Southern Pac. Co. v. Louisiana Public Service Commission

• Decision Date: 05 May 1969
• Docket Number: No. 49519,49519
• Citation: 222 So.2d 499,254 La. 23
• Parties: SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY v. LOUISIANA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION et al.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 499

222 So.2d 499

254 La. 23

SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY v. LOUISIANA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION et al.

No. 49519.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

May 5, 1969.

Joseph H. Kavanaugh, Baton Rouge, for defendants-appellants.

Chaffe, McCall, Phillips, Burke, Toler & Sarpy, Harry McCall, Jr., New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellee.

HAMLIN, Justice.

The Louisiana Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) appeals suspensively to this Court from a judgment of the district court which annulled and set aside Order No. 9928 of the Commission and directed the Commission to issue its order to Southern Pacific Company (hereinafter referred to as Southern Pacific) authorizing the closing of its agency station at Carencro, Louisiana.¹

Southern Pacific filed an application with the Commission on June 28, 1966, in which it alleged, 'Petitioner accordingly desires to discontinue its agency at Carencro. If this is done, there will be no difference in handling of less than carload freight and no change in physical handling of carload shipments, except shippers order notify and collect, which can and would be satisfactorily handled by the agency at Lafayette, at which point petitioner will accept long distance telephone calls made from Carencro on business that may originate there.' Southern Pacific further alleged that the station was being operated at a loss, and that the volume of business being handled did not justify its continued operation at Carencro.

On October 26, 1967, the Commission issued Order No. 9928 (one Commissioner dissented) which denied Southern Pacific's application. The Order stated, 'The matter was finally considered at a Business and Executive Session of the Commission on October 20, 1967, and, upon the record, it is the Commission's opinion that the public convenience and necessity require the maintenance of the agency station at Carencro, La. * * * ' Rehearing was refused on November 29, 1967.

The present petition, praying for reversal of the Commission's Order No. 9928 and the granting of plaintiff's application to discontinue operation of its agency at Carencro, Louisiana, was filed in the district court on December 29, 1967. LSA-R.S. 45:1192; Art. VI, Sec. 5, La.Const. of 1921.

We have read the testimony offered to the Commission and submitted to the district court, and we find that in his reasons for judgment the district judge correctly summarized it as follows:

'* * * A noticeable feature of a study of the record is the high esteem and regard the business men and patrons of the railroad hold for the lady agent at Carencro--she has, indeed, sold the railroad's business to the public and she undoubtedly is a good liason agent for the railroad. * * * Mr. Phil Boudreaux of Houston, Texas, Special Representative of plaintiff railroad for 25 years, testified that the railroad operated this station at a financial loss and that as disclosed by plaintiff's documentary offering A--1, to close the station would save the railroad $7,500.00 annually. * * *

'Mr. Robert Doucet, Division Agent for plaintiff, testified that the Lafayette office remains open 24 hours--7 days a week and that this office could render as good or better service to the patrons at Carencro by telephone, collect, than the agent at Carencro could possibly render. * * *

'Mr. Elroy J. LeBlanc, District Sales Manager for plaintiff, testified that the Southern Pacific Transport Company is a contractual agent (a trucking line) for the railroad to handle their LTL and truck load freight. Mr. LeBlanc testified on Page 37 of the transcript as follows:

"I think we are in a position to give you a very good LTL service, truckload service, for both transport and rail and to perform any of the necessary side services that go with the pick up and delivery of the freight. I see no reason why the discontinuance of an agency for the railroad at Carencro would have any effect whatsoever upon your receipt or forwarding of LTL or truckload freight.'

'Mr. Lester Tisdale testified for opponents to closing the station. Mr. Tisdale lives in Carencro and represents the Triple A Brick Company in Lafayette. Mr. Tisdale testified he does not believe Lafayette can and will give the service that Carencro gives. * * *

'Mr. Charles Kidder lives at Carencro, is manager and president of Lafayette Co-op. Mr. Kidder testified that he likes the Southern Pacific and gets good service from them and hates to see the station go. He testified that their business is growing and that that three years ago they did $270,000.00 worth of business while in 1966 they did $435,000.00 and in 1967 and 1968 $480,000.00. He testified all their feed comes to Carencro by rail and that the shippers' relations with the railroad company are excellent. * * *

'There were several other residents of Carencro who testified as to their opposition on general grounds to closing the station. The Mayor of the town testified against the closing and there was introduced into evidence a resolution by the Police Jury of this Parish and the Town Council of Carencro opposing the closing of the station.

'It was testified by plaintiff's witnesses and introduced in documentary offerings A--1 and A--2 that from April, 1965 through March, 1966 the net revenue realized from the operation of the station was $1,391.94 and that from June, 1966 to May, 1967 the net loss from the operation of the station was $3,421.81. Plaintiff's witnesses testified that Carencro was served by the Southern Pacific Transport Company as well as several other truck lines and that in the event this agency station is closed, that the patrons at Carencro would be served by the Lafayette office 7...