Louisiana & Arkansas Ry. Co. v. Missouri Pacific R. Co., Civ. A. No. 67-139.
| Decision Date | 07 August 1968 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 67-139. |
| Citation | 288 F. Supp. 320 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana |
| Parties | LOUISIANA & ARKANSAS RAILWAY COMPANY v. MISSOURI PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY, the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, and Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission. |
Arthur R. Carmody, Jr., Wilkinson, Woods, Carmody, Meadows & Hall, Shreveport, La., Robert W. Spachman, Kansas City, Mo., for plaintiff, Louisiana & A. Ry. Co.
Charles W. Chapman, St. Louis, Mo., for defendant, Missouri Pac. Ry. Co.
Murray Hudson, Hudson, Potts & Bernstein, Monroe, La., for defendant, Texas & P. Ry. Co.
George Mathews, Baton Rouge, La., for defendant, Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission.
Plaintiff, Louisiana & Arkansas Railway Company (L & A), brings this suit seeking injunctive relief against defendants, Missouri Pacific Railroad Company (MoPac), Texas & Pacific Railway Company (T & P), and the Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission (Port Commission), in connection with the use, operation, and maintenance of certain rail facilities located within the port area at the Port of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Port Commission is an executive department of the State of Louisiana, and it operates public port facilities on the Mississippi River in four parishes of the State, including the facility in West Baton Rouge Parish known as the "West Bank" facility, which is here involved.
The West Bank facility is served by rail trackage owned entirely by the Port Commission and located entirely on property owned or leased by the Commission in the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This facility is a general cargo port composed of docking and mooring facilities, warehouses, bulk storage facilities, scrap metal storage facilities, transit sheds, and a large grain elevator. The rail operations to and from this port area involve the movement of some 18,000 rail cars annually, the great majority of which are unloaded in the port area. The area is serviced by rail by the plaintiff and the two defendant railroads. Pursuant to authority granted by the Louisiana Legislature, the Commission constructed, owns, and in the past maintained certain rail facilities used for the purpose of providing rail transportation to, from and within its port facility, including a lead track some six miles in length extending from the westerly railroad approach track to the Mississippi River Bridge to the West Bank port facility, together with the necessary connecting and interchange tracks and trackage within the port facility. The total trackage involved aggregates approximately 17 miles in length.
On December 31, 1956, an operating agreement was entered into between the three railroads here involved and the Port Commission pursuant to which, among other things, the railroads each agreed to perform all necessary switching services to, from, and within the port facility on a rotating yearly basis, i.e., each railroad to perform these services for one year at a time in accordance with tariffs to be published by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Under the agreement the Port Commission was obligated to maintain, repair, and keep in good serviceable condition all of the trackage and appurtenances thereof.
Article VII, Section 3, provides for the termination of the agreement as follows:
These railroads operated under this agreement from July 5, 1955, which was, according to its terms, the effective date of the agreement, until July 5, 1967. The tariff provisions relating to this agreement are published as Item 110 of the Texas-Louisiana Freight Bureau Switching Tariff, I.C.C. No. 1043, and provides as follows:
After a long history of difficulties in maintaining and repairing the tracks and appurtenances thereto, the Port Commission began searching for a suitable alternative to performing these services itself. It discussed these problems with all three railroads involved in this suit, and invited each of them to offer suggestions as to how these services could be better performed. After receiving little or no response, the Port Commission, in accordance with Article VII, Section 3 of the agreement, notified all three railroads on or about June 28, 1966, of its intention to terminate the operating agreement as of July 5, 1967. The Port Commission then entered into an agreement with the defendant, T & P, whereby the T & P would, after July 5, 1967, perform all switching services to, from, and within the Port on a permanent basis, and would also undertake to maintain and repair all of the rail facilities and appurtenances thereto belonging to the Port Commission. There was no change in the switching charges, switching absorptions, line-haul rates, or line-haul routes. All three railroads still hold themselves out to shippers as handlers of traffic to and from the Port facilities. Plaintiff, L & A, strenuously contends that such an agreement between the Port Commission and the T & P results in the T & P performing rail operations contrary to the published tariff, and in violation of Section 6 of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C.A. § 6. It also contends that the agreement has forced the MoPac and the plaintiff, L & A, to cease performing rail operations as required by the operating agreement without having first secured a certificate from the Interstate Commerce Commission as required by Section 1 (18) of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C.A. § 1 (18). Plaintiff further argues that the T & P is about to remove a portion of the Port Commission's lead track, and that to do so will force plaintiff, L & A, to "abandon operation of all or a portion of a line of railroad without there having been obtained from the I.C.C. a certificate" authorizing them to do so, all in violation of Section 1 (18) of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C.A. § 1 (18). Plaintiff, by this suit, seeks an injunction enjoining the defendant from operating under the new agreement between the Port Commission and the T & P Railroad, and ordering the defendant to continue operating in accordance with the operating agreement of December 31, 1956, and the subsequently published tariff, I.C.C. No. 1043. After careful study of the voluminous briefs and other data filed herein, it is the opinion of this Court that the plaintiff is not entitled to the relief which it seeks.
This case boils down to the narrow question of whether or not the trackage in question constitutes a "line of railroad" as contemplated by Section 1 (18) of the Interstate Commerce Act, or whether instead it is "spur, industrial, team, switching, or side tracks" as contemplated by the exception contained in said Section 1 (18).
Section 1 (18) of the Interstate Commerce Act reads as follows:
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