Michigan Railroad Commission v. Detroit & Mackinac Railway Co.

144 N.W. 696, 178 Mich. 230, 1913 Mich. LEXIS 544
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 20, 1913
DocketCalendar No. 25,373
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 144 N.W. 696 (Michigan Railroad Commission v. Detroit & Mackinac Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Michigan Railroad Commission v. Detroit & Mackinac Railway Co., 144 N.W. 696, 178 Mich. 230, 1913 Mich. LEXIS 544 (Mich. 1913).

Opinions

McAlvay, J.

This is an application by the Michigan railroad commission for a writ of mandamus to enforce an order made by it in the matter of the Fletcher Paper Company v. Detroit & Mackinac R. Co. to remain in force until the hearing and final determination of a cause now pending in the circuit court for Wayne county in chancery.

The order was granted on the petition of the Fletcher Paper Company of Alpena, the owner of logs and timber located along the line of what is known as the “Tubbs Branch” or “Martindale Spur,” and also the owner of the right of way, roadbed, and ties of this spur, upon which the rails of the company are laid, which is a logging branch of the respondent railroad company, and which leaves the main line of [232]*232road at a station called Case, and extends about five miles in a southerly direction from that point.

The Fletcher Paper Company was engaged in delivering its logs along this branch road and shipping them to Alpena or other points on the railroad company’s main line, and had a large amount of logs on the skidways along the track about one mile south from the main line ready for shipment, when the railroad company, without notice, took up about half a mile of its rails between the point where these logs were placed for loading and the main line, making it impossible to make any further shipment. The railroad company had operated its cars over this branch road for several years, transporting forest products of those having such along the branch for shipment, and had established schedules of rates for the same, which were duly filed with the Michigan railroad commission and published, and it operated this branch in the same manner as it operated many other branches of like character in that territory. It had notice of the Fletcher Paper Company’s purchase of the right of way, roadbed, and ties of this branch from the Churchill Lumber Company, and afterward for some time accepted and transported its logs from this branch according to schedule rates without question. The Fletcher Paper Company, as soon as these rails were removed, filed its bill of complaint in the circuit court for the county of Alpena in chancery, for the purpose of restraining the railroad company from taking up its rails on this branch, and enjoining it to continue to operate this spur and haul out the Fletcher Paper Company’s logs to and on its main line and deliver them at its mills in Alpena county. The hearing of the issue joined in that case resulted in a decree dismissing the bill of complaint, but without prejudice to complainant to file its petition for relief with the Michigan railroad commission. Thereupon the Fletcher Paper Company filed such a petition with [233]*233the commission, which proceedings resulted in the granting of the order the enforcement of which is sought in these mandamus proceedings.

For the purpose of a clear understanding of the facts in this case, as found by the Michigan railroad commission, from the evidence before it, in making the order in question granting the relief asked for by the Fletcher Paper Company, we embody herein the opinion and order of the railroad commission:

“Opinion.
“By Commissioner Hemans:
“The facts disclosed by the complaint, answer, and proofs in the above-entitled matter are as follows:
“In the year 1905 the Churchill Lumber Company, of Alpena, was the owner of a tract of timber lands, located in Presque Isle county, extending some five miles south of Case, a station on the main line of the Detroit & Mackinac Railway, the defendant herein. The owner, desiring to cut the timber, _ effected an arrangement with the defendant for railroad facilities, whereby the logs could be transported to Alpena. The contract which the parties made was a verbal one, providing in substance that the Churchill Lumber Company was to procure a right of way from the main line of defendant company to and through the timber lands. It was to grade the right of way, and place the ties, and the defendant railway was to place its rails thereon, and haul the forest products to the lumber company’s place of manufacture. The agreement was fully consummated, and the road placed in operation during the year 1905. It has since been known as the ‘Tubbs Branch’ or ‘Martin-dale Spur.’
“It is important to note that the contract, or agreement, by which this particular branch road was constructed was not exceptional in character; but that both as to its form and provisions it was in keeping with the custom that was then and is still followed by the defendant and by such other roads as engage in the transportation of forest products from the places of their severance to the places of manufacture. The magnitude of the lumbering operations, the great ex[234]*234tent of timber tracts required to keép mills running, and economic operation have necessitated the construction of branches and spurs from the main line of such roads which traverse the timber sections into the adjacent forests. In many instances such roads have been constructed by the lumber companies, are private in character, and are, by the statutes creating this commission, excepted from its supervision or control. In other instances, as in this case, the branches have been both constructed and operated as appendages to main line. In such cases, as the evidence discloses, it is the custom of both the defendant and other railroads, in the sections, to construct such spurs and branches into the timber tracts; the roads requiring the lumbermen to procure the right of way, to make the grade, and place the ties, while it places the rails, and transports the woodmen’s harvest. These agreements between carrier and lumbermen have been quite generally left in parol; but the evidence offered by the defendant suggests nothing in modification of the claimed terms of such construction, except that it was the custom of the defendant before entering into such agreements to ascertain that the shipper had timber contiguous to a proposed branch equal to at least 2,000,000 feet per mile of road to be constructed.
“The construction of the Tubbs Branch,’ so far as the defendant participated in it, and its subsequent operation by it, was therefore not an isolated case, but one of many of like character. The branch was ultimately constructed at a total length of something more than five miles. There were several proprietors owning timber contiguous to the branch. The Churchill Lumber Company, at whose instance the branch was constructed, owned from 12,000,000 to. 14,000,000 feet. There were other extensive holdings by the Lobdell & Churchill Company, of Onaway, Embury-Martin, of Cheboygan, while the complainant was the owner of more than -21,000,000 feet, the transportation of which was to be facilitated by the branch in question.
“Between the establishment of the branch and the 8th of June, 1.910, the Churchill Lumber Company cut and shipped out all of its timber contiguous to the Tubbs Branch, and on the date last mentioned [235]*235apprised the defendant railway company of this fact, and requested the removal of the rails from the right of way. At this time the complainant and the Lob-dell & Churchill Company had camps actively engaged in lumbering operations on their respective properties, and were shipping considerable quantities of logs over the branch on the published tariffs of the defendant company.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
144 N.W. 696, 178 Mich. 230, 1913 Mich. LEXIS 544, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/michigan-railroad-commission-v-detroit-mackinac-railway-co-mich-1913.