St. Joseph Stockyards Co. v. United States

58 F.2d 290, 1932 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1171
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedApril 16, 1932
DocketNo. 204
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 58 F.2d 290 (St. Joseph Stockyards Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
St. Joseph Stockyards Co. v. United States, 58 F.2d 290, 1932 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1171 (W.D. Mo. 1932).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This is an action in equity brought by the petitioner to enjoin the enforcement of an order made by the Secretary of Agriculture fixing certain maximum rates, for services to be charged by the petitioner at its stockyards in St. Joseph, Mo. The order of the Secretary, the enforcement of which is sought to be enjoined, was made by him pursuant to the powers in him vested and the duties'’imposed on him by section 310 of the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 (7 USCA § 211), which is:

“Section 310. Whenever after full hearing upon a complaint made as provided in section 309, or after full hearing under an order for investigation and hearing made by the Secretary on his own initiative, either in extension of any pending complaint or without any complaint whatever, the Secretary is of the opinion that any rate, charge, regulation, or practice of a stockyard owner or market agency, for or in connection with the furnishing of stockyard services, is or will be unjust, unreasonable or discriminatory, the Secretary—
“(a) May determine and prescribe what will be the just and reasonable rate or charge, or rates or charges, to be thereafter observed in such ease, or the maximum or minimum, or maximum and minimum, to be charged, and what regulation or practice is or will be just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory to be thereafter followed; and
“(b) May make an order that such owner or operator (1) shall cease and desist from such violation to the extent to which the Secretary finds that it does or will exist; (2) shall not thereafter publish, demand, or collect any rate or charge for the furnishing of stockyard services other than the rate or charge so prescribed, or in excess of the maximum or less than the minimum so prescribed, as the case may be; and (3) shall conform to and observe the regulation or practice so prescribed.”

Acting in accordance with the provisions of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture, on October 9, 1929, on his own initiative, made an order for the investigation of the [291]*291rates for services charged by the petitioner. Pursuant to that order an extensive hearing was held before an examiner designated by the Secretary of Agriculture. The hearing began December 2, 1929, and was concluded December 19th in the same year. Upon the testimony taken by the examiner, the order here involved was promulgated July 20, 1931. In that order, which was to become effective 45 days after its date, maximum rates to be charged for stockyards services by the petitioner were fixed. The order was predicated upon a fair value of the petitioner’s property used and useful in the rendition of the services for which the rates were to be charged as of the year 1928, determined by the Secretary to be $3,382,148, and the volume of petitioner’s business during that year. It was determined by the Secretary that, had the rates prescribed by him in his order been in effect in the year 1928, petitioner’s net operating income would have been $256,068, or the equivalent of 7.5 per cent, on a valuation of $3,414,-247.

After various introductory and formal matters the bill alleges that the rates for services prescribed by the Secretary in his order are not supported by any evidence, are contrary to the evidence and the weight of the evidence, and that, if applied, they will deprive the petitioner of its property without due process of law in violation of the Fifth Amendment. More specifically it is alleged that the Secretary had no authority to make a valuation of petitioner’s property, and that the valuation made by him was void in that he erroneously determined the amount of land used by the petitioner in performing its stockyard services, in that he erroneously valued the land which he found was so used, in that he had no authority to determine the amount of land to be used by the petitioner in connection with its stockyard services or what ámount of land it should be allowed to hold for expansion purposes, in that he erroneously excluded certain properties from valuation, in that he erroneously excluded from the valuation fixed by him certain properties other than land, in that he erroneously excluded, in arriving at his valuation, organization expenses, in that he erroneously determined the going concern value of the petitioner’s business, in that he allowed for depreciation reserve and maintenance amounts less than those to which the petitioner was entitled, in that he erroneously determined the net income of the petitioner, in that the rate of return allowed by him was insufficient, and in that he had no authority to determine what rate of return was reasonable and proper. The bill alleges that the rates for services ordered by the Secretary will afford the petitioner a return of 4.74 per cent, only on the true value of petitioner’s property, and that, therefore, the order of the Secretary is confiscatory.

It is further alleged in the bill that on February 11, 1931, the petitioner filed with the Secretary, in the proceeding then pending before him, what was called a “petition for reopening.” In that, petition was contained the following, among other things:

“Respondent avers that any yardage rate or rates which may be prescribed in this proceeding must be considered in connection with the amount of livestock yarded by Respondent. Respondent avers that the receipts of livestock at Respondent’s stockyards have declined materially since the hearing in the above proceeding and that said decline in receipts has decreased substantially not only Respondent’s revenue but also its net revenue for rate making purposes.
“Respondent avers that any feed charges which may be prescribed in this proceeding must be considered in connection with the amount of feed sold by Respondent. Respondent avers that the amount of feed sold at its yards has decreased materially since the hearing in the above proceeding, and that said decrease has reduced both Respondent’s gross revenue and its net revenue for rate making purposes.
“Respondent avers that its net operating income for rate making purposes has declined since the hearing in the above proceeding, and that Respondent’s net operating income for rate making purposes, as it appears in the record in said proceeding, no longer fairly represents the net operating income of Respondent for rate making purposes. Respondent avers that its net operating income for rate making purposes for the year 1930 was not more than $251,-353.40. Respondent desires to introduce evidence of its net operating income for rate making purposes for the years 1929 and 1930, which is not of record in the above proceeding.
“Wherefore, Respondent respectfully prays that an order be entered reopening the above entitled proceeding and that said proceeding be set down for further hearing on the subjects set forth above.”

[292]*292It is, alleged that this petition for reopening was by the Secretary denied, and in that connection:

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Related

St. Joseph Stock Yards Co. v. United States
11 F. Supp. 322 (W.D. Missouri, 1935)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 F.2d 290, 1932 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1171, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-joseph-stockyards-co-v-united-states-mowd-1932.