Arkansas Express, Inc. v. Columbia Motor Transport Company

• Citation: 205 S.W.2d 716,212 Ark. 1
• Decision Date: 06 October 1947
• Docket Number: 4-8231
• Parties: Arkansas Express, Inc., v. Columbia Motor Transport Company
• Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas

205 S.W.2d 716

212 Ark. 1

Arkansas Express, Inc., v. Columbia Motor Transport Company

No. 4-8231

Supreme Court of Arkansas

October 6, 1947

Rehearing Denied December 1, 1947.

Appeal from Pulaski Circuit Court, Second Division; Lawrence C Auten, Judge.

Modified and Affirmed.

Louis Tarlowski, for appellant.

Henry Donham, for appellee.

OPINION

Robins J.

Appellee, Columbia Motor Transport Company, a Delaware Corporation, made application to Arkansas Public Service Commission for certificate authorizing appellee to operate as a motor carrier of freight within this state. Appellants, thirty-three duly licensed motor freight carriers, filed protest and resisted the application. After an extended hearing the Commission granted the application and ordered the issuance of the certificate of convenience and authority as prayed for by appellee. The protesting carriers appealed to the Pulaski Circuit Court, where judgment affirming the Commission's order was rendered. This appeal is prosecuted from that judgment.

The service proposed by appellee and authorized by the Commission was to be rendered in accordance with a contract entered into between appellee and Guy A. Thompson, Trustee in Bankruptcy of Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, on March 19, 1946. This contract contemplated "a system of coordinated rail-motor-truck service, auxiliary to or supplemental of the Trustee's service by rail, for the handling of less-than-carload freight . . . over certain highway routes and between stations on certain lines of railroad of Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, Debtor, located within the state of Arkansas. . . ." Under this contract appellee agreed to haul in motor trucks, along prescribed routes, from certain stations of the railroad company to certain other designated stations of the company, freight tendered to it by the railroad company. Appellee was to be compensated for this hauling on a mileage basis at such rates as should be thereafter agreed upon by the parties to the contract.

The trustee in bankruptcy of the railroad company was authorized to enter into this contract by order of the United States District Court, in which the bankruptcy proceeding was pending, and the trustee, supporting appellee's request, intervened in the proceeding before the Public Service Commission.

The proposed service was thus described by the Commission in its order:

"Missouri Pacific Railroad Company and its affiliated lines in Arkansas (hereinafter referred to collectively as Missouri Pacific) is a common carrier by rail and its system covers a large portion of the State of Arkansas. It currently has 269 stations on its lines in Arkansas. It desires to establish and operate a system of coordinated rail-truck service along its lines which will be auxiliary to and supplemental of its present service by rail for the handling of less than carload freight and merchandise, mail and express.

. . .

"Columbia proposes to assume full responsibility for compliance with the laws of Arkansas and the rules and regulations of this Commission. It is estimated that the proposed service will require the use of from twenty-five to thirty trucks. Columbia will charge Missouri Pacific for its services on a mileage basis to be determined later by the parties, but not to exceed the charges now being paid by Missouri Pacific for similar service in other states. The total mileage to be operated by Columbia in Arkansas will be 1,946.84 miles which does not exceed the mileage allowed by the Arkansas law. Schedules will be coordinated with the movement of merchandise cars by Missouri Pacific between merchandise centers. . . .

"The service to be rendered by Columbia will be limited to stations now or hereafter located on the lines of Missouri Pacific. Columbia does not propose to file any schedules of rates to be charged to the shipping public by it, but will collect its charges from Missouri Pacific. . . .

"At the present time, less than carload freight of Missouri Pacific is handled exclusively by boxcars and local way-freight trains. The cost to Missouri Pacific of rendering comparable service for less than carload freight by rail would be prohibitive. The handling of l.c.l. freight under the proposed plan will result in a substantial annual saving to Missouri Pacific. Experience in other states has proven that the distribution of l.c.l. freight by trucks as proposed in the application is the most satisfactory and economical means of handling this kind of freight.

"Under the proposed plan, the time consumed in handling l.c.l. freight will be substantially reduced. In some instances the time will be reduced as much as eight days. Under the existing service, a shipment from Pine Bluff to a point between Little Rock and Newport is delivered the next morning and between Knobel and Newport the delivery is the late afternoon of the next day. Under the proposed service, this shipment from Pine Bluff would be delivered the same night. . . .

"Of the 269 Missouri Pacific stations in Arkansas, there are 57 stations which are not now being served by a certificated motor carrier of freight. It is estimated that it would require the services of 38 existing motor freight carriers to perform the proposed services for Missouri Pacific. It is contended that under the proposed operations Missouri Pacific will continue to haul the same freight it is now hauling and that the only change will be in the manner in which l.c.l. freight is handled between certain stations.

"Under the proposed plan, Missouri Pacific will operate merchandise cars daily, except Sunday, between the following points: Little Rock to McGehee; Little Rock to Wynne; Little Rock to Newport; Little Rock to Russellville; Little Rock to Fort Smith; Little Rock to Gurdon; Little Rock to El Dorado; Texarkana to Little Rock; Fort Smith to Little Rock; McGehee to Lexa; and McGehee to Little Rock. These points are designated as 'break-bulk points' and represent points at which sufficient l.c.l. freight is accumulated to justify the operation of a merchandise car.

"For illustration, a less than carload shipment originating at Pine Bluff and destined for Batesville would be taken from the door of the shipper to the freight depot of the Missouri Pacific at Pine Bluff by the Missouri Pacific pick-up and delivery service. The agent at the Missouri Pacific depot in Pine Bluff would issue a railroad bill of lading to the shipper. The shipment would then move by Columbia's truck to Little Rock. In Little Rock the shipment would be loaded in a merchandise car and moved by rail to Newport. It would be unloaded at Newport and then moved by Columbia's truck to Batesville. The reverse routing of this shipment from Batesville to Pine Bluff...