National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Boston and Maine Corporation Interstate Commerce Commission v. Boston and Maine Corporation

Decision Date25 March 1992
Docket Number90-1769,Nos. 90-1419,s. 90-1419
PartiesNATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORPORATION, et al., Petitioners, v. BOSTON AND MAINE CORPORATION, et al. INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION and United States, Petitioners v. BOSTON AND MAINE CORPORATION, et al
CourtU.S. Supreme Court
Syllabus

The Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 (RPSA) created petitioner National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), a private corporation, to provide intercity and commuter rail passenger service. The Act permits Amtrak to enter into "trackage rights" agreements to use tracks owned and used by freight railroads, 45 U.S.C. § 562(a); and allows Amtrak to ask petitioner Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to condemn railroad property "required for intercity rail passenger service" if Amtrak and the railroad cannot agree upon sale terms, § 562(d). For purposes of the ICC's condemnation order, Amtrak's "need for the property" "shall be deemed to be established" unless the conveyance will significantly impair the railroad's ability to carry out its obligations as a common carrier and unless Amtrak's obligations can adequately be met by the acquisition of alternative property. Ibid. Amtrak had a trackage rights agreement with respondent Boston and Maine Corporation (B & M) to operate its "Montrealer" train between Washington, D.C., and Montreal. Amtrak claims it was forced to discontinue this service because of B & M's poor maintenance of its track segment. Subsequently, Amtrak entered into an agreement with petitioner Central Vermont Railroad (CV) which provided that, among other things, Amtrak would acquire the B & M track and reconvey it to CV, and CV would grant trackage rights to Amtrak and usage rights to B & M. When B & M did not accept Amtrak's purchase offer for the track, Amtrak sought and received an ICC order compelling conveyance for just compensation. The ICC found, among other things, that § 562(d) created a statutory presumption of Amtrak's need for the track, which B & M failed to rebut. The Court of Appeals remanded the case for further proceedings, concluding that, because Amtrak did not intend to retain the track, it needed only its use, not its ownership. While petitions for rehearing were pending, § 562(d) was amended to allow Amtrak to subsequently convey title to acquired property to a third party if the ICC finds the reconveyance furthers the RPSA's purposes. Nonetheless, the court denied rehearing, holding that the condemnation was not valid because the property was not "required for intercity rail passenger service."

Held:

1. The ICC's decision was based on a reasonable interpretation and application of § 562(d). Pp. 417-424.

(a) The ICC's interpretation of the word "required" is due deference as a reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous term in a statute that the ICC administers. See, e.g., Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694. The existence of alternative dictionary definitions for "required" indicates that the statute is open to interpretation. The ICC's interpretation gives effect to § 562(d)'s presumption of need. In contrast, the Court of Appeals' view—that "required" establishes a separate condition that Amtrak's condemnation authority is limited to property that is indispensable to its operations—is in clear tension with the presumption. In addition, § 562(d)'s amendment confirms the ICC's definition, while the Court of Appeals' strict rule would make the amendment superfluous by barring condemnation whenever Amtrak's purpose is to reconvey property. Pp. 417-420.

(b) The ICC was not required to make specific findings regarding Amtrak's actual need for the condemnation because its oversight responsibility is limited to ensuring that condemned property will be used in Amtrak's rail operations. The statute's structure and its presumption of need create a strong inference that it authorizes Amtrak to make a reasonable business judgment that condemnation is advisable, unless the statutory presumption is rebutted. P. 420-421.[[SC2Q!]] (c) B & M's several arguments against the ICC's interpretation are rejected. The eminent domain power has been given to the ICC, not a private entity, and thus is not limited as suggested by cases such as United States v. Carmack, 329 U.S. 230, 243, n. 13, 67 S.Ct. 252, 258, n. 13, 91 L.Ed. 209. Furthermore, this case turns on the need for deference to the agency, not to Amtrak. The ICC's interpretation of § 562(d) also did not violate the "public use" requirement of the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause, since the agency's determination that the condemnation will serve a public purpose by facilitating Amtrak's rail service was not irrational. See, e.g., Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229, 240-241, 104 S.Ct. 2321, 2329-2330, 81 L.Ed.2d 186. Moreover, the agency did not err in concluding that the statutory prerequisite that the parties were "unable to agree upon terms for the sale" mandated nothing more than a factual determination that they would be unable to reach agreement through further negotiations. Nor did it make inadequate factual findings in concluding that B & M had not rebutted the presumption of need. The ICC was not unreasonable in consid- ering the effect of trackage rights and the just compensation award in assessing whether the conveyance would significantly impair B & M's ability to carry out its obligations, or in interpreting the availability-of-alternative-property provision as referring only to whether Amtrak could provide service using an alternative route, not whether a lesser interest in property would suffice to meet Amtrak's needs. Pp. 421-424.

2. The parties' challenges to the ICC's just compensation finding as well as certain other issues should be resolved on remand. P. 424.

286 U.S.App.D.C. 1, 911 F.2d 743 (1990), reversed and remanded.

KENNEDY, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which REHNQUIST, C.J., and STEVENS, O'CONNOR, SCALIA, and SOUTER, JJ., joined.

WHITE, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BLACKMUN and THOMAS, JJ., joined.

John G. Roberts, Jr., Washington, D.C., for petitioners.

Irwin Goldbloom, Washington, D.C., for respondents.

Justice KENNEDY delivered the opinion of the Court.

The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) issued an order, upon the request of petitioner National Railroad Passenger Corporation, requiring conveyance of 48.8 miles of railroad track from respondent Boston and Maine Corporation (B & M) to the Corporation. In these consolidated cases we must decide whether the ICC's decision was based on a reasonable interpretation and application of § 402(d) of the Rail Passenger Service Act, 45 U.S.C. § 562(d), the statute the Corporation invoked in the proceeding. We hold the ICC's decision is authorized by the statute, and so reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which set aside the agency's action.

I

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, or Amtrak, is a private, for-profit corporation created by Congress in the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 (RPSA), Pub.L. 91-518, 84 Stat. 1328, 45 U.S.C. § 501 et seq. The purpose of Amtrak is to provide modern and efficient intercity and commuter rail passenger service. §§ 501, 541. Amtrak is not an agency or instrumentality of the United States Government, § 541, but it has been supported over the years by congressional appropriations. Most of Amtrak's passenger trains run over existing track systems owned and used by freight railroads. In the RPSA Congress authorized Amtrak to enter into "trackage rights" agreements which would allow Amtrak to use those tracks. When Amtrak and a freight railroad are unable to agree on the terms of such an agreement, Amtrak may request the ICC to order the track to be provided on reasonable terms. § 562(a).

In 1973 Congress amended the RPSA to add subsection (d) of § 402, 45 U.S.C. § 562(d). Section 562(d) provides in pertinent part:

"(1) If the Corporation [Amtrak] and a railroad are unable to agree upon terms for the sale to the Corporation of property (including interests in property) owned by the railroad and required for intercity rail passenger service, the Corporation may apply to the Commission [ICC] for an order establishing the need of the Corporation for the property at issue and requiring the conveyance thereof from the railroad to the Corporation on reasonable terms and conditions, including just compensation. Unless the Commission finds that—

"(A) conveyance of the property to the Corporation would significantly impair the ability of the railroad to carry out its obligations as a common carrier; and

"(B) the obligations of the Corporation to provide modern, efficient, and economical rail passenger service can adequately be met by the acquisition of alternative property (including interests in property) which is available for sale on reasonable terms to the Corporation, or available to the Corporation by the exercise of its authority under section 545(d) of this title,

"the need of the Corporation for the property shall be deemed to be established and the Commission shall order the conveyance of the property to the Corporation on such reasonable terms and conditions as it may prescribe, including just compensation."

Amtrak may condemn nonrail property under a somewhat similar provision, § 545(d), a statute not at issue here.

The Amtrak train the "Montrealer" began offering passenger service between Washington, D.C. and Montreal in 1972. In parts of Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire the train used the tracks of the Connecticut River Line (Conn River Line), portions of which are owned by B & M and other portions by the Central Vermont Railroad (CV). B & M and CV have operated freight trains on the Conn River Line under reciprocal trackage rights agreements dating back to 1930.

In 1977 Amtrak entered into a trackage...

To continue reading

Request your trial
262 cases
  • State of SD, Dept. of Social Services v. Madigan
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of South Dakota
    • 12 Mayo 1993
    ...The court owes some deference to an agency's reasonable interpretation of a statute. Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Boston & Maine Corp., ___ U.S. ___, ___, 112 S.Ct. 1394, 1401, 118 L.Ed.2d 52, 65 (1992); Beef Nebraska, Inc. v. United States, 807 F.2d 712, 716 (8th Cir.1986). Yet, "the judi......
  • Magnin v. Beeler, Civil Action No. 98-5842 (D. N.J. 8/25/2000)
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey
    • 25 Agosto 2000
    ...regulation based upon an impermissible construction of the statute. See National R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Boston & Maine Corp., 503 U.S. 407, 417, 112 S.Ct. 1394, 1401, 118 L.Ed.2d 52 (1992); see also Fowler v. United States Parole Comm'n, 94 F.3d 835, 841 (3d Cir. Agency "Program Statements......
  • Mineral Policy Center v. Norton, Civil Action 01-00073 (HHK) (D. D.C. 11/18/2003)
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Columbia
    • 18 Noviembre 2003
    ...See Christensen, 529 U.S. at 587; Shalala v. III. Council on Long Term Care, Inc., 529 U.S. 1, 19 (2000); Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Boston & Maine Corp., 503 U.S. 407, 417 (1992) ("Judicial deference to reasonable interpretations by an agency of a statute that it administers is a domina......
  • Clinton Nurseries, Inc. v. Harrington (In re Clinton Nurseries, Inc.)
    • United States
    • U.S. Bankruptcy Court — District of Connecticut
    • 28 Agosto 2019
    ..."alternative interpretations are as old as the jurisprudence of [the Supreme] Court." Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Bos. & Me. Corp. , 503 U.S. 407, 419, 112 S.Ct. 1394, 118 L.Ed.2d 52 (1992) (citing McCulloch v. Maryland , 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316, 413, 4 L.Ed. 579 (1819) ). The Court, there......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
9 books & journal articles
  • Depoliticizing Judicial Review of Agency Rulemaking
    • United States
    • University of Washington School of Law University of Washington Law Review No. 84-3, March 2015
    • Invalid date
    ...arguably the two cases can be distinguished on that ground."). 159. Compare Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Boston and Me. Corp., 503 U.S. 407, 418-20 (1992) (deferring to the agency under Chevron), with id. at 425-27 (White, J., dissenting) (arguing that the agency action was invalid under S......
  • The Importance of Negotiated Rulemaking to the No Child Left Behind Act
    • United States
    • University of Nebraska - Lincoln Nebraska Law Review No. 85, 2021
    • Invalid date
    ...competing ones, there is little, if any, reason not to defer to its construction."); Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Boston and Me. Corp., 503 U.S. 407, 417 (1992) ("Judicial deference to reasonable interpretations by an agency of a statute that it administers is a dominant, well-settled prin......
  • Trouble in Fort Trumbull: Using Eminent Domain for Economic Development in Kelo v. City of New London
    • United States
    • University of Nebraska - Lincoln Nebraska Law Review No. 85, 2021
    • Invalid date
    ...III.B. 15. 684 N.W.2d 765 (Mich. 2004). 16. U.S. CONST. amend. V. 17. See, e.g., Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Boston and Me. Corp., 503 U.S. 407 (1992) (affirming condemnation of almost fifty miles of railroad track along with a subsequent conveyance to Amtrak); Old Dominion Land Co. v. Un......
  • THE OPENING OF A PANDORA'S BOX: HOW SPORTS TEAMS EXPLOIT THE BROAD READING OF KELO TO DEVELOP SPORTS STADIUMS.
    • United States
    • 1 Diciembre 2020
    ...as with a railroad, a public utility, or a stadium. See, e.g., National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Boston & Maine Corp., 503 U.S. 407, 118 L. Ed. 2d 52, 112 S. Ct. 1394 (1992); Mt. Vernon-Woodberry Cotton Duck Co. v. Alabama Interstate Power Co., 240 U.S. 30, 60 L. Ed. 507, 36 S.......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT