Time Life Broadcast Co. v. Boyd

289 F. Supp. 219, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10109
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedJuly 17, 1968
DocketNo. IP 68-C-164
StatusPublished

This text of 289 F. Supp. 219 (Time Life Broadcast Co. v. Boyd) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Time Life Broadcast Co. v. Boyd, 289 F. Supp. 219, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10109 (S.D. Ind. 1968).

Opinion

ENTRY

HOLDER, District Judge.

The trial of this action was commenced and concluded on July 12, 1968. The matter was submitted on the briefs of the parties and the May 15, 1968 brief amicus curiae on behalf of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., Columbia [221]*221Broadcasting Systems, Inc. and National Broadcasting Company, Inc., and final argument was waived. The issues of the action are contained in the April 26, 1968 complaint of the plaintiffs, Time Life Broadcasting Co., Inc., Avco Broadcasting Corporation, Indiana Broadcasting Corporation, and Sarkes Tarzian, Inc., and the June 20, 1968 answer of the defendants, Alan S. Boyd, Secretary, United States Department of Transportation, and Stanford G. Ross, General Counsel, United States Department of Transportation, as amended in pre-trial conference on July 12, 1968.

The issues presented by the action are the alleged refusal of the defendants to enforce the provisions of the Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C.A. Sections 260 et seq.) particularly in respect of Daylight Savings Time for the period from April 28, 1968 through October 31, 1968 in the State of Indiana. Because the issues could be rendered moot by the lapse of time, the matter was advanced on the calendar pursuant to Rule 78 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The plaintiffs each operate radio and television broadcasting stations in the State of Indiana. Time Life Broadcast Co., Inc. is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Michigan and is duly qualified to do business within the State of Indiana, having its principal office in Indiana at 1330 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, and is hereinafter sometimes referred to as Time Life or as WFBM-TV. Avco Broadcasting Corporation is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Ohio and is duly qualified to do business within the State of Indiana, having its principal office in Indiana at 1401 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, and is hereinafter sometimes referred to as Avco or as WLW-I. Indiana Broadcasting Corporation is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware and is duly qualified to do business within the State of Indiana, having its principal office in Indiana at 1950 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, and is hereinafter sometimes referred to as Indiana or WISH-TV in Indianapolis and WANE-TV in Fort Wayne. Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Indiana and is duly qualified to do business in the State of Indiana, having its principal office in Indiana at Hillsdale Drive, Bloomington, Indiana, and is hereinafter sometimes referred to as Sarkes Tarzian and as WT-TV in Bloomington and Indianapolis and as WPTA in Roanoke-Fort Wayne.

The defendant, Alan S. Boyd, is the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation; and the defendant, Stanford G. Ross, is the General Counsel of the United States Department of Transportation.

From 1918 until 1961, at which time authority under the various Standard Time Acts was in the Interstate Commerce Commission, the dividing line between Eastern and Central Standard Time was approximately the eastern boundary line of the State of Indiana. In 1961 after hearings, the Interstate Commerce Commission adjusted the boundary line between Eastern and Central Standard Time so that that line extended from the southern Michigan boundary southerly along the west line of Elkart, Kosciusko, Wabash, Grant and Madison Counties to the north line of Hamilton County; thence westerly along the north line of Hamilton and Boone Counties to the northwest corner of Boone County; thence southerly along the west line of Boone, Hendricks and Morgan Counties to the southwest corner of Morgan County; thence easterly along the south lines of Morgan, Johnson and Shelby Counties to the west line of Decatur County; thence southerly along the west line of Decatur County to the north line of Jennings County; thence westerly and southerly along the north and west line of Jennings County and the west line of Scott and Clark Counties to the north line of Floyd County; thence westerly along the north line of Floyd and Harrison Counties and southerly along the west line of Harrison

[222]*222County to the Ohio River and the southern boundary of the state, as shown on the map attached hereto and made a part of this entry as Exhibit A.

[223]*223Thereafter in 1967, after the transfer of administration and enforcement of the Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 U.S. C.A. Sections 260 et seq.) from the Interstate Commerce Commission to the Department of Transportation, upon the request of the Governor of Indiana to zone the entire State of Indiana for Central Standard Time the General Counsel initiated a review of the ruling fixing the line between the Eastern and Central Standard Time Zones and on August 3, 1967, stated that a final determination would be made on the line after October 30, 1967. Defendants thereupon issued public notice on August 9, 1967 for interested parties to comment upon the proposal. 32 Federal Register 153 Page 11478. Thereafter on January 16, 1968, the General Counsel announced that after hearing petitions and opinions concerning the line that was requested by the Governor of Indiana was not officially ruled upon but he had proposed a new dividing line and that that line be changed so as to include all of Indiana in the Eastern Time Zone with the exception of Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Starke, Jasper, Newton, Gibson, Pike, Dubois, Spencer, Warrick, Vanderburgh and Posey Counties, which counties would re[224]*224main in the Central Standard Time Zone, as shown on the map attached hereto and made a part of this entry as Exhibit B.

[225]*225An additional period of time to February 26, 1968, was given for the presentation of opinions on the newly selected line, (33 Federal Register 14 Page 765) after which it was announced by the General Counsel that the rule would be formalized, so that nothing remains to be done before the General Counsel except ministerially finalizing the new rule. Upon issuance of his order by the General Counsel on January 16, 1968, the General Counsel has stated and ordered as follows:

“These proceedings will not concern adherence to or exemption from advanced (Daylight Savings) time during the summer months. The Uniform Time Act requires observance of advanced time within established time zones from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October but permits an individual state to exempt itself by law from observing advanced time within the state.”

No final order has been made by the defendants to this date.

From and after February 26, 1968, to this date no formal ruling has been made by the General Counsel either to adopt, modify or reject the proposed rule extending the division line between Eastern and Central Standard Time essentially to the western boundary of the State of Indiana.

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Bluebook (online)
289 F. Supp. 219, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/time-life-broadcast-co-v-boyd-insd-1968.