Albert v. Public Service Commission

• Decision Date: 09 February 1956
• Docket Number: No. 57,57
• Citation: 209 Md. 27,120 A.2d 346
• Parties: Emil James ALBERT et al. v. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION of Maryland.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

Page 27

209 Md. 27

120 A.2d 346

Emil James ALBERT et al. v. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION of Maryland.

No. 57.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

Feb. 9, 1956.

Hyman A. Pressman, Baltimore, for appellants.

Leon H. A. Pierson, Baltimore, for appellee.

Before DELAPLAINE, COLLINS, HENDERSON and HAMMOND, JJ.

COLLINS, Judge.

This is an appeal from an order sustaining a demurrer to a petition for a writ of mandamus, without leave to amend, and the entry of a judgment for the appellees for costs.

On January 11, 1955, the appellants, one hundred taxicab drivers, filed a petition against the Public Service Commission of Maryland (the Commission), making the following allegations. They had had an aggregate of 1,718 years experience as taxicab drivers, representing an average of more than seventeen years. They desire to 'better their lot in life' by operating and owning taxicabs instead of working for some one else. On September 15, 1954, they filed a written application for one hundred permits to operate taxicabs and a request for hearing thereon at the office of the Commission. On September 29, 1954, the Commission refused to pass on the petitioners' application and indefinitely deferred the holding of a hearing for reasons contained in a letter from the executive secretary of the Commission. On October 12, 1954, the attorney for petitioners wrote to the Commission requesting a hearing. On October 22, 1954, the attorney for the petitioners wrote another letter to the Commission requesting a hearing in order to present evidence to prove the following: (1) That the taxicab service in Baltimore City is inadequate to satisfy public necessity and convenience. (2) That the issuance of additional taxicab permits is necessary for the public welfare. (3) That the appellants are qualified to receive permits, are entitled thereto and are in a position to render efficient service, including the hours when many present permit holders change shifts and leave the public without taxicab transportation. On October 28, 1954, the Commission wrote a letter to petitioners' attorney promising to give consideration to petitioners' request and to advise them of their decision in the near future. On January 5, 1955, the Commission wrote another letter to petitioners' attorney refusing to grant the hearing requested.

The petition further alleged that the refusal of the Commission to grant petitioners a hearing and to pass on their application for permits was dogmatic, arbitrary and capricious. Said refusal deprived petitioners of producing evidence before the Commission. The Commission obtained its data from present holders of taxicab permits, who wished to limit their competition without giving the petitioners an opportunity to discredit such data or to present evidence in contradiction thereto. The Commission's failure to pass on petitioners' application deprived them of their right to appeal, which they would have had if the application had been refused. The taxicab service in Baltimore is deplorable and inadequate and the granting of additional permits to operate taxicabs will best serve the public welfare and convenience. Petitioners asked that a mandamus be issued directing the Commission to hold a hearing on petitioners' application and within a reasonable time to pass an order granting or refusing to grant said application in whole or in part.

The letter aforesaid from the executive secretary of the Commission to petitioners' attorney, dated September 29, 1954, stated in part as follows: '* * * while the Commission is not now considering the issuance of additional permits for the operation of taxicabs in Baltimore City, your letter and the enclosures have been placed on file and that consideration will be given thereto by the Commission if, and when, additional permits are to be issued. I am further directed by the Commission to say that it has in its files applications for the operation of taxicabs in Baltimore City aggregating nearly 4,900 permits, including applications submitted by a substantial number of applicants named in the list submitted with your letter of September 15th and that if, and when, additional permits are to be issued, the Commission would give consideration to all applications, including those heretofore filed, as well as those which you have submitted. The Commission will, of course, see that you are notified of any hearings to be held in connection with applications for additional taxicab permits.' The letter of January 5, 1955, from the Commission, referred to in the bill of complaint, contained, among other things, the following: '* * * the Commission has given further consideration to the matter and it is even more firmly convinced now that there is no need for additional permits to be issued. The study that it has made, which is available to you and to any interested party, shows that with the increasing use of two-way radio equipment, the number of unfilled requests for service is being constantly decreased; that the installation of radio units in more taxicabs now in operation will still further lower the number of unfilled requests; that except for seasonal demands and peaks resulting from unusual conditions, the number of unfilled orders is approaching a minimum; that the average revenue per mile of operation for 1954, month by month, is uniformly lower than for the same month of 1953; that gross revenues are substantially lower for 1954 than for 1953; and that fewer passengers have been carried in 1954 than were carried during a similar period in 1953. In view of these facts it is clear to the Commission that additional taxicabs are not needed, that it would not be in the public interest to permit more taxicabs to be operated, and that no useful purpose would be served by a hearing that would confirm the information and data in the files of the Commission.'

To that bill of complaint, the Commission filed a demurrer in which it cited the provisions of Code 1951, Article 78, § 21. The demurrer further stated that the petition failed to show a clear legal right in the petitioners differing from that of the general public to hold the requested hearing. Also, that the petition failed to show that the refusal to hold a hearing is within the ministerial powers of the Commission and that a hearing would serve any useful purpose. The issuance of a writ of mandamus would impose upon the Commission an intolerable burden, not contemplated or provided by the provisions of Article 78, Section 21, supra.

After hearing on the demurrer, the trial judge found that there is no provision in law that the Commission must hold a hearing on every application. Further, that if he should issue a mandamus for such a hearing, many details would arise, such as, how long the hearing should last, how many witnesses should be heard, and what the scope of the inquiry should be. He, therefore, on May 12, 1955, passed an order sustaining the demurrer to appellants' petition without leave to amend and entered a judgment for costs in favor of the appellees. From that judgment appellants appeal.

Appellants contend in this Court that the Commission cannot legally deny a hearing and a decision upon an application for taxicab permits.

It is plain that the words in the letter from the Commission on January 5, 1955, as aforesaid, that 'it is clear to the Commission that additional taxicabs are not needed, that it would not be in the public interest to permit more taxicabs to be operated' was a denial of the requested permits. The question therefore before us is whether the appellants are entitled to a hearing before the Commission on their application for permits.

It is, of course, well settled in Maryland that the Commission, created by the Legislature, has only such powers as have been specifically given it by the Legislature. Electric Public Utilities Co. v. Public Service Comm., 154 Md. 445, 453, 140 A. 840.

Code 1951, Article 78, § 21, supra, in effect when the petition for mandamus was filed and the judgment rendered, provided: 'No person, association or corporation shall, on or after January 1, 1932, operate a taxicab or taxicabs in any incorporated city or town the State of Maryland, having a population of more than fifty thousand persons, or between points within such city or town and points in proximity thereto, until such person, association or corporation shall have obtained a permit from the Public Service Commission to operate such taxicab or each of such taxicabs. Such permit shall be issued only after written application for the same shall have been made to the Commission; and it shall be the duty of the Commission, upon such application, to investigate the expediency of granting such permit, the number of taxicabs to be used, and the rate to be charged, and, if, in the judgment of the Commission, it is deemed best for the public welfare and convenience that said permit should be granted, said Public Service Commission is hereby empowered and authorized to grant such permit, subject to such conditions and terms, and for such duration of time, not exceeding the period of one year, as it may deem advisable. But if said Public Service Commission deems the granting of such permit prejudicial to the welfare and convenience of the public, then the said Public Service Commission is hereby empowered and authorized to refuse the granting of the same. The said Public Service Commission of Maryland is further empowered and authorized to make such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to govern the control and operation of taxicabs, and enforce the same by such penalties or forfeitures as it may reasonably prescribe, including the suspension or revocation for reasonable cause, or causes, after investigation and hearing, of the permit granted under the provisions of this Article; any person, association or corporation of interest who shall be dissatisfied at the action of the Public Service Commission for...