Plantation Anhydrous Ammonia Corp. v. Anhydrous Ammonia Commission

101 So. 2d 699, 234 La. 869, 1958 La. LEXIS 1157
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedMarch 17, 1958
DocketNo. 42713
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 101 So. 2d 699 (Plantation Anhydrous Ammonia Corp. v. Anhydrous Ammonia Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Plantation Anhydrous Ammonia Corp. v. Anhydrous Ammonia Commission, 101 So. 2d 699, 234 La. 869, 1958 La. LEXIS 1157 (La. 1958).

Opinion

SIMON, Justice.

Relator, Plantation Anhydrous Ammonia Corporation, engaged in the business of dispensing anhydrous ammonia from railway tank cars to Louisiana farmers for use as a fertilizer, sought to permanently enjoin the Anhydrous Ammonia Commission of Louisiana from enforcing its resolution prohibiting the dispensing of anhydrous ammonia from railway tank cars into other than bulk storage. Relator’s right to1 continue his system of operation being subject to prohibition by the said regulation he attacked its validity on the ground that it was adopted by members of the Commission who were influenced by self-interest, bias and prejudice, and on the further ground that the regulation was unreasonable, arbitrary and unjustified.

Certain individual farmers intervened in this suit and aligned their complaint with that of the relator. Anhydrous Ammonia Dealers of Louisiana, Inc., a non-profit corporation composed of a majority of bonded retail anhydrous dealers, intervened in the suit and united with the respondent, Anhydrous Ammonia Commission of Louisiana, who in effect generally denied the material allegations of relator’s and inter-venor’s complaint.

The salient issues resulting from the pleadings were: (1) whether alleged self-interest, bias and prejudice of certain named members of the Commission disqualified them from participating in the adoption of said resolution and (2) whether the resolved regulation is unreasonable, arbitrary and unjustified.

The trial judge upheld the validity of the composition of the membership of the Commission finding the members free from the charges interposed by relator as well as the reasonableness of the regulation adopted by the Commission. Relator appealed.

The Anhydrous Ammonia Commission of Louisiana, was created by Act 15 of 1948, Extra Session, now LSA-R.S. 3:1351-1357, wherein the composition of its membership as well as its powers and duties are clearly defined. LSA-R.S. 3:1352 provides that its membership shall be “ * * * composed of the Commissioner of Agriculture- and Immigration, who shall serve as chairman of the commission, and four additional members, consisting of the director of the experiment station of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, and three duly qualified electors, of the state, to be appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be a farmer and a substantial user of anhydrous ammonia as-a fertilizer, and two bonded dealers of anhydrous ammonia as a fertilizer or their authorized representatives.” LSA-R.S. 3 :- 1354 vests the Commission with “ * * * the power to establish and enforce * * * such reasonable rules and regulations governing the storage, utilization, sale, or transportation of anhydrous ammonia as a fertilizer, the installation of systems for the storage and utilization of anhydrous ammonia as a fertilizer, and the use and installation of anhydrous ammonia equipment as the commission may deem necessary in the interest of public safety. * * * ”

The record discloses that, on June 15, 1953, in the exercise of the duty and power granted by the foregoing statutes the Commission adopted the following rule governing the storage and dispensing of anhydrous ammonia: “In the interest of public safety, the dispensing of anhydrous ammonia from railway tank cars into other than bulk storage is prohibited, effective January 1, 1954.”

The day the resolution was adopted, June 15, 1953, the official membership of the Commission was composed of (a) Dave L. Pearce, Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration, Chairman, (b) W. G. Tag-gart, Director of the Experiment Station of Louisiana State University and (c) three appointees of the Governor, namely, Eugene H. Graugnard, appointed in conformity with the statute as a farmer and a substantial user of anhydrous ammonia as [701]*701a fertilizer, and Louis Windham and Nelson Abell, appointed in conformity with the statute as authorized representatives of bonded dealers of anhydrous ammonia as a fertilizer.

In the lower court relator contended that Commissioner Graugnard was, at the time of his appointment and at the time of his vote favoring the resolution, a member of and was financially interested in Louisiana Agricultural Cooperative, Inc., a bonded dealer in anhydrous ammonia and was therefore disqualified to serve in his appointive capacity as a farmer and substantial user of anhydrous ammonia as a fertilizer. However, on appeal this complaint is abandoned and appellant concedes that Commissioner Graugnard was fully qualified to vote on said resolution as a farmer and user of anhydrous ammonia as a fertilizer.

Thus, the validity of appellant’s charge of bias is confined to the official conduct of Messrs. Abell and Windham.

Appellant contends that Messrs. Abell and Windham, though bonded dealers and therefore qualified to sit on the Commission by express statutory authority, should have been disqualified from participating in the fabrication and adoption of the resolution for the reason that both were owners or representatives of competitive bulk station operators and therefore influenced by prejudice and self-interest in their vote therefor. This alleged bias and self-interest is predicated on the fact that bulk station operators with bulk installations representing substantial investments, maintenance and overhead costs, have an economical interest adverse to a distribution system which requires only the availability of a railroad tank car and the use of a spur track.

The record discloses that Mr. Abell operates out of Monroe, Louisiana, as a bonded dealer, and has two locations south of Alexandria, one at Englewood in Rapides Parish and the other at Rosa, a small community located between Bunkie and Le-beau. Whereas, in Louisiana appellant operates out of the Baton Rouge area. Thus it is obvious that the features of commercial competition between appellant and Mr. Abell are nonexistent. The single instance of commercial competition as between them is shown by the record to be when Mr. Abell, along with other dealers throughout the State, submitted a bid to the Louisiana State Penitentiary for the sale of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer. The record does not disclose that either appellant or Mr. Abell was the successful bidder.

Commissioner Windham’s business operations are conducted out of Baton Rouge. Appellant does not serve the same territory. There is a minor degree of overlapping of territories so as to make appellant and Windham competitive dealers, which unquestionably should redound to the health of commerce. To say that this limited competition has the effect per se of creating bias, prejudice or self-interest on the part of Mr. Windham’s official conduct would be equally chargéable as to all bonded dealers throughout the State and thus render inoperative the purposes and objects of the statute.

It appears that prior to the adoption of the resolution the Commission conducted exhaustive inquiries on the public safety features of dispensing anhydrous ammonia from railway cars; that when the resolution was offered Commissioners Abell, Windham and Graugnard voted in the affirmative and Dr. Taggart voted in the negative. The chairman of the Commission was recorded in the minutes of the meeting as not having voted.

The language of the statute leaves no doubt that in its enactment the Legislature was concerned primarily with public safety in the handling and distribution of this dangerously explosive product. The competitive aspect of the two systems of distribution is immaterial and is obviously not the motivating purpose of the statute.

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Bluebook (online)
101 So. 2d 699, 234 La. 869, 1958 La. LEXIS 1157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/plantation-anhydrous-ammonia-corp-v-anhydrous-ammonia-commission-la-1958.