Stotts v. Railroad Commission

236 S.W.2d 210, 1951 Tex. App. LEXIS 2398
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided January 17, 1951·No. 9933·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

HUGHES, Justice.

This suit was brought by H. W. Stotts, appellant, to set aside an order of the Railroad Commission of Texas, cancelling appellant’s certificates of convenience and necessity, Nos. 5509 and 6313. These certificates authorized appellant to operate a motor truck service between certain designated points in Texas for the purpose of transporting certain named commodities for compensation.

Trial before the court resulted in a judgment sustaining the order of cancellation.

*211 Appellant’s first point is that the Railroad Commission has no judicial powers and was, therefore, without authority to pass the order cancelling the certificates.

This point is overruled upon the authority of Wattenburger v. Railroad Commission of Texas, Tex.Civ.App., 231 S.W.2d 924 (Austin, Writ Ref. N. R. E.).

By point two it is urged that the written complaint filed against appellant before the Commission by one of its enforcement officers was insufficient in that it did not allege any of the statutory grounds for cancellation as set out in Art. 911b, Sec. 12(b), Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St.

This section provides: “The Commission at any time after hearing, had, upon notice to the holder of any certificate or permit and after opportunity given such holder to be heard, may by its order revoke, suspend or amend any certificate or permit issued under the provisions of this Act, where in such hearing the Commission shall find that such certificate or permit holder has discontinued operation or has violated, refused or neglected to observe the Commission’s lawful orders, rules, rates or regulations or has violated the terms of said certificate or permit; provided, that the holder of such certificate or permit shall have the right of appeal as provided in this Act.”

We have been cited to no statute and have found none, requiring a complaint to be lodged with the Commission as a prerequisite to exercise of the authority conferred on the Commission by the above statute. No such complaint being required, its alleged insufficiency .is immaterial.

The third point is to the effect that conceding appellant transported commodities other than those which he was authorized to transport and that he traversed territory beyond the limits defined in his certificates, that these are penal acts prohibited and punishable by criminal statutes, and that the cancellation of his certificates in this proceeding, likewise penal in nature, would place him twice in jeopardy for the same offense.

No authorities are cited in support of this point. We will not discuss the question on its merits because there is no evidence in this record that appellant has been prosecuted, convicted or acquitted under the criminal statutes for the same acts as are made the basis of this proceeding.

The fourth and last point is that the order under attack was not based upon substantial evidence.

The order cancelling appellant’s certificates contains the following recitation and findings:

“The Commission finds from the evidence and its records that H. W. Stotts is the owner of Specialized Motor Carrier Certificate No. 5909 which authorizes the transportation of household goods from Wortham, Texas, to all points in Texas, and from all points in Texas to Wortham; livestock, livestock feedstuffs, farm machinery, grain and timber in its natural state from Wortham to all points within a 150 mile radius of Wortham and from all points within a 150 mile radius of Wortham to Wortham; oil field equipment to and from all points within a 150 mile radius of Wortham. The certificate carries the usual restrictions concerning the transportation of certain commodities.

“The Commission finds from the evidence and its records that H. W. Stotts is also the owner of Specialized Motor Carrier Certificate No. 6313 which authorizes the transportation of livestock, wool and mohair from Lubbock, Texas, to all points in Texas located west of U. S. Highway No. 81 and U. S. Highway 181 from Ringgold to Aransas Pass, and from all such points to Lubbock, livestock feed-stuff, farm machinery and grain from Lubbock to all points in Texas located west of U. S. Highways Nos. 81 and 181, Ringgold to Aransas Pass, and from all such points to Lubbock; and to transport between all points located west of U. S. Highways 81 and 181; Ringgold to Aran-sas Pass, pipe, when moving as oil field equipment and oil field equipment other than pipe, and the commodities named *212 in detail in the certificate such as trenching machines which commodities follow in detail, and specifically the commodities granted under what is known as the Walker Record. This certificate ha.s the usual restrictions concerning livestock feedstuff, farm machinery and grain, and the commodities named as water pipe and commodities named under the Walker Record. The Commission finds from the evidence and its records that these two certificates are the only authorities to operate as a carrier held by H. W. Stotts.

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Stotts v. Railroad Commission, 236 S.W.2d 210, 1951 Tex. App. LEXIS 2398 (Tex. Ct. App. 1951).

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