William N. Feinstein & Co. v. United States

Decision Date21 May 1963
Docket NumberNo. 262,Docket 27917.,262
Citation317 F.2d 509
PartiesWILLIAM N. FEINSTEIN & CO., Inc., successor to William N. Feinstein and Bernard Fatell, co-partners doing business under the firm name and style of William N. Feinstein & Co., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES and The Interstate Commerce Commission, Defendants-Appellees, and The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Company, The New York Central Railroad Company and The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Interveners.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Norman A. Coplan, New York City (Bernstein, Weiss, Hammer & Parter, New York City, on the brief), (Michael C. Bernstein and Jacob Greenwald, New York City, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellant.

I. K. Hay, Associate General Counsel, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, D. C. (Robert W. Ginnane, General Counsel, Interstate Commerce Commission, on the brief), for defendant-appellee Interstate Commerce Commission.

Edward A. Kaier, Philadelphia, Pa. (Andrew C. Armstrong, Richard E. Costello, J. Edgar McDonald, Philadelphia, Pa., on the brief), (Edward F. Butler, New York City, of counsel), for intervenors-appellees.

Before SMITH, KAUFMAN and MARSHALL, Circuit Judges.

MARSHALL, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal by plaintiff below, William N. Feinstein & Co., Inc., from a judgment entered by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ryan, C. J., which dismissed on the merits an action seeking review of a decision of the Interstate Commerce Commission. William N. Feinstein & Co. v. United States, 209 F.Supp. 613 (S.D. N.Y.1962). The Commission's decision found that certain charges exacted from plaintiff's assignor by the New York Central Railroad for the unloading of onions consigned to the railroad's Pier 17 in New York City were not unjust, unreasonable, or otherwise unlawful. William N. Feinstein & Co. v. New York Cent. R.R., 313 I.C.C. 783 (1961). Asserting jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1398 and 2321-2323, plaintiff sought to have the district court set aside and annul the Commission's determination on the ground that it was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, unsupported by substantial evidence, and otherwise unlawful. 5 U.S.C.A. §§ 1001-1011; 49 U.S.C.A. § 17(9). We affirm the decision of the district court.

The present lawsuit represents only the most recent stage of what has been a protracted history of proceedings variously before the Commission and the courts to determine the legality of separate charges sought by terminal carriers, in addition to the line haul rate, for unloading perishable produce consigned to the New York pier stations. See Unloading Charges on Fruits and Vegetables, 272 I.C.C. 648 (1948); Unloading Charges on Fruits and Vegetables, 286 I.C.C. 119 (1952); Florida Citrus Commission v. United States, 114 F.Supp. 420 (S.D. Fla.1953); Secretary of Agriculture of United States v. United States, 347 U.S. 645, 74 S.Ct. 826, 98 L.Ed. 1015 (1954). That history is carefully and completely traced in Judge Ryan's opinion below and no purpose would be served by repeating it here. Brief mention should be made, however, of the proceedings immediately prior to the present one in order to make clear the issues here involved.

In proceedings held in 1956, the Commission found that certain unloading charges had not been shown to be just and reasonable and ordered the schedule of charges, put into effect by the railroads in 1947, cancelled. Unloading Charges on Fruits and Vegetables, 298 I.C.C. 637 (1956). Following that determination, plaintiff's assignor brought suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the New York Central Railroad to recover as damages the charges which in the past it had paid to the railroad for the unloading of onions consigned to Pier 17 of the railroad. Judge Learned Hand, sitting as a district court judge, held that all claims with respect to shipments unloaded more than two years prior to filing of the suit were barred by the applicable statute of limitations. He stayed judgment as to all claims falling within the two-year statutory period, December 1954 to December 1956, until the Commission had been given an opportunity to decide whether the unloading charges were unjust and unreasonable when paid. The decision to require an express finding of this nature from the Commission was based on the view that although the Commission's decision at 298 I.C.C. 637 (1956) put an end to the unloading charges for the future, it did not follow that the Commission had intended to find the charges unlawful when paid. Feinstein v. New York Cent. R.R., 159 F.Supp. 460, 463 (S.D.N.Y.1958). Appropriate proceedings were instituted and the Commission in due course held that the charges had not been shown to have been unjust, unreasonable, or otherwise unlawful when exacted. 313 I.C.C. 783 (1961). It is that decision which the plaintiff in the present action, as assignee of the complainants before the Commission, seeks to have set aside.

Having lost in the district court, plaintiff now urges upon us the same arguments that were rejected below. In reviewing the district court's decision, we are bound by well-settled rules that limit us to determining only whether Judge Ryan's decision was clearly erroneous in holding that the Commission's conclusions were based on adequate findings supported by substantial evidence, Universal Camera Corp. v. N. L. R. B., 340 U.S. 474, 71 S.Ct. 456, 95 L.Ed. 456 (1951), and whether the Commission's decision is otherwise free from errors of law. Because we find Judge Ryan's detailed...

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4 cases
  • Reno v. United States
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)
    • June 20, 1963
    ... 317 F.2d 499 (1963) . William Alfred RENO, Appellant, . v. . UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. . No. 19673. . United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit. . May 17, 1963. . ......
  • Long Island R. R. Co. v. U.S.
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit)
    • December 21, 1977
    ...lack of proof, alleged inconsistency between it and a prior decision is not a valid basis for reversal. William N. Feinstein & Co. v. United States, 317 F.2d 509, 512 (2d Cir. 1963). There is no contention by any party hereto that intervening-respondents' new tariffs are unjust and unreason......
  • FTC v. Crowther
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (District of Columbia)
    • June 25, 1970
    ...F.2d 194 (1965); Capitol International Airways v. CAB, 129 U.S.App.D.C. 187, 392 F.2d 511 (1968). And see William N. Feinstein & Co. v. United States, 317 F.2d 509, 512 (2nd Cir. 1963). The point is discussed in 2 Davis, Administrative Law, Section 17.07 (1958 6 Counsel for the Commission p......
  • Melody Music, Inc. v. FCC, 18857.
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (District of Columbia)
    • April 8, 1965
    ...357, 278 F.2d 237 (1960); Shawmut Ass'n v. Securities & Exchange Comm'n, 146 F. 2d 791 (1st Cir. 1945); Feinstein & Co. v. United States, 317 F.2d 509 (2d Cir. 1963); Lanolin Plus Cosmetics v. Marzall, 90 U.S.App.D.C. 349, 196 F.2d 591 (1952). 5 General Electric Company, 2 Pike & Fischer R.......

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