CONSOLIDATED FREIGHTWAYS CORP., ETC. v. Kassel

Citation475 F. Supp. 544
Decision Date16 August 1979
Docket NumberCiv. No. 78-179-1.
PartiesCONSOLIDATED FREIGHTWAYS CORPORATION OF DELAWARE, a Delaware Corporation, Plaintiff, v. Raymond KASSEL, Raymond Kassel, Individually and in his capacity as Director of Transportation, Robert Rigler, Individually, and in his capacity as a member and Chairman of the Transportation Commission, L. Stanley Schoelerman, Individually, and in his capacity as a member of the Transportation Commission, Donald Gardner, Individually, and in his capacity as a member of the Transportation Commission, Jules Busker, Individually, and in his capacity as a member of the Transportation Commission, Allan Thoms, Individually, and in his capacity as a member of the Transportation Commission, Barbara Dunn, Individually, and in her capacity as a member of the Transportation Commission, William McGrath, Individually, and in his capacity as a member of the Transportation Commission, Jon McCoy, Individually, and in his capacity as Director of the Motor Vehicle Division, Charles W. Larson, Individually, and in his capacity as Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, Edward Dickinson, Individually, and in his capacity as Chief of the Iowa Highway Patrol, Richard C. Turner, Individually, and in his capacity as Attorney General, and Robert D. Ray, Individually, and in his capacity as Governor, Defendants. Motor Club of Iowa, Defendant Intervenor.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 8th Circuit. United States State District Court of Southern District of Iowa

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Anthony R. Varda, John Varda, John H. Lederer, Jon P. Axelrod, DeWitt, McAndrews & Porter, S. C., Madison, Wis., Kent M. Forney, Cecil L. Goettsch, John C. Cortesio, Jr., Terry C. Hancock, Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, Des Moines, Iowa, for plaintiff.

Robert W. Goodwin, Sp. Asst. Atty., Lester A. Paff and Dennis D. Hogan, Asst. Attys. Gen., and General Counsel to Dept. of Tr., Ames, Iowa, for defendants.

R. Richard Bittner, Robert D. Lambert, Betty, Neuman, McMahon, Hellstrom & Bittner, Davenport, Iowa, for defendant intervenor.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER.

STUART, Chief Judge.

This is an action for declaratory and injunctive relief brought by Consolidated Freightways Corporation of Delaware (CF). It seeks to have Section 321.457(6) of the Iowa Code, which limits a combination of three vehicles coupled together to 60 feet, declared to be an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce. It also alleges that certain exceptions to that limitation found in the statutes, departmental regulations, and permit and enforcement practices unconstitutionally discriminate against interstate commerce. The defendants are various responsible state officials. The Motor Club of Iowa, an affiliate of the American Automobile Association, was given permission to intervene on behalf of the defendants.

The relief requested is directed toward and limited to "Interstate Highways 80, 35, 280, 380, 29, 680 or 235, access routes to and from plaintiffs terminals, and reasonable access from said Interstate Highways to facilities for food, fuel, repairs or rest". The limitation of the issues to the Iowa Interstate System and reasonable access thereto has an important bearing on the Court's decision.

The trial lasted 14 days. The oral testimony was supplemented by a large number of depositions and hundreds of exhibits. It would unduly extend this opinion to review the evidence. The Court will state the findings of fact in narrative form as ultimate facts.

General Background

CF is one of the country's largest general commodity carriers. General commodity carriers usually transport small individual shipments between two points on its route structure. They deliver freight to destinations beyond their authority by interlining or interchanging with other general commodity carriers. They are obligated to provide timely, complete service under published rates to the public without discrimination. The basic pattern for the movement of LTL (less than a load) shipments is as follows: (1) pick up from the shipper; (2) consolidate with other shipments moving in the same direction at the originating terminal; (3) dispatch of the consolidated trailer load to a "break bulk" or reconsolidation terminal; (4) unload at the break bulk terminal and reconsolidate shipments from different points of origin moving to the same destination terminal; (5) dispatch the reconsolidated trailer load over-the-road to the destination area terminal; (6) unload the over-the-road trailer and reconsolidate shipments for logical local delivery service; and (7) deliver to the consignee. "Cross-dock" or break bulk handling creates delays, adds costs and exposes the freight to loss or damage. For efficient and economical operation it should be kept to a minimum.

CF operates in 46 states and has a complex system of routes, terminals and main-line driver relay stations. Computers are utilized to improve its efficiency and service. It has an intensive safety program including driver's qualification tests, safety meetings, periodic equipment inspections, driver's reports, patrolling safety supervisors, and accident investigations.

CF's standard combination of units for transcontinental movement of freight is a sixty-five foot twin which consists of a tractor, two 27 or 28 foot trailers and a dolly to connect the trailers. It also uses fifty-five foot semi-trailers, particularly in the areas of the country where twin trailers are prohibited. For Iowa use, it couples a 22 foot trailer with a 27 or 28 foot trailer. Although twins can carry more freight, CF is able to reduce the cross-dock handling by using two smaller trailers rather than one large one. Hereinafter reference to "twins" or "double bottoms" will mean a 65 foot combination of units. When the reference is to a double bottom of a different length, the length will be stated. "Semi" will be used to refer to a 55 foot combination of a tractor and one trailer.1

We are concerned here with CF's route that originates in the industrial east and distributes the products manufactured there at various locations west of Iowa and CF's route that originates in the Twin City area in Minnesota and distributes the freight south or west of Iowa. Of course, we are also concerned with the return trips.

Interstate 80 (I-80) which crosses Iowa, is a principal east/west transcontinental route. Twins are lawful its entire length except for Iowa, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Interstate 35 (I-35) is a principal north/south route. Twins are lawful in all states it passes through except Iowa. CF generally uses twins on these routes, consequently, it must divert its trucks off of these interstates around Iowa. This diversion, caused by Iowa's restriction, generated this lawsuit.

Impact on Interstate Commerce

The diversion of twins around Iowa results in longer trips for those carriers that use twins. CF also diverts many of its semis around Iowa. This operational decision was made so that its driver relay system could function more efficiently. These added miles add to the cost of operation,2 cause greater fuel consumption, increase the number of miles of highway that are subjected to wear and result in more accidents, injuries and fatalities. In the Court's opinion these undisputed facts create a substantial impact on interstate commerce. Raymond Motor Transportation, Inc. v. Rice, 434 U.S. 429, 445, 98 S.Ct. 787, 54 L.Ed.2d 664 (1978).

The question is whether this impact, under the facts and circumstances shown by the evidence in the case, creates an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce.

Burden on Interstate Commerce

The Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution prevents states from erecting barriers to the free flow of interstate commerce. However, state legislation designed to serve legitimate state interests that is applied without discriminating against interstate commerce, does not violate the Commerce Clause even though it affects interstate commerce. When legitimate local concerns overlap national interests represented by the Commerce Clause, and Congress has not acted, the Court must consider the weight and nature of the state regulatory concern in the light of the extent of the burden imposed on interstate commerce. Raymond Motor Transportation, Inc. v. Rice, 434 U.S. 429, 440-441, 98 S.Ct. 787, 54 L.Ed.2d 664 (and citations) (1978); Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc., 397 U.S. 137, 142, 90 S.Ct. 844, 25 L.Ed.2d 174 (1970); Bibb v. Navajo Freight Lines, 359 U.S. 520, 528-29, 79 S.Ct. 962, 3 L.Ed.2d 1003 (1959).

When the legitimate local concern is highway safety, the Courts have given great deference to state regulations. Southern Pacific Co. v. Arizona, 325 U.S. 761, 783, 65 S.Ct. 1515, 89 L.Ed. 1915 (1945); Maurer v. Hamilton, 309 U.S. 598, 604, 60 S.Ct. 726, 84 L.Ed. 969 (1940); South Carolina Highway Dept. v. Barnwell Bros., 303 U.S. 177, 190-92, 58 S.Ct. 510, 82 L.Ed. 734 (1938); Sproles v. Binford, 286 U.S. 374, 390, 52 S.Ct. 581, 76 L.Ed. 1167 (1932); Morris v. Duby, 274 U.S. 135, 143-44, 47 S.Ct. 548, 71 L.Ed. 966 (1927).

"These safety measures carry a strong presumption of validity when challenged in court. If there are alternative ways of solving a problem, we do not sit to determine which of them is best suited to achieve a valid state objective. Policy decisions are for the state legislature, absent federal entry into the field. Unless we can conclude on the whole record that `the total effect of the law as a safety measure in reducing accidents and casualties is so slight or problematical as not to outweigh the national interest in keeping interstate commerce free from interferences which seriously impede it' * * * we must uphold the statute." Bibb v. Navajo Freight Lines, 359 U.S. 520, 524, 79 S.Ct. 962, 965, 3 L.Ed.2d 1003 (1959).

Quoted in Raymond, 434 U.S. at 443, 98 S.Ct. at 795.

In his concurring opinion in Raymond, Justice Blackmun states:

In other words, if safety justifications are not illusory, the Court will not second-guess
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6 cases
  • CONSOL. FREIGHTWAYS CORP. OF DELAWARE v. Kassel
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of Iowa
    • February 14, 1983
    ...Following an extensive trial, the Court found for plaintiff on the merits of its Commerce Clause claim. Consolidated Freightways Corp. v. Kassel, 475 F.Supp. 544 (S.D.Iowa 1979). The Eighth Circuit affirmed, 612 F.2d 1064 (8th Cir.1979), as did the Supreme Court, Kassel v. Consolidated Frei......
  • Consolidated Freightways Corp. of Delaware v. Kassel, 83-1337
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit
    • March 27, 1984
    ...and prohibiting the use of sixty-five foot twins within its borders, to be invalid. The district court in Consolidated Freightways Corp. v. Kassel, 475 F.Supp. 544 (S.D.Iowa 1979), found for plaintiff on the merits of the Commerce Clause claim. We affirmed, 612 F.2d 1064 (8th Cir.1979), and......
  • Kassel v. Consolidated Freightways Corporation of Delaware, 79-1320
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • March 24, 1981
    ...the question of safety, the District Court found that the "evidence clearly establishes that the twin is as safe as the semi." 475 F.Supp. 544, 549 (SD Iowa 1979). For that "there is no valid safety reason for barring twins from Iowa's highways because of their configuration. "The evidence ......
  • Hearst Corp. v. Iowa Dept. of Revenue and Finance, 89-1863
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • September 19, 1990
    ...commerce does not violate the commerce clause even though it may affect interstate commerce. Consolidated Freightways Corp. of Delaware v. Kassel, 475 F.Supp. 544, 547 (S.D.Iowa 1979), aff'd, 612 F.2d 1064 (8th Cir.1979), probable jurisdiction noted, 446 U.S. 950, 100 S.Ct. 2915, 64 L.Ed.2d......
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