Service Transport, Inc. v. Bissell

698 S.W.2d 347, 1985 Tenn. App. LEXIS 2943
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJune 14, 1985
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 698 S.W.2d 347 (Service Transport, Inc. v. Bissell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Service Transport, Inc. v. Bissell, 698 S.W.2d 347, 1985 Tenn. App. LEXIS 2943 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

LEWIS, Judge.

This is an appeal by Service Transport, Inc. (Service) from the judgment of the Chancery Court for Davidson County upholding the denial by the Tennessee Public Service Commission (Commission) of transfer of certain motor carrier authority from Service to Hohenwald Truck Lines, Inc. (HTL).

The facts pertinent to our inquiry are as follows:

Murfreesboro Freight Lines (MFL) held Certificates of Authority to carry general commodities between Murfreesboro and Nashville and Nashville and Memphis.

MFL ceased operations on September 3, 1982, and on September 24, 1982, filed a petition in bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Among its assets were the Certificates of Authority granted by the Commission.

After MFL ceased operations, Service, under a lease agreement, operated MFL’s Nashville-Murfreesboro Authority. MFL’s Nashville-Memphis Authority was not operated by anyone, and all parties concede that this route was losing money when MFL filed its petition in bankruptcy.

MFL’s Certificates of Authority were auctioned by the Bankruptcy Court. The [349]*349Bankruptcy Court insisted that both the Nashville-Murfreesboro and Nashville-Memphis operating authorities be sold as a package. Service, as the high bidder, agreed to pay $146,000 for both certificates, conditioned upon the Commission’s approval of the transfer of the certificates to Service.

Service already held authority granted by the Commission to operate between Nashville and Memphis. Because of the regulatory precedent holding that a carrier may not hold duplicate authority, Service entered into an agreement to sell the Nashville-Memphis Certificate to HTL for $67,-000. The sale to HTL was conditioned upon the approval by the Commission. However, Service remained obligated to pay MFL the full amount of the purchase price under the contract approved by the Bankruptcy Court.

The amended petition of Service, MFL and HTL filed with the Commission sought approval of the transfer of MFL’s Nashville-Murfreesboro Authority to Service and MFL’s Nashville-Memphis Authority to HTL.

Subsequent to an evidentiary hearing, the Commission voted to deny the transfer. However, the members of the Commission could not agree on the rationale to support the decision, and it was not until August 31, 1983, that a written order was entered.

Within the statutory time limit, the Commission voted to reconsider its denial of the transfer of both Certificates of Authority. Upon reconsideration, the Commission approved the transfer of both the Nashville-Murfreesboro and the Nashville-Memphis Authority to Service. The Commission denied the Nashville-Memphis transfer from Service to HTL and cancelled the Nashville-Memphis authority because it duplicated the authority Service already had.

Service filed its petition, pursuant to Tenn.Code Ann. § 4-5-322, in the Chancery Court for Davidson County and sought judicial review of so much of the Commission’s order denying transfer of the Nashville-Memphis Authority to HTL.

Averitt Express, Inc., Humboldt Express, Inc., and Jack C. Robinson, d/b/a Robinson Freight Lines, all of which hold operation authority between Nashville and Memphis were allowed to intervene in the Chancery Court. However, only Averitt has filed a brief in this Court.

The Chancellor, in a Memorandum Opinion filed on October 24, 1984, affirmed the decision of the Commission finding that “[t]he Commission has followed the transfer statute and the case construing the act in denying the transfer” and that the Commission’s “decision is supported by substantial and material evidence in the record.”

Judgment was thereafter entered affirming the decision of the Commission “[f]or the reasons stated by the Court” in the October 24, 1984 Memorandum.

In this Court, Service has presented four issues for review. They are:

1. Did the Public Service Commission’s past decisions reflect uniform principles consistently followed in applying the motor carrier certificate transfer statute?
2. Did the Commission’s Order denying the transfer of the Nashville-Memphis certificate from Murfreesboro Freight Lines, Inc. [“MFL”], to Hohen-wald Truck Lines, Inc. [“Hohenwald”] follow these principles, or did it depart from them without logical explanation why it was so doing, and thereby do violence to the rule of law, settled deci-sional principles, Article 1, Section 8 of the Tennessee Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution?
3. Assuming pro arguendo that whether the Nashville-Memphis traffic lane is overcrowded is a relevant matter, does material and substantial evidence in this record rationally support the Commission’s conclusion that the lane was overcrowded, and that for that reason the transfer to Hohenwald should be denied?
4. Are protesting carriers entitled to protection against more aggressive com[350]*350petition by Hohenwald, especially since they failed to disclose in evidence the facts from which the Commission could rationally determine whether such competition will significantly threaten or impair their continued operations?

We restate these issues as follows: (1) Did the Commission act arbitrarily and capriciously by applying to the transfer petition in this case a different standard than the Commission has applied in prior cases, i.e., did the Commission comply with the transfer provisions of Tenn.Code Ann. § 65-15-107(d), and (2) is there substantial and material evidence in the record to support the decision of the Commission?

We first discuss whether the Commission correctly complied with Tenn.Code Ann. § 65-15-107(d), which is as follows:

When any certificate of convenience and necessity, or interstate permit, such as provided in subsection (a) and (b) of this section shall have been issued, and thereafter the motor carrier holding such certificate shall sell, transfer, or assign or lease the same or part thereof, then in that event, upon application to the commission, and if the commission shall be of the opinion that the purchaser thereof is in all respects qualified under the provisions of this chapter, to conduct the business of a motor carrier within the meaning thereof, the said certificate or permit originally issued to such motor carrier, or part thereof, shall be by the commission transferred to the purchaser, and be effective in like manner as though originally issued to such purchaser; provided, however, that it is hereby declared to be unlawful to triplease, for either single or multiple individual trips, a certificate of convenience and necessity without the prior approval of the commission, after notice and hearing.

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698 S.W.2d 347, 1985 Tenn. App. LEXIS 2943, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/service-transport-inc-v-bissell-tennctapp-1985.