Lytle v. Galveston, H. & S. A. Ry. Co.

• Decision Date: 23 January 1907
• Parties: LYTLE et al. v. GALVESTON, H. & S. A. RY. CO. et al.
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

Page 396

99 S.W. 396

LYTLE et al. v. GALVESTON, H. & S. A. RY. CO. et al.

Supreme Court of Texas.

January 23, 1907.

Certified Questions from Court of Civil Appeals of Fourth Supreme Judicial District.

Action by the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway Company and others against W. J. Lytle and others. There was a decree for plaintiffs. Questions certified to the Supreme Court by the Court of Civil Appeals. Questions answered.

See 90 S. W. 316.

W. H. Lipscomb, Walter P. Napier, Wm. Aubrey, and R. B. Minor, for appellants. Frank H. Wash, Wm. H. Burges, and W. A. Hawkins, for appellees.

GAINES, C. J.

The questions as shown by the following certificate have been referred to us by the Court of Civil Appeals for the Fourth Supreme Judicial District for our determination: "The appellees herein, five railway companies, applied to the district court of the Thirty-Seventh Judicial District of Texas in and for Bexar county for an injunction to perpetually restrain nine men, the appellees, their agents, servants, employés, and representatives `from either directly or indirectly having any connection for themselves or in behalf of others, by selling, exchanging, or in any way dealing in, or soliciting the purchase or sale of the right to travel upon any of plaintiffs' lines of railroad, or the return coupon or the unused portion thereof issued by plaintiff railroads, or either of them, or by any other railroad, if for use over plaintiffs' lines of railway, or any part of them, which, by the term thereof, are printed, marked, written, or stamped, or marked in any manner upon any portion thereof "Nontransferable" or equivalent words, or from soliciting, devising, encouraging, or procuring any person or persons other than the original purchaser or holder thereof to use or attempt to use the same or any part thereof for passage on any train or trains of plaintiff railroads, or either of them, especially nontransferable passes, one way trip passes, and nontransferable passes of every kind and character, all nontransferable advertising contracts of transportation, all nontransferable homeseeker's tickets, tourist tickets, commutation tickets, mileage tickets, San Antonio Carnival, Battle of Flowers or San Jacinto Day tickets Rough Riders' Reunion tickets, and all other nontransferable tickets, whether sold for any special occasion or not, reading over any of plaintiffs' lines, or either of them, or any part thereof.'

"The substantial allegations are stated as follows, in the brief of appellants and agreed to by appellees: `That appellees were railway corporations whose lines covered practically the state of Texas, and by connecting lines reached all the railroad stations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and transported, and would continue to transport, large numbers of passengers to all points in Texas as well as to foreign countries. That at the request of various associations and various citizens of San Antonio, appellees made special low rates, varying from 1½ to 2 cents per mile to and from San Antonio, for the Spring Carnival and other occasions in that city and elsewhere, and purposes to continue to do so in the future. That said special rates were, and would be, evidenced by tickets issued to the original purchasers thereof only and marked, stamped, written, or printed "nontransferable,"or some equivalent words, upon some portion of such tickets, and that appellees had issued, and would thereafter frequently issue, annual and trip passes, advertising tickets, or contracts printed in the same mode, and, like many of said tickets, requiring the signatures of the persons to whom the same were originally issued and to be used alone by such persons. That one of the purposes and and objects of the original contracting parties, and the effect of the issuance and entering into the contracts, tickets, and other evidences of the right to transportation the selling and dealing in which is sought to be enjoined, are to maintain and affect the regular rate of 3 cents per mile for regular passenger transportation on other character of tickets. That appellants are engaged in, and advertise themselves as, buying, selling, exchanging, and otherwise dealing in railroad tickets, passes, advertising contracts, and all kinds of railroad transportation, including said "nontransferable" tickets, thereby causing persons other than the original purchasers or holders of said tickets, etc., to personate such original purchasers, etc., and use said tickets, etc., for transportation and threaten to continue to do so. That none of appellants are the agents of appellees or hold certificates of authority from them to sell tickets or are authorized to act as appellees' agents in buying, etc., said tickets over appellees' lines. That said defendants have been joined herein because their business transactions complained of are, in fact, purpose and effect, identical, and, in order to prevent a multiplicity of suits, the relief sought being in behalf of all plaintiffs and against all of said defendants.' It was also alleged that the acts of appellants in the premises, besides being productive of innumerable annoyances and manifold grievances to the traveling public, circumstantially and clearly set forth by the pleader, caused, and would cause, great injury and damage to the business of appellees.

"Appellants answered by general demurrer, which was overruled by the trial court, general denial, and by special pleas, whereby they alleged that the agreements between the appellees and the original purchasers evidenced by the tickets, contracts, etc., the sale of which by appellants was sought to be enjoined, were made in violation of the anti-trust legislation of the state of Texas and of the United States, were, as such, void, and that, in seeking to prevent their sale, etc., by injunction, appellees had not come into court with clean hands, etc.

"A temporary injunction was granted, which was, on final hearing, made perpetual. The decree is as follows: `That the aforenamed defendants, their agents, servants, and employés be, and the same are, forever enjoined from interfering with plaintiffs' business, by buying, selling, exchanging, or otherwise dealing in any ticket, certificate, advertising contract, or pass, or the return portions of any of said evidences of a right to transportation over the roads, or any part thereof, of any of the plaintiffs where such tickets, certificate, advertising contract, pass, or any other evidence of the right to transportation either by the terms thereof, is nontransferable, or on which is printed, marked, written, or stamped upon any portion thereof the word "nontransferable," or equivalent words. And this injunction shall apply to all classes of tickets and other evidences of the right to transportation, issued at a reduced rate, already issued, or to be issued in the future, whereon is printed, marked, written or stamped upon any portion thereof the word "nontransferable," or equivalent words, whether specially named herein or not, as well as to the following: "All nontransferable passes of every kind and character, all nontransferable advertising contracts of transportation, or nontransferable homeseekers tickets, mileage tickets, tourist tickets, commutation tickets, or San Antonio Carnival, Battle of Flowers, San Jacinto Day tickets, San Antonio International Fair tickets, Rough Riders' Reunion tickets, Immigrant or Emigrant tickets, tickets to teachers' associations and conventions, Church Conventions of all denominations, Sunday School Conventions of all denominations, Medical Associations and Conventions of all kinds and characters, meetings of all Masonic Orders, all Knights of Pythias, Elks, Woodmen of the World, Odd Fellows, Hoo Hoo or Black Cat, Knights of Columbus, and all meetings of all secret orders of all kinds and characters whether mentioned herein or not, all conventions or Builders Exchange, Federation of Woman's Clubs, Daughters of the Confederacy, Confederate Veterans, tickets to all points where are being held State and County Fairs, Live Stock Associations, Live Stock Shows, Circuses, Saengerfests, all musical and educational conventions, Labor Day Celebrations, Political Conventions, tickets for Winter tourists in Texas, Summer tourists from Texas, Christmas Holidays to Texas, Fourth of July excursions, School Conventions of all kinds and characters, tickets to places where there are theatrical entertainments, Farmers' Congresses, Land Seekers to Texas, Sheriffs' Conventions, County Judges' Conventions, District and County Clerks' Conventions, Real Estate Conventions," provided only that such tickets shall be nontransferable tickets, that is that they shall contain in the body of the ticket, or have marked, printed, written, or stamped on some portion thereof the word "nontransferable" or equivalent words. That all persons whomsoever, whether mentioned herein by name or not, who may have knowledge of this injunction, are likewise enjoined from the transactions mentioned in the preceding paragraph of this decree and shall be bound by them as fully as if mentioned by name herein.'

"The record does not contain a statement of facts.

"Question 1. Was the district court authorized to enjoin the sale of railroad tickets marked `nontransferable' which were not in existence at the time the decree was rendered, but which might be issued at some time in the future?

"Question 2. Were the agreements alleged to exist between the railroads and the various associations and citizens of San Antonio in violation of the anti-trust acts of the state of Texas and the United States, or such as would place appellees in a position where they could not invoke the aid of a court of equity in protecting such agreement?

"Question 3. If the district court had the power and authority to enjoin the sale of tickets, as attempted in the decree, would it have any binding effect on any except the...