Sanger v. Lukens
| Decision Date | 11 June 1928 |
| Docket Number | No. 5384.,5384. |
| Parties | SANGER v. LUKENS, Secretary of State of Idaho, etc. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Turner K. Hackman, of Twin Falls, Idaho, for appellant.
Frank L. Stephan, Atty. Gen., and H. O. McDougall, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Before GILBERT, RUDKIN, and DIETRICH, Circuit Judges.
The appellant, plaintiff below, is the owner of six auto trucks, which he hires for the hauling of commodities for others. The state of Idaho, through the defendant, its commissioner of law enforcement, demanded that he pay certain fees prescribed by the statutes, and otherwise comply with the requirements thereof, and he brought this suit to enjoin enforcement. Upon motion of defendant, the court below dismissed the complaint.
The statutory provisions are found in an act of the Idaho Legislature entitled "An act to regulate auto transportation companies," originally passed in 1925, and amended in 1927. Sess. Laws Idaho 1925, c. 197, and Sess. Laws Idaho 1927, c. 237. Therein and for the purpose thereof "auto transportation company" is defined as meaning every person, association, corporation, or copartnership "owning, controlling, operating or managing any motor propelled vehicle for the transportation of persons and/or property for compensation over any public highway in this state," exclusive of vehicles used in the transportation of children to and from school, railroad cars and engines moving on tracks, companies operating for the sole purpose of carrying mail and other property of the United States, and companies operating wholly within the limits of incorporated cities. By section 2 every transportation company is required to file with the commissioner of law enforcement a verified statement, containing certain information, the details of which are immaterial here. In section 3 are requirements for indemnity or liability bonds, graduated in respect of passenger vehicles to their carrying capacity, to cover loss or damage "legally imposed" upon the company, and in respect of property carriers "in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for * * * damage to property of any person other than the assured, while said property is being transported," etc.
Upon compliance with the requirements of the law the department of law enforcement issues to the company a permit to engage in the transportation of passengers or of property, as the case may be, and furnishes a set of license plates to be carried by each vehicle, bearing the permit number and the words "Idaho Insured Carrier." A fee of $10 is required for the permit and $2 for the license plates. For each property carrier, fees are required quarterly, as follows: Upon a vehicle having a rated capacity of not exceeding 1½ tons, $25; more than 1½ tons and less than 3 tons, $50; and over 3 tons, $75. All fees so collected are to be covered into the state highway fund, and by the act are appropriated to the administration of the act and for the maintenance of state highways. Penalties measurably severe are prescribed for failure to comply with the requirements of the act.
In Smallwood v. Jeter, the Supreme Court of Idaho comprehensively considered the original act of 1925, and in an elaborate decision, defining its scope, held it to be valid. Decision February 12, 1926, 42 Idaho, 169, 244 P. 149. As will be noted, however, to put it beyond the reach of the numerous assaults there made, it was thought necessary to restrict the application of the act to common carriers. Said the court: "The act therefore must be construed as not applicable to private carriers, but as regulating those who are in their nature common carriers, those who hold themselves out to the public as ready and willing to carry passengers who present themselves, or freight presented."
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