United States v. Missouri Pac. Ry. Co.

244 F. 38, 156 C.C.A. 466, 1917 U.S. App. LEXIS 1985
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJune 5, 1917
DocketNos. 4793, 4794
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 244 F. 38 (United States v. Missouri Pac. Ry. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Missouri Pac. Ry. Co., 244 F. 38, 156 C.C.A. 466, 1917 U.S. App. LEXIS 1985 (8th Cir. 1917).

Opinions

GARLAND, Circuit Judge.

The United States bi ought this action against the Railway Company to recover penalties for violations of the Hours of Service Act (34 Stat. 1415). The complaint in 12 counts charged that the Railway Company permitted certain operators at Arlington, Boone, Sheridan Lake, and Haswell, Colo., to be and remain on duty for longer hours than allowed by law in any 24-hour period.

The Railway Company answered each count of the complaint except the fourth and ninth by pleading facts which it claimed consti[40]*40tuted an emergency within the meaning of the law. As to counts 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, the Railway Company pleaded also in its answer that tire United States in those counts had adopted an erroneous method in computing the 24-hour period during which each employé performed his service. The trial court sustained the demurrer of the United States as to all the defenses of emergency except as to count 5. It overruled the demurrer as to the defenses, which pleaded a miscalculation of the 24-hour period, so that the judgment that was finally rendered was for the United States as to counts 1, 2, and 6, and for the Railway Company as to counts 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. The Railway Company has sued out a writ of error to review the ruling of the court as to the first, second, and sixth causes of action; and the United States has sued out a writ of error to review the ruling of the court as to counts 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.

The questions for consideration, therefore, are as follows: (a) Did the court err in sustaining the demurrer of the United States to the Railway Company’s plea of emergency to the first, second, and sixth counts of the complaint? (b) Did the court err in overruling the demurrer of the United States to the plea of emergency contained in the answer of the Railway Company to the fifth count of the complaint? (c) Did the court err in overruling the demurrer to the defense pleaded in counts 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, to the effect that the 24-hour period within which a violation of the statute is alleged should be counted from the time the employé first goes on duty for his day’s work. No error is assigned by the Railway Company as to the ruling of the court on the defense of emergency contained in thé answer to counts 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12, as judgment’was rendered in its favor on these counts by reason of the other defense pleaded.

[1] To illustrate the defense interposed by the Railway Company as to the method of computing the 24-hour period, count 3 and the answer thereto, so far as material on this point, may be quoted as follows : Count 3:

“Defendant, during the twenty-four hour period beginning at the hour of 3:00 o’clock p. m., on September 6, 1914, at its office and station at Sheridan Lake, in the state of Colorado, and within the jurisdiction of- this court, required and permitted its certain telegraph operator and employs, to wit, AY. I1. Coughlin, to be and remain on duty for a longer period than nine hours in said twenty-four hour period, to wit, from said hour of 3:00 o’clock p. m. on said date to the hour of 5:10 o’clock p. m. on said date, and from the hour of 7:00 o’clock a. m. on September 7, 1914, to the hour of 3:00- o’clock p. m. on said date.”

Answer:

“Further answering the third count or cause of action in said complaint, defendant says that the station Sheridan Lake, mentioned therein, is what is known as a two-man station, and that the hours of service of employSs thereat at the time in question were as follows: Agent’s hours from 7:00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m.; operator’s hours from 7:45 p. m. to 4:45 a. m. Office closed from 4:00 p. m. to 7:45 p. m. and from 4:45 a. m. to 7:00 a. m.
“That AY. F. Coughlin, the employé mentioned in said count, was the agent at said station, and went on duty each day at the hour of seven o’clock a. m., and did so on September 6, 1914, and was on duty until the hour of 1:30 o’clock p. m. on said day, when he was definitely excused and entirely relieved from duty until the hour of 3:00 o’clock p. m. on said day, when he [41]*41returned to work and remained on duty until tlie hour of 5:10 o’clock p. m on said day. a tier which time he was not on duty again until 7:00 o’clock a. m. on September 7, 1914, when he went on duty in regular course and remained on duty until 4:00 o’clock p. m. on said last-mentioned day, and defendant says that the twenty-four hour period referred to in the act relied on by plaintiff, so far as said .agent was concerned, began on September 6, 1914, at the hour of 7:00 o’clock a. m., and not at the hour of 3:00 o’clock p. m. on said day, and that said agent was not on duty more than nine hours during the twenty-four hour period beginning at 7:00 o’clock a. m. on September 6, 1914.”

The proviso of section 2 of the Hours of Service Act reads as follows :

“Provided, that no operator, train dispatcher, or other employé who by the use of the telegraph or telephone dispatches, reports, transmits, receives, or delivers orders pertaining to or affecting train movements shall be required or permitted to be or remain on duty tor a longer period than nine hours in any twenty-four hour period in all towers, offices, places, and stations continuously operated night and day, nor for a longer period than thirteen hours in all towers, offices, places, and stations operated only during the daytime, except in case of emergency, when the employés named in this proviso may he permitted to be and remain on duty for lour additional hours in a twenty-four hour period on not exceeding throe days in any week.”

In the case of the United States v. A. T. & S. F. Ry. Co., 220 U. S. 37, 31 Sup. Ct. 362, 55 L. Ed. 361, the United States contended that when 9 hours have passed from the moment of beginning work the statute allows no more labor within the 24 hours from the same time, even though the 9 hours have not all been spent in work. The Supreme Court refused to sustain this contention, and decided that a man employed for 6 hours, and then, after an interval, for 3, in the same 24, is not employed for a longer period than 9 hours. It, therefore, was permissible for the Railway Company to divide the hours of service provided those hours of service did not exceed 9 hours in any 24-hour period. As against the demurrer the facts stated in the defense to the third count above set forth are of course admitted. It is therefore admitted that W. E. Coughlin, the employé mentioned in the third count, “went on duty each day at the hour of 7 o’clock a. m., and did so on September 6, 1914, and was on duty until the hour of 1:3Q o’clock p. m. on said day, when he was definitely excused and entirely relieved from duty until the hour of 3 o’clock p. m. on said day, when he returned to work and remained on duty until the hour of 5:10 o’clock p. m. on said day, after which time he was not on duty again until 7 o’clock a. m. on September 7, 1914, when he went on duty in regular course and remained on duty until 4 o’clock p. m. on said last-mentioned day.”

These facts standing admitted, the Railway Company claims that the 24-hour period, so far as this employé was concerned, began on September 6, 1914, at the hour of 7 o’clock a. m., and not at the hour of 3 o’clock p. m., and that said employé was therefore not on duty more than 9 hours during the 24-hour period beginning at 7 o’clock a. m. on September 6, 1914.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
244 F. 38, 156 C.C.A. 466, 1917 U.S. App. LEXIS 1985, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-missouri-pac-ry-co-ca8-1917.