Tennessee Gas Transmission Co. v. Cleveland Trust Co.

120 N.E.2d 143, 67 Ohio Law. Abs. 264, 59 Ohio Op. 282, 3 Oil & Gas Rep. 1347, 1953 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 379, 1953 WL 81401
Columbiana County Probate Court·Decided April 24, 1953·No. Nos. 49019, 49020, 49021, 49022, 49023, 49024, 49047, 49048·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

[266]*266OPINION

By TOBIN, J.

The Defendant, by its Demurrer, has raised two questions:—

I.

PLAINTIFF CORPORATION DOES NOT HAVE THE PROCEDURAL RIGHT TO MAKE THE APPROPRIATION IN THE JURISDICTION OF THE FORUM, BECAUSE ONLY THOSE CORPORATIONS SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY OHIO STATUTE TO MAKE THE APPROPRIATION HAVE SUCH RIGHT WITHIN THE MEANING OF §11046 GC, AND NO OHIO STATUTE AUTHORIZES PLAINTIFF CORPORATION TO MAKE THE APPROPRIATION.

II.

PLAINTIFF DOES NOT HAVE A VALID FEDERAL SUBSTANTIVE RIGHT TO APPROPRIATE, IN THAT SECTION 7 (h) OF THE FEDERAL NATURAL GAS ACT, IF APPLICABLE HERE BY REASON OF ANY SUPPOSED STATUTORY GRANT OF THE PROCEDURAL PORTION OF OHIO’S POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN, IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VIOLATIVE OF THE FIFTH AND TENTH AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, AND OHIO CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE I, SECTION 19.

I will discuss this in its reverse order.

This Court adopts the reasoning and decision of Thatcher v. Tenn. Gas Co., 180 Fed. 2nd, 644. The denial of the Writ of Certiorari in that case — 340 U. S. 289, 95 L. Ed. 609 — is indicative to this Court that this matter has been passed upon by the Supreme Court of the United States and has resolved the [267]*267Constitutional questions involved. The reasoning in this case is persuasive to this Court. Therefore, this Court, by adopting the decision and reasoning of the Thatcher case, decides specifically that the Congress had the Constitutional right to pass the Natural Gas Act of 1938 and 1942 and its subsequent amendment 1947; that said Act is constitutional as being a regulation of Interstate Commerce; that the transportation of gas from Texas to and beyond Columbiana County, Ohio, is Interstate Commerce; that the granting of the power of eminent domain to corporations acting under this Act is constitutional as

“proper to make provisions whereby the full statutory scheme of control and regulation could be made effective by the grant to such company of the right of eminent domain. The possession of this right could well be considered necessary to insure ability to comply with the Commission requirement as well as with all phases of the statutory scheme of regulation.” Page 647 of Opinion in Thatcher case — 180 Fed. 2nd, 644. That this is not a taking of private property for private use, but is within the public use.

The contrary view would, of necessity, condemn the gas deposits in Texas to remain there. The fact that this company is the “wholesaler,” taking said gas from its place of origin, in Texas, to points in Ohio, Pennsylvania and beyond, and making them available to the public, most assuredly does not make this corporation any less a public one. This Court is assuming this fact, that said Plaintiff transports to these parts beyond Texas for exclusive resale to public utility Gas Companies in the various states of ultimate destinations, or, in these states of ultimate destinations, final sale is made available by the Plaintiff to the public generally and indiscriminately as any public utility must do. If this fact is wrongly assumed under Plaintiff’s statement in its Petition “and in the sale of such gas for ultimate public use by the residents of said states” and said sale is made, not exclusively to state controlled public utilities or is not made available generally and indiscriminately to the public, but is resold directly to private corporations or persons etc. under private agreements, then a contrary view would be held by this Court.

This Court would like to draw Counsels’ attention to the case of West v. Kansas Natural Gas Company et al, 221 U. S. Supreme Court Reports, Page 220, 55 L. Ed. 716. Therein a Kansas statute, which, among other things, conferred exclusive rights to transport gas by pipelines and gave exclusive right of eminent domain, in this field, to domestic corporations, and denied these rights to foreign corporations, was found to be unconstitutional as an unjustified interference with [268]*268interstate commerce. This case was decided in 1911. Justice McKenna uses these significant words:—

“No state by the exercise of, or by the refusal to exercise, any and all its powers may prevent or unreasonably hinder, interstate commerce within its borders in any article thereof.” “No state, by the exercise of or by the refusal to exercise, any and all its powers may substantially discriminate against or directly regulate interstate commerce or the right to carry it on.”

Justice McKenna, replying to the contention that Congress had not granted the right, in these type cases states, “the inaction of Congress is a declaration of freedom from state interference with the transportation of articles of legitimate interstate commerce.” If this is so, that inaction by Congress gives freedom from state interference, most assuredly action in the form of the Natural Gas Act certainly preempts this field. Thus, this Act in all its forms to include 7(h) of said Act is a legitimate regulation of interestate commerce.

This Court, then, has found that:—

1. The Natural Gas Act of 1938 as amended, is constitutional as an exercise of the powers of Congress over interstate commerce and that the movement of gas by pipelines across state lines is interstate commerce.

2. That this Act is a proper regulation of interstate commerce, and not Congress entering into interstate commerce.

3. That the Federal government has the power of eminent domain and may delegate same to proper corporations engaged in interstate commerce of this nature, i. e., transportation of natural gas.

4. That plaintiff corporation is such a proper corporation since it transports gas across state lines for the sale to state regulated public utilities or sells indiscriminately to the public generally in the terminal states. This finding, however, is solely for the purpose of the Demurrer and this Court may change its mind if evidence proves the contrary to be true.

5. That the Federal power of eminent domain must, of necessity, be exercised within a state’s borders inasmuch as the Federal Government, generally speaking, has no property within its borders that is not also within the borders of some state (exceptions being the territories and the District of Columbia) .

Since it has long been settled that the Federal Government can so delegate its power of eminent domain to a corporation, and, within the limits it grants said power to said corporation, said corporation may exercise same within any states; then the plaintiff corporation, having been so granted said power [269]*269of eminent domain under the Natural Gas Act, may exercise the same for its proper purpose within this state. Williams v. Transcontinental, 89 Fed. Supp. 485. Thus, this Court holds that the plaintiff corporation has the substantive right to appropriate or condemn property for its proper use in the State of Ohio and this county, said right being derived from the Federal Government by virtue of the Natural Gas Act. Any other consideration would, in effect be a denial to the Federal Government to effectively regulate this form of interstate commerce, i. e., the transportation of gas across state lines.

Having decided the second part of the Defendants’ argument, this Court will now discuss and decide the first argument of the Defendant, namely:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Tennessee Gas Transmission Co. v. Cleveland Trust Co., 120 N.E.2d 143, 67 Ohio Law. Abs. 264, 59 Ohio Op. 282, 3 Oil & Gas Rep. 1347, 1953 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 379, 1953 WL 81401 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1953).

120 N.E.2d 143 (Tennessee Gas Transmission Co. v. Cleveland Trust Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related