Mississippi Valley Barge Line Co. v. United States

Decision Date13 October 1933
Docket NumberNo. 10496.,10496.
Citation4 F. Supp. 745
PartiesMISSISSIPPI VALLEY BARGE LINE CO. v. UNITED STATES et al. (ILLINOIS CENT. R. CO. et al., Interveners).
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri

James R. Van Slyke, Samuel A. Mitchell, and H. L. Harvey, all of St. Louis, Mo. (Thompson, Mitchell, Thompson & Young, of St. Louis, Mo., on the brief), for petitioner.

Elmer B. Collins, Sp. Asst. to Atty. Gen. (Harold M. Stephens, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Louis H. Breuer, U. S. Atty., of Rolla, Mo., on the brief), for the United States.

H. L. Underwood, of Washington, D. C. (Daniel W. Knowlton, of Washington, D. C., on the brief), for Interstate Commerce Commission.

Horace L. Walker, of Washington, D. C., and Elmer A. Smith, of Chicago, Ill., for interveners.

SANBORN, Circuit Judge, and FARIS and DAVIS, District Judges.

While the application of the petitioner was for a preliminary injunction, it was agreed by all parties that the suit should be finally determined by the court upon the record made at the hearing.

The suit is brought by the petitioner against the United States and the Interstate Commerce Commission to enjoin orders of the Commission issued on July 3, 1933, and amended July 18, 1933, in a proceeding entitled "Investigation & Suspension Docket No. 3814, Sugar from Gulf and South Atlantic Points, Sugar Cases of 1933." 194 I. C. C. ___.

The facts out of which this controversy arises are, in substance, these:

The petitioner operates as a common carrier by water between New Orleans, La., and northern points on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, including St. Louis and Cincinnati. It has a certificate of convenience and necessity from the Interstate Commerce Commission, and it has joined with rail carriers in establishing through routes and joint rates. Its port to port rates are, of course, not subject to regulation by the Commission.

Due to the difference in rates charged by the petitioner and other barge lines and those formerly charged by the competing rail carriers, the business of transporting refined sugar from points adjacent to the lower Mississippi river was diverted from the rail carriers. In order to recover this business the competing rail carriers jointly proposed new schedules of reduced rates on sugar from New Orleans to northern points, and, in accordance with section 6 of the Interstate Commerce Act (49 USCA § 6), filed with the Commission schedules of such rates to become effective October 1, 1932. These schedules established two different sets of rates, one based upon a minimum weight of 60,000 pounds per car, and the other based upon a minimum weight of 80,000 pounds per car. To illustrate the effect of the proposed change, the old rate to Chicago from New Orleans was 56 cents a hundred pounds, and under the proposed new rates the charge was 39 cents a hundred pounds on the lesser minimum per car, and 30 cents a hundred pounds on the greater.

The Interstate Commerce Commission, under section 15 (7) of the Interstate Commerce Act (49 USCA § 15 (7)), suspended these rates pending investigation. Protests against the proposed rates were filed by the petitioner and others. After a full hearing and investigation the Commission issued its orders of July 3, 1933, and its amended orders of July 18, 1933. Thereby the Commission approved the proposed rates in so far as they were based upon the 60,000 pound minimum, but did not approve the rates based upon the 80,000 pound minimum, which it found were lower than the necessities of the situation required, and ordered a cancellation of the schedules to that extent. It observed, however, that the circumstances justified a rate on the 80,000 pound minimum four cents higher than that proposed by the railroads, and the railroads were invited to publish and to make effective such rates. Thereupon the railroads did publish and file changed schedules in accordance with the suggestion of the Commission, and such rates became effective.

The petitioner filed with the Commission a motion for a rehearing upon the grounds of changed economic conditions and the alleged failure of the Commission to give effect to the congressional mandate of section 500 of the Transportation Act of 1920 (U. S. C., title 49, § 142 49 USCA § 142), which is directed toward the encouragement of water transportation. This motion was denied. This suit to enjoin the enforcement of the orders in so far as they affect rates from New Orleans followed. It is brought under U. S. C., title 28, § 41 (28), 28 USCA § 41 (28), and is directed against the Commission and the United States in accordance with the provisions of U. S. C., title 28, § 46, 28 USCA § 46.

The petitioner complains of the Commission's orders for the following reasons:

(1) The Commission ignored the policy of Congress as stated in the Transportation Act.

(2) Its decision is unsupported by the evidence and by its findings.

(3) The Commission by its orders has permitted a combination in restraint of trade, which is contrary to the spirit of the antitrust laws.

(4) The proposed rates will result in irreparable injury and damage to the petitioner.

(5) The orders are arbitrary, discriminatory, and unduly preferential in violation of sections 2 and 3 of the Interstate Commerce Act (U. S. C., title 49, §§ 2, 3 49 USCA §§ 2, 3).

(6) The denial by the Commission of the petitioner's application for a rehearing amounted to a denial of a fair hearing.

The United States has moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that the petitioner has no standing in court because it lacks a sufficient interest in the subject-matter of the suit; that the Commission's orders are negative in form and substance and are not such orders as can be enjoined; that the petitioner's bill is without equity and discloses no grounds which entitle the petitioner to an injunction.

The Interstate Commerce Commission asserts that its findings were fully supported by the evidence submitted to it, that it acted contrary to no law or mandate of Congress, and that the petitioner has no such interest in the rates established or permitted by the orders as to enable him to maintain this suit.

The questions presented, then, are substantially these:

1. Has the petitioner such an interest in the subject-matter of the suit as entitles him to maintain it?

2. Are the orders of the Commission such as may be enjoined?

3. Do the orders of the Commission sanction a violation of the anti-trust laws, and are they for that reason void?

4. In view of the findings of the Commission and of the Congressional policy announced by the Transportation Act, are the orders complained of arbitrary and unduly discriminatory?

5. Was the petitioner denied a fair hearing?

In view of the conclusions which we have reached as to the third, fourth, and fifth questions, we feel that it is unnecessary to decide whether the petitioner has a right to maintain this suit and whether the orders of the Commission are such as may properly be enjoined. The answer to the third question is obvious. Only the United States can sue to enjoin, for an alleged violation of the anti-trust laws, a combination of common carriers subject to the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act with respect to a matter within the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission. U. S. C., title 15, § 26 (15 USCA § 26); Central Transfer Co. v. Terminal R. Ass'n of St. Louis (C. C. A. 8) 61 F.(2d) 546, 550, affirmed, 288 U. S. 469, 473,...

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7 cases
  • State of North Carolina v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of North Carolina
    • 22 Julio 1944
    ...66 App.D.C. 398, 88 F.2d 780, 784, certiorari denied 300 U.S. 684, 57 S. Ct. 754, 81 L.Ed. 886; Mississippi Valley Barge Line Co. v. United States, D.C., 4 F.Supp. 745, 748; Union Stock Yards Co. v. United States, D.C., 9 F.Supp. 864, 873; American Commission Co. v. United States, D.C., 11 ......
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    • 2 Noviembre 1951
    ...66 App.D.C. 398, 88 F.2d 780, 784, certiorari denied 300 U.S. 684, 57 S. Ct. 754, 81 L.Ed. 886; Mississippi Valley Barge Line Co. v. United States, D.C., 4 F. Supp. 745, 748; Union Stock Yards Co. of Omaha v. United States, D.C., 9 F.Supp. 864, 873; American Commission Co. v. United States,......
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    • 30 Abril 1934
    ...that the findings of the report were conclusive as to the facts, and that they were sufficient on their face to uphold the lowered rates. 4 F.Supp. 745. An appeal to this court followed. Judicial Code, § 210, 28 U.S.C. § 47a (28 USCA § 47a). The settled rule is that the findings of the Comm......
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    ...Commission, 66 App.D.C. 398 88 F.2d 780, 784, cert. denied, 300 U.S. 684 57 S.Ct. 754, 81 L.Ed. 886; Mississippi Valley Barge Line Co. v. United States, D.C. 4 F.Supp. 745, 748; Union Stock Yards Co. of Omaha v. United States, D.C. 9 F.Supp. 864, 873; American Commission Co. v. United State......
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