission by the Railroad Commission of Nevada. The prayer of the Nevada application was:

“Nevada asks that she be given rates as low as those given to Sacramento.”

Sacramento was the nearest Pacific Coast terminal to Nevada, and the.

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231 F. 292, 1915 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1688, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/merchants-manufacturers-traffic-assn-v-united-states-cand-1915.