Chicago, R.I. & P.R. Co. v. Iowa State Highway Commission

• Decision Date: 15 December 1970
• Docket Number: No. 53726,53726
• Citation: 182 N.W.2d 160
• Parties: CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND AND PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY, Appellee, v. IOWA STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 160

182 N.W.2d 160

CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND AND PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY, Appellee, v. IOWA STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION, Appellant.

No. 53726.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Dec. 15, 1970.

Richard C. Turner, Atty. Gen., Henry L. Holst, Special Asst. Atty. Gen., and Robert T. Lego, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellant.

Bennett A. Webster, Des Moines, for appellee.

BECKER, Justice.

Plaintiff Railroad sought and received a temporary injunction to enjoin the Highway Commission from proceeding with condemnation action against plaintiff to acquire certain highway rights across plaintiff's railroad tracks in Scott County. The temporary injunction was granted. Upon proper application this court granted leave to appeal from the interlocutory order granting a temporary injunction. After due consideration of the issues presented, we affirm.

The dispute is over which of two statutory procedures is proper at this time. Proposed I--280 is to be a limited access highway in Scott County. The Highway Commission proceeded to acquire its right of way under chapter 306A, Code of Iowa, 1966. It contends acquisition of a right to go over or under a railroad is exclusively controlled by section 306A.10. ¹ The railroad relies on sections 478.21 to 478.23. ²

Due to the nature of the terrain, the plans call for the highway to pass under the railroad at the location in question. This deviation from the normal pattern has caused the present litigation.

The parties managed to agree on all matters save one; namely who is to own and maintain the new railroad bridge once it is built. Both sides agree on all necessary technical and engineering plans. By agreement construction is going ahead despite this litigation and the full cost of building a railroad bridge will be borne by the Highway Commission. The railroad does not claim damages for the taking of its rights if maintenance is to be borne by the Highway Commission. But the railroad contends it does not presently need and does not want a bridge at the proposed site. Therefore it objects to being saddled with the repair, maintenance and risk of loss attendant on the upkeep and ownership of this new structure.

The railroad took the controversy to the Commerce Commission under authority of sections 478.22 et seq. A few days later the Highway Commission started condemnation proceedings as provided in section 306A.10. Thereupon the railroad sought an injunction against continuation of the condemnation proceedings until the controversy before the Commerce Commission could be decided. The trial court held a determination of the Commerce Commission controversy involved the same substantive rights as the condemnation proceedings and granted the injunction. We hold the injunction was properly granted.

I. We do not pass on the merits of this controversy; i.e., who is to maintain the bridge or what, if any, damages are due the railroad. The sole question before us is whether it was proper to enjoin further action under the attempted condemnation proceedings.

II. Several well recognized rules apply. Statutes relating to the same subject matter or closely allied subjects are 'in pari materia'. They are to be construed together in light of their common purpose and intent so as to give meaning and effect to all of them. They should be construed so as to produce a harmonious legislative system if that can be done. Each statute should be afforded a field of operation. Thus, repeal of a statute by implication is not favored and will not be upheld unless absolutely necessary. Northwestern Bell Tel. Co. v. Hawkeye State Tel. Co., 165 N.W.2d 771, 774 (Iowa 1969).

If statutes are in conflict special statutes take precedence over general statutes. Warren v. Iowa State Highway Comm., 250 Iowa 473, 93 N.W.2d 60 (1959). When authority is delegated to an administrative body such authority is primary and exclusive unless a contrary intent is clearly manifested by the legislature. Elk Run Telephone Co. v. General Telephone Co., 160 N.W.2d 311, 315 (Iowa 1968).

III. The Highway Commission contends chapter 306A gives it sole and exclusive jurisdiction over construction and maintenance of controlled access highways. It argues chapter 306A is in irreconcilable conflict with section 478.21 et seq. and the latter sections are entirely inoperative as applied to the present controversy. We cannot agree.

In Iowa P. & L. Co. v. Iowa State Hgwy. Comm., 254 Iowa 534, 117 N.W.2d 425 (1962), we recognized that chapter 306A, especially section 306A.3, gives the Highway Commission a very broad power to 'plan, designate, establish, regulate, vacate, alter, improve, maintain, and provide controlled access facilities'. We held this broad power, coupled with the powers granted in sections 306A.10 et seq. repealed by implications the sections of chapter 489 which gave the Commerce Commission power to grant franchises to maintain power lines along limited access highways. However, in this case we are dealing with different code sections, with different and more limited authority, and with a different legislative history. Cf. Division V., infra.

Section 306A.10 is especially significant. Admittedly this section outlines a broad authority over 'relocation or removal of any utility facility now located in, over, along, or under any highway or street'. These sections do not refer to railroad crossing problems. Such problems are specifically treated at sections 478.22 et seq. The same session of the legislature that adopted 306A.10 and 306A.12 (1959 Acts of the 58th General Assembly, chapter 205) also amended section 478.23 (1959, Acts of the 58th G.A., chapter 320) by adding the present last sentence thereto. This sentence refers to standards adopted for similar purposes by the United States Bureau of Public Roads under the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1944. Section 306A.12 also refers to the Federal Aid Highway Act in that it prohibits reimbursement for relocation or removal unless 90 percent of the cost be provided by federal aid.

Thus the legislature at the same session gave broad powers over limited access highway construction and maintenance to the Highway Commission; left the Commerce Commission's authority over railroad crossings intact; but added a new standard to the Commerce Commission's authority. This standard related to the federally aided highways program which is recognized in both statutes.

We conclude the legislature intended to preserve in the Commerce Commission the jurisdiction and authority to determine controversies between railroads on the one hand and highway authorities on the other when the narrow purpose of the controversy deals with Railroad crossings.

IV. Both sets of statutes are special in nature. Each refers to specific situations. As between the two sets, sections 478.22--24 are the more specific, dealing as they do only with railroad crossing situations. Sections 306A.10 et seq. deal with all enumerated utility uses located in, over, along or under any highway. Under the familiar rule cited above, the Commerce Commission authority, being the more specific, takes precedence over the Highway Commission authority, which is more general in nature.

V. The Highway Commission relies heavily on Iowa P. & L. Co. v. Iowa State Highway Comm., supra. We think the case is not factually similar. There the Commerce Commission had authorized the power company to maintain lines along a limited access highway contrary to the Highway Commission's order and wishes. Chapter 489 gives the Commerce Commission power to grant franchises for erection, maintenance and operation of transmission lines over, along and across any public highway outside of cities or towns. We said, 'There is no question but that this chapter governs the present situation unless the provisions have been superseded by chapter 306A.' We held chapter 489 was general in nature, prior in time and in irreconcilable conflict with the provisions of chapter 306A. Special emphasis was put on the enactment of 306A.10 which gave the Highway Commission the right to relocate or remove existing facilities.

The difference between the case cited and this case lies both in the facts presented and the statutes construed. In the Iowa P. & L. Co. v. Iowa State Highway Comm., case the claim was to use the area Along the length of the highway right of way, not across it. It was in fact a Use of the highway for right of way purposes rather than a mere necessary crossing.

More important, the statute relied upon was general in nature and did not deal with a precise situation to the apparent exclusion of chapter 306A.

What the case does stand for is that if the legislature had evidenced an intent to make the Highway Commission's power subject to that of the Commerce Commission, it could do so by appropriate language.

Here we have the opposite situation. The legislative action in amending, rather than repealing section 478.23 and in relating the amendment to the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1944 evidenced an intent to maintain in the Commerce Commission the decisional process as to controversies concerning railroads vis-a-vis highways where the two must cross.

VI. We have carefully considered the Highway Commission's argument urging us to hold sections 478.21 et seq. do not apply to New highway crossings. The thrust of the argument seeks to curtail the power of the Commerce Commission and enlarge the power of the Highway Commission. In the area of railroad crossing controversies we do not so read the statute. The purpose of the statutes seems to be to provide an independent expert administrative forum to resolve the technical difficulties and allocate costs due to the competing interest of two major means of transportation; one owned by the public utility railroad and the other owned by the State itself.

The Highway Commission's argument is based...