Short Freight Lines, Inc. v. Michigan Public Service Commission & Central Transport, Inc.

181 N.W.2d 560, 25 Mich. App. 408, 1970 Mich. App. LEXIS 1590
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 28, 1970
DocketDocket No. 7,458
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 181 N.W.2d 560 (Short Freight Lines, Inc. v. Michigan Public Service Commission & Central Transport, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Short Freight Lines, Inc. v. Michigan Public Service Commission & Central Transport, Inc., 181 N.W.2d 560, 25 Mich. App. 408, 1970 Mich. App. LEXIS 1590 (Mich. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

Snow, J.

We are confronted in this appeal with the single question of whether intervening defendant’s transferor Kramer-Consolidated Freight Lines, Inc. had abandoned or discontinued service to the town of Pinconning1 within the meaning of MCLA § 476.13 (Stat Ann § 22.546),2 such that its operating authority should be considered revoked as a matter of law. Plaintiff had brought the action to the Ingham County Circuit Court pursuant to MCLA § 479.20 (Stat Ann 1970 Cum Supp § 22.585), appealing the decision of the defendant commission that the transferor had not so abandoned or discontinued service by interlining3 less-than-truckload traffic to Pinconning.

It is the claim of the appellant that interlining less than truckload traffic destined for Pinconning for a period of two years constituted abandonment or discontinuance of service to Pinconning as a matter of law. The Supreme Court of Michigan was confronted with a similar claim in the case of J. E. Bejin Cartage Company v. Public Service Commission (1958), 352 Mich 139, with respect to which the Court stated:

[411]*411“[W]e are hard put to envisage any situation where the issue of abandonment or discontinuance of service, where controverted, would not from its nature require in every case an orderly hearing and determination of the facts * * * [W]here there is no substantial dispute on the facts tending to show an actual abandonment or discontinuance of service, then such an issue may become what we call solely one of law. (That is the way we read the Alger case.) But where there is such a dispute on the facts, and where there is competent evidence tending to support the finding made, then we conceive the question to become — or rather remain— essentially one of fact, or what we may call the ultimate fact. This ultimate fact to be determined— in this case whether there was or was not an abandonment or discontinuance of an established service —may and normally does in turn depend upon many other contributing factors or facts. The mere fact, however, that the ultimate fact to be determined may, when found, resolve the controversy and end the lawsuit no more logically or necessarily transforms that fact, however vital to a resolution of the controversy, into one of law than a similar arbitrary stamping as law of the minutiae of facts that lead up to the ultimate fact to be determined would in turn alter their true character as facts.

“Facts found one way or another may result in undeniably profound legal and economic consequences for the litigants and the public; but for our courts to appear to hold out of hand that every decisive fact found by an administrative tribunal clothed with the power and duty — and, we may add, ostensibly the training and facilities — to resolve such facts, instead becomes in all circumstances one of law, is to make an appearance before such a body merely an empty and ‘expensive way station on the road to ultimate decision.’ ” 352 Mich at 151, 152.

Following the hearing in this case before the Michigan Public Service Commission, the commis[412]*412sion made the following finding of facts and determination :

“The facts are relatively clear and not in dispute. For some period of time, the transferor, Kramer, holding authority to serve Pinconning, turned over to interline carriers such less-than-truckload traffic as was tendered to it by various shippers. The point of interline was generally Bay City. Truckload traffic, and there appears to be only one such movement, was handled directly and physically by Kramer. The question then is as to whether or not Kramer by so-called ‘interlining’ in effect abandoned or discontinued its service to that community.

“Traffic tendered to Kramer at various points on its routes and destined for Pinconning was relatively limited. The record is clear that by interlining such traffic with other carriers the resulting service to Pinconning was as good and in many instances better than if Kramer itself had physically performed the operation. This is not an exceptional manner of handling certain shipments. Because of peculiarities of every carrier’s operations, it is not unusual and is to be expected that in some instances interline service to certain points and for certain traffic may be the most expeditious. This does not constitute denial of service or lack of holding' out to supply service. In accepting such traffic and assuring its delivery, the carrier has recognized its initial obligation. We do not feel it can be validly claimed that the carriers participating in this service have usurped or the commission abrogated authority in a situation such as this, especially when the public interest has been so adequately served. As we have said, the routes of Kramer literally cover several hundreds of Michigan miles. To find that Kramer has abandoned or discontinued operations at this particular point under the circumstances would not be reasonable.” (Opinion of the Commission, March 9, 1967.)

[413]*413We note first that MCLA § 479.20 requires the plaintiff to show “by clear and satisfactory evidence” that the commission’s determination is “unlawful or unreasonable.” Associated Truck Lines, Inc. v. Public Service Commission (1966), 377 Mich 259; Telischak Trucking, Inc. v. Public Service Commission (1968), 11 Mich App 23. Our review of the applicable law convinces us that plaintiff did not meet this burden in the circuit court.

We are provided with sufficient interpretations of the statute by the Michigan Supreme Court to find that the facts of this case do not present a situation of abandonment or discontinuation of service within the meaning of the Michigan act. The Court’s first discussion of § 13, in George F. Alger Company v. Public Service Commission (1954), 339 Mich 104, is of limited value because it was based on a misunderstanding of the applicable statutes, but the Court did. indicate that abandonment and discontinuance are separate concepts.

It should be noted that in Alger the equipment required to perform the service contemplated was admitted by the defendant to be under a binding lease to the plaintiff and not available for service.

In J. E. Bejin Cartage Company, supra, the Court reviewed a more compelling case for abandonment or discontinuance of service than that presented here, and nevertheless affirmed a commission finding of no abandonment or discontinuance of service. The facts as found by the commission showed that:

“[T]he original permission was granted to Detroit Delivery, Inc., on or prior to July 1, 1940; that in 1944 it sold part of its package-carrying equipment to another carrier and cancelled some of its accounts; that it then agreed with said carrier to discontinue at least the major part of the carrying of said retail merchandise; that thereafter Detroit Delivery, Inc., [414]

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Related

Consumers Power Co. v. Public Service Commission
196 Mich. App. 687 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1992)
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269 N.W.2d 548 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1978)

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Bluebook (online)
181 N.W.2d 560, 25 Mich. App. 408, 1970 Mich. App. LEXIS 1590, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/short-freight-lines-inc-v-michigan-public-service-commission-central-michctapp-1970.