PUBLIC SERVICE COM'N OF WEST VIRGINIA v. United States

365 F. Supp. 6, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11520
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedOctober 12, 1973
DocketCiv. A. 73-175
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 365 F. Supp. 6 (PUBLIC SERVICE COM'N OF WEST VIRGINIA v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
PUBLIC SERVICE COM'N OF WEST VIRGINIA v. United States, 365 F. Supp. 6, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11520 (S.D.W. Va. 1973).

Opinions

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

PER CURIAM.

In this action plaintiff, Public Service Commission of West Virginia, a state public utility regulatory agency, hereinafter sometimes identified as PSC, complains that a report and orders of the defendant, Interstate Commerce Commission, a public utility regulatory agency of the federal government, hereinafter at times identified as ICC, involving intrastate freight rates in West Virginia, are unlawful, arbitrary, capricious, null and void, and asks the Court to suspend, enjoin, set aside and annul the report and orders. The United States of America is named as a party defendant. On their respective motions, Appalachian Power Company and National Steel Corporation were allowed to intervene as parties plaintiff and five railroad companies, The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company, Norfolk and Western Railway Company, Western Maryland Railway Company, and Penn Central Transportation Company (George P. Baker, Richard C. Bond, and Jervis Langdon, Jr., Trustees), were allowed to intervene as parties defendant.

A District Court of three judges was designated and convened for hearing and determination of the action. 28 U.S.C., § 2284 and § 2325.

Intervening plaintiff National Steel Corporation filed a motion for “an interlocutory injunction pendente lite restraining defendants in accordance with the prayer of the complaint pending a final hearing and determination of this cause.” In addition to other evidence considered by the Court on hearing the motion for an interlocutory injunction, two affidavits in support of the injunction were filed. A lengthy and detailed affidavit made by Richard G. Warren, Director of Traffic and Transportation for National Steel Corporation, cites irreparable injuries which will result to his Corporation’s business and operations if the railroad freight rates herein involved are allowed to become effective. Elizabeth V. Hallanan, Chairman of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, states in her affidavit that power companies operating in West Virginia have fiiel adjustment clauses in their filed tariffs allowing increased charges to their customers when fuel costs increase. She further states that “if the increased freight rates are permitted to go into effect, the consumers of electric power in West Virginia could be irreparably harmed.”

The Court’s jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C., §§ 1336, 2284, 2321-2325; 49 U.S.C., § 17(9); and 5 U.S.C., §§ 701-706.

Following the hearing on the motion, the Court granted the interlocutory in[8]*8junction, pendente lite, enjoining defendants from making the increased freight rates effective and noting that “harm to all parties will be minimized by setting this matter down for accelerated disposition on the merits." The action was heard on the merits on September 5, 1973, and was submitted to the Court for decision on the record.

Paragraphs V, VI and VII of plaintiff’s complaint, filed June 19, 1973, state the following facts:

In Ex Parte No. 262, Increased Freight Rates, 1969, 337 I.C.C. 436, effective November 18, 1969, the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized a general increase of 6 percent in interstate freight rates; in Ex Parte No. 265, Increased Freight Rates, 1970, 339 I.C.C. 125, effective June 9, 1970, it authorized a further general increase of 6 percent; and in Ex Parte No. 267, Increased Freight Rates, 1971, 339 I.C.C. 125, effective April 12, 1971, it authorized still a further increase of 14 percent generally, except 8 percent on traffic from, to, or within the South.
The railroads operating in West Virginia filed tariffs with the Public Service Commission proposing to increase their West Virginia intrastate rates by 6, 6, and 15 percent, but refused to present any evidence which would enable this Commission to determine whether such increased rates would meet the West Virginia statutory test that the rates shall -not be more than the service is reasonably worth, considering the cost thereof. In the absence of such evidence, the proposed rate increases were necessarily disapproved and "the tariffs were ordered canceled.
Upon the filing of a petition by the railroads operating in West Virginia, the Interstate Commerce Commission instituted an investigation under the provisions of Section 13(4) of the Interstate Commerce Act to determine whether the railroad rates and charges for the intrastate transportation of property in the State of West Virginia cause undue discrimination against or cause any undue burden upon interstate commerce because the intrastate rates do not include the increases authorized in the interstate rates in Ex Parte Nos. 262, 265, and 267 which, when compounded, amount to approximately 28.1 percent.

The proceedings before the ICC upon the railroads’ “Petition under § 13 Seeking Increased Intrastate Rates”, dated July 9, 1970, and filed July 13, 1970, are identified by Docket No. 35301, West Virginia Intrastate Freight Rates, 1970. The § 13, mentioned in the petition, refers to § 13 of the Interstate Commerce Act, first enacted February 4, 1887, and last amended by the Congress on August 12, 1958. 49 U.S.C., § 13. Paragraph (4) of § 13, of basic importance in this litigation, is quoted as follows:

§ 13, par. (4). Duty of Commission where State regulations result in discrimination. Whenever in any such investigation the Commission, after full hearing, finds that any such rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice causes any undue or unreasonable advantage, preference, or prejudice as between persons or localities in intrastate commerce on the one hand and interstate or foreign commerce on the other hand, or any undue, unreasonable, or unjust discrimination against, or undue burden on, interstate or foreign commerce (which the Commission may find without a separation of interstate and intrastate property, revenues, and expenses, and without considering in totality the operations or results thereof of any carrier, or group or groups of carriers wholly within any State), which is hereby forbidden and declared to be unlawful, it shall prescribe the rate, fare, or charge, or the maximum or minimum, or maximum and minimum, thereafter to be charged, and the classification, regulation, or practice thereafter to be observed, in such manner as, in its judgment, will remove such advantage, preference, [9]*9prejudice, discrimination, or burden: Provided, That upon the filing of any petition authorized by the provisions of paragraph (3) of this section to be filed by the carrier concerned, the Commission shall forthwith institute an investigation as aforesaid into the lawfulness of such rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice (whether or not theretofore considered by any State agency or authority and without regard to the pendency before any State agency or authority of any proceeding relating thereto) and shall give special expedition to the hearing and decision therein. Such rates, fares, charges, classifications, regulations, and practices shall be observed while in effect by the carriers parties to such proceeding affected thereby, the law of any State or the decision or order of any State authority to the contrary notwithstanding.

The railroads’ initial petition to the ICC related only to Ex Parte No. 262 and Ex Parte No. 265. An amended petition, dated November 20, 1970, was filed to include Ex Parte No. 267, as mentioned in the complaint above quoted.

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PUBLIC SERVICE COM'N OF WEST VIRGINIA v. United States
365 F. Supp. 6 (S.D. West Virginia, 1973)

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Bluebook (online)
365 F. Supp. 6, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11520, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/public-service-comn-of-west-virginia-v-united-states-wvsd-1973.