Municipality of Guayanilla v. Public Service Commission of Puerto Rico

53 P.R. 263
CourtSupreme Court of Puerto Rico
DecidedMay 31, 1938
DocketNo. 7509
StatusPublished

This text of 53 P.R. 263 (Municipality of Guayanilla v. Public Service Commission of Puerto Rico) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Municipality of Guayanilla v. Public Service Commission of Puerto Rico, 53 P.R. 263 (prsupreme 1938).

Opinion

Mb, Justice Tbavieso

delivered the opinion of the court.

Jesús Stella Rodriguez, the owner of more than 500 cuer-das of land lying in the Municipal District of Aguadilla and planted by him to sugar canes, complained in the Public Service Commission of Puerto Rico that the American Railroad Co. of Puerto Rico had refused his request for the installation of a railroad siding at kilometers 256 and 257 of the main track of said railroad line on the ground that there is a rule of the Public Service Commission which prohibits the building of sidings within two kilometers from any existing siding, and the siding known as “Pefioncillo” is situated less than two kilometers from the place designated by the complainant. It was alleged in the complaint that the respondent’s position was without justification, arbitrary and prejudicial to him; that the sidmg would be a public one and available to anybody who wished to take advantage of it. He finally prayed for an order directing the installation of the siding in the way and at the place as requested, and for any other pronouncement in accordance with the law and the facts.

On September 18, 1933, the commission held a hearing at which appeared complainant Stella Rodríguez and the American Railroad Co. of Puerto Rico through their respective counsel. Both parties introduced their evidence from which if appeared to have been shown that the place selected by the complainant for the building of the siding’ was most suitable because there the road is nearest the railroad track and because of the fact that there is in the neighborhood a [265]*265considerable amount of sugar canes which, require at present to be hauled to the Gfuayanilla' station as the nearest place from which the canes can be loaded and distributed; that transportation to the Gfuayanilla station becomes very difficult owing to the road traffic, the loss of canes and probable injury to children who climb on oxcarts and trucks for the purpose of snatching hits of canes; that the “Peñoneillo” siding is inadequate as there are no roads leading to it; that the land where the siding is soi ght to be built belongs to the American Railroad-Co. of Porto Rico; that at the place in question from 10 to 12,00&: tons of canes could be loaded, and the traffic of carts loaded with canes during the grinding season greatly damages the roads.

In view of the fact that the objection of the respondent rested only on the rule of the commission already mentioned, the latter decided at the close of the hearing to grant the request of the complainant and as an exception to the rule ordered the granting of the siding at the place sought.

At this stage, the Municipality of Gfuayanilla appeared on October 2, 1933, before the commission and filed a motion to be allowed to intervene in the proceedings on the ground that it had had no knowledge of the complaint until September 28, 1933; that the order sought affected the rights of the municipality; that the complaint failed to show the person or persons who owned the land over which it was sought to build the siding, and that by such siding municipal property would be encroached upon and the use of a municipal road would be obstructed.

Pursuant to the above motion, the commission unanimously decided to leave the matter pending until the railroad company should submit a map of the place where the siding was to be built and that if it appeared therefrom that the rights of the municipality would be affected it would then grant the intervention sought. For the purpose of passing upon the motion, after examining the map, the commission held a new hearing on November 22, 1933, at which there [266]*266appeared the complainant, the respondent and the inter-vener, all represented by connsel. As a result the municipality was allowed to intervene and November 27, 1933, was set to hear its evidence. After the above hearing the commission made the following order on December 21, 1933:

“After duly examining and considering a report from the Public Service Commissioner, dated December 19, 1933, the commission, on motion of Mr. Delgado, resolved to endorse the same in every particular, thus finally passing upon the complaint filed by Jesús Stella Rodriguez against the American Railroad Co. of Porto Rico in regard to its refusal to build a siding between kilometers 256 and 257 of the main line of said railroad.”

The report referred to by the commission in the foregoing-decision reads textually as follows:

“December 19, 1933. — In re complaint of Jesús Stella Rodriguez against American Railroad Co. of Porto Rico regarding refusal to build a siding between kilometers 256/257 of the main line of said railroad. Case No. C-173.”
“Jesús Stella Rodriguez appeared in the present ease,with a request to have a siding laid down near his land so as to enable him to ship by rail a certain amount of canes. The American Railroad Co. appeared and stated that the only ground for its objection to the building of the siding at the place designated was that said siding would be located about 1 x/% kilometers from another siding already laid down and that this would infringe a rule of the Public Service Commission and that for that reason the case was submitted to the commission.
“A public hearing was held with the appearance of the American Railroad Company and from the testimony of engineer Etienne Totti of the railroad company the Commission came to the conclusion that the Peñoncillo siding, near which the one sought here would be located, has been for about one and a half or two years unserviceable, that is, that it is not used; and furthermore that owing to improvements in switch rails, which are one-piece rails, the danger involved by the proximity of sidings has practically disappeared.
“After hearing the evidence the commission unanimously adopted the following resolution: ‘To ORDER — and this must not be construed as a precedent — the installation of the said siding conformable to the technical recommendations to be made by the engineer of the [267]*267American Railroad Company, the parties being directed to execute the contract as required in such cases.”
“It was of course shown that the petitioner is the owner of a large tract of land and that he grows from 7 to 10,000 tons of canes.
“The above resolution was adopted on September 18, 1933, and on the 31st of the same month a wire was received here from the Mayor of Guayanilla requesting that 30 days be given him for the preparation of a map that would show that rights of the municipality would be injured thereby. The commission granted to the parties a term for the filing of the map in question and set a date for a new public hearing, the municipality being afforded an opportunity to be heard. The commission held a new hearing and heard the municipality which appeared by counsel.
“The contention of the municipality was first that the siding sought was going to encroach upon part of a municipal road. It appears on the contrary from the evidence submitted before the Commission and from the maps here produced that the railroad company owns a strip of land adjoining a municipal road and that the said road would in no way be used in connection with the building of the. siding. The siding would be laid down entirely on land belonging to the railroad company; and it appears from the testimony of the very engineer of the railroad company Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
53 P.R. 263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/municipality-of-guayanilla-v-public-service-commission-of-puerto-rico-prsupreme-1938.