Washtenaw County Road Commissioners v. Public Service Commission

85 N.W.2d 134, 349 Mich. 663
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 7, 1957
DocketDockets 40, 41, Calendar 47,169, 47,168
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 85 N.W.2d 134 (Washtenaw County Road Commissioners v. Public Service Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Washtenaw County Road Commissioners v. Public Service Commission, 85 N.W.2d 134, 349 Mich. 663 (Mich. 1957).

Opinion

Edwards, J.

These appeals concern the question of whether the Michigan public service commission has the power to order the railroads doing business in this State to install gates at dangerous railroad grade crossings and, if so, upon whom the costs must fall.

In 1873 the legislature passed the railroad incorporation act. Three sections of this act authorized the railroad commissioner of the State to order railroads to construct and operate railroad crossing-gates at highway grade crossings where necessity therefor was found. The cost of installation and operation was by implication placed exclusively on the railroads to whom the orders were directed.

Three facts are undisputed. The railroad incorporation act has never been repealed. The 3 sections cited have never been removed from the act by specific repeal. The Michigan public service commission (defendant herein) has succeeded to the powers previously held by the railroad commissioner.

In this case the Michigan public service commission seeks to require the New York Central Eailroad Company to erect modern automatic short-arm gates at a certain grade crossing in Washtenaw county, and to divide the cost of the installation and operation equally between the plaintiffs New York Central Eailroad Company and the board ox county road' *668 commissioners of the county of Washtenaw. The Michigan public service commission bases its claim for authority in relation to this order largely upon the terms of the 1873 act. Plaintiffs herein, the railroad and the road commission, contended before the Ingham circuit court that the disputed sections have long since been repealed by implication. In addition, they asserted that, in relation to the particular grade crossing involved, the record disclosed no support for the Michigan public service commission’s ■finding of necessity for the gates. Each plaintiff likewise denied that the commission, as to it, had any statutory authority to order payment of costs.

The Ingham circuit court found for the defendant Michigan public service commission on all points and entered decrees dismissing both bills of complaint, whereupon plaintiffs appealed to this Court.

While we find many acts and amendments subsequent to 1873 which deal with grade-crossing protection, we do not find either the claimed inconsistency or such occupancy of the field as to warrant a finding of repeal by implication. A power as important as this in terms of public safety should not be held to be removed without legislation which, either in specific terms or by plain implication, clearly reveals the legislative intent to repeal.

Further, we hold that the record shows ample justification for the public service commission’s finding of necessity for gates at this particular crossing. However, since the statute construed makes no grant of power to the commission to divide the costs of the installation and the disputed sections of the act have never been amended in this regard, the costs must fall upon the railroad.

The Michigan public service commission’s order was issued December 6, 1955, after a hearing at the Ypsilanti city hall on November 14, 1955. Its terms, .in more detail, directed the New York Central Rail *669 road Company to install, maintain and operate automatic flasher signals as well as half-roadway gates at the Superior road crossing over the New York Central double-track main lines in Washtenaw county. The order further provided for the expense of both safety devices to be borne 50% by the Wash-tenaw county road commission and 50% by the New York Central Railroad.

Neither appellant complained about the portion of the order requiring installation of flasher signals at this crossing and equal allocation of the cost therefor.

Both appellants filed petitions for rehearing, which were denied by the commission on January 19, 1956. Both appellants then filed bills of complaint in the Ingham county circuit court to vacate and set aside that portion of the order referring to installation of half-roadway gates and allocation of cost therefor. On consolidated hearing of these matters before Judge Coash, decrees dismissing the hills of complaint were entered, from which these appeals are taken.

We -deal first with the question of whether or not the commission had before it sufficient evidence for a finding of public necessity in relation to the ordering of half-roadway gates. In spite of contrary appearances, we doubt that this ground for appeal is seriously urged. Neither appellant presented any evidence before the public service commission or the circuit court. Further, the testimony before the public service commission on the part of the sheriff of Washtenaw county is totally unrefuted: “I would favor half-roadway gates because this is .one of the most dangerous crossings in the county due to the visibility and the curve in the railroad, but I think gates would be very beneficial, especially if any trains meet at this crossing.” So, likewise, is his testimony as to a grade-crossing accident at this *670 crossing in October, 1955, resulting in 2 fatalities, and a grade-crossing accident in December, 1954, involving 2 serious injuries.

The case for the installation was contained principally in the expert testimony of Mr. Donald W. Hughes, railroad safety inspector for the public service commission. His testimony bore particularly upon the problems of visibility at this particular crossing and the problem posed by the double-track operation over Superior road, which, in his opinion, could not be met by flasher signal installation alone. Pertinent portions of Mr. Hughes’ testimony follow:

“I have made 2 inspections at the Superior road crossing over the 2 main tracks of The New York Central Railroad Company in Washtenaw county; 1 of these inspections was made on February 3, 1954, and the second on July 11, 1955. Present at these inspections were representatives of the Michigan State' police, 'Superior township, the Washtenaw county road commission and the New York Central. The 2 main tracks of the New York Central and the Superior road cross at about a 70-degree angle. The road runs north and south and the tracks run northwesterly-southwesterly. The tracks are on a level grade. The road is on an ascending grade from south to north. There is about a 1.13-degree curve in the railroad tracks west of the crossing and there is a short curvature in the road about 300 feet south of the crossing. The topography of the land in the area is rolling. There are several obstructions to view at this crossing. In the northwest quadrant, there is an embankment along the north line of the railroad which continues west’ for about 1,500 feet. This embankment is lined with trees and underbrush from 6 to 16 feet in height. There is a field in the northeast quadrant which contains some trees and underbrush, and humps of earth 4 to 7 or 8 feet in height, and their height would'be extended to the extent of snow or weeds gathered on top of them. *671 There is little or no sight distance for the driver of a vehicle driving south on Superior road in attempting to determine whether there is a train approaching from the west.

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Bluebook (online)
85 N.W.2d 134, 349 Mich. 663, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/washtenaw-county-road-commissioners-v-public-service-commission-mich-1957.