St Louis Southwestern Ry Co v. Missouri Pac Co

• Decision Date: 27 March 1933
• Docket Number: No. 364,364
• Citation: 53 S.Ct. 516,77 L.Ed. 1042,289 U.S. 76
• Parties: ST. LOUIS SOUTHWESTERN RY. CO. v. MISSOURI PAC. R. CO
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

289 U.S. 76

53 S.Ct. 516

77 L.Ed. 1042

ST. LOUIS SOUTHWESTERN RY. CO.

v MISSOURI PAC. R. CO.

No. 364.

Argued Jan. 18, 1933.

Decided March 27, 1933.

Mr. Harold R. Small, of St. Louis, Mo., for petitioner.

Mr. Robert E. Wiley, of Little Rock, Ark., for respondent.

Mr. Justice BRANDEIS delivered the opinion of the Court.

The Constitution of Arkansas, article 17, § 1, declares: 'Every railroad company shall have the right with its road to intersect, connect with, or cross any other road.' A statute provides that the railroad commission 'shall have exclusive power to determine and prescribe the manner, including the particular point of crossing and the terms of installation, operation, maintenance, apportionment of expenses, use and protection of each crossing of one railroad by another railroad. * * *' Act April 1, 1919, No. 571, pp. 411, 419, § 9, Crawford & Moses' Digest, § 1643.

Proceeding under that statute, without first obtaining from the Interstate Commerce Commission a certificate of public convenience and necessity under paragraph 18 of section 1 of the Interstate Commerce Act as amended by Transportation Act 1920,¹ the Missouri Pacific Railroad applied to the Arkansas commission for a crossing with an industrial track of a spur of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway at grade, at a point in North Little Rock—the crossing to be constructed at the applicant's expense and in accordance 'with the terms of installation, operation, maintenance and protection of such crossing as may be fixed by' the commission. At the hearing thereon the St. Louis Southwestern appeared in opposition; but it filed no pleading and made no statement as to the ground of its opposition.

Both companies are interstate carriers. The record of the proceedings before the Arkansas commission occupies 82 pages of the printed record. But there is in it nothing which indicates that either party had then in mind any question arising under the Interstate Commerce Act. The application to the Arkansas commission alleged that the Missouri Pacific hauls over its extensive system most of the traffic to and from the plant of the Dixie Cotton Oil Mills at North Little Rock; that in order to handle this traffic, cars must now be switched from or to its lines for a distance of 500 feet over tracks of the St. Louis Southwestern; that if the Missouri Pacific were enabled to reach the plant wholly over its own lines, operations would be facilitated; that to this end it had arranged to build to the plant a spur 5,460 feet long; and that to make this connection with its main line the crossing is necessary. At the opening of the hearing, counsel for the Missouri Pacific asked leave to amend the application by alleging that the proposed industrial track would be 'an industrial lead throughout its entire length, for the service of the public generally, and operation and serving of industries that may be located in this new territory'—that is, an industrial track from which switches would lead to new industries that might be located there.

The St. Louis Southwestern objected to the allowance of the amendment; its objection was sustained by the commission; and its counsel stated that the introduction of any evidence of the purpose to make the track an industrial lead would be objected to. But as the hearing proceeded there was evidence (brought out largely through the cross-examination by the St. Louis Southwestern's counsel) that it was the hope of the Missouri Pacific that the proposed track would ultimately be used as an industrial lead track. The Arkansas commission denied the Missouri Pacific's application to fix the place and manner of the crossing. Why it did so does not appear. It rendered no opinion; and its order stated merely that 'having heard all the evidence' and 'after having made a personal inspection of all the physical properties described in the petition and involved in this proceeding (the commission) is of the opinion that said application should be denied.' A rehearing sought was also denied without opinion or other indication of the reason for the commission's action.

From the order, and upon the record made before the commission, the Missouri Pacific appealed to the circuit court of Pulaski county. Act of February 15, 1921, No. 124, p. 177, § 20; Crawford & Moses' Digest (Castle's 1927 Supp.), § 8417z3. There, the St. Louis Southwestern set up, by requests for findings and rulings, several objections to the granting of the application. Among them, was a request to find that the proposed track of the Missouri Pacific was an extension of its lines into new territory, as distinguished from a spur to an industry; and to rule that, for this reason, the track could not be lawfully built or used without first procuring from the Interstate Commerce Commission a certificate of public convenience and necessity. The circuit court refused to make the finding and ruling requested; held that the Missouri Pacific was entitled to the crossing as prayed for; and directed the commission to take action accordingly. The St. Louis Southwestern then appealed to the Supreme Court of Arkansas; and, besides a claim based wholly on the state law, insisted that the Arkansas commission was without power to fix the point and manner of crossing, since no certificate of public convenience and necessity had been secured from the Interstate Commerce Commission. That court, in affirming the judgment, held specifically that the proposed track was a spur located wholly in the state of Arkansas, within the meaning of paragraph 22 of section 1 of the Interstate Commerce Act,² and so not subject to the requirement of a certificate from the federal commission. 185 Ark. 824, 49 S.W.(2d) 1054. Because of the decision of that federal question certiorari was granted. 287 U.S. 589, 53 S.Ct. 95, 77 L.Ed. —-.

The St. Louis Southwestern asks us to reverse the judgment on the ground that upon the evidence introduced before the Arkansas commission the proposed track should be held to be an extension of the Missouri Pacific's line into new territory, within the meaning of paragraph 18, as applied in Texas Pacific R.R. Co. v. Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe R.R. Co., 270 U.S. 266, 46 S.Ct. 263, 70 L.Ed. 578. The Missouri Pacific insists that its right to the crossing cannot be questioned in this proceeding, which is limited to fixing the place and manner of the crossing; that under the state practice its right to a crossing could be challenged only by an independent suit, a bill in equity; that, in any event, the judgment should be affirmed, because, if the character of the proposed track is relevant in this enquiry, the Supreme Court properly held it to be a spur; and that since it is located wholly within the state of Arkansas, the Interstate Commerce Commission had no authority over its construction.

The Supreme Court of Arkansas (185 Ark. 824, 49 S.W.(2d) 1054, 1055) stated in its opinion the contentions of the St. Louis Southwestern and then proceeded to answer them. The contentions stated were that 'the circuit court erred in directing the commission to fix the point and manner of crossing, because, first, under the statute it has no authority to act until appellee acquires the right of way by condemnation proceedings and, second, until it obtains a certificate of convenience and necessity for the crossing from the Interstate Commerce Commission.' That court's answers to the contentions were: First, that the right to the crossing exists under the state constitution and that 'the orderly way would be to first fix the place and manner of crossing, and then proceed in the proper tribunal to condemn the land needed to effect the crossing at the place fixed or designated.' Second, that upon the evidence the proposed track, which is located wholly within Arkansas, is a spur; and being so, it was unnecessary to secure the certificate from the Interstate Commerce Commission. Thus, the Arkansas court decided the case by determining the character of the proposed track, without expressly passing upon, or so far as appears considering, the question whether that federal issue was relevant in the proceeding under review.

We think that it was not relevant. If the proposed track is believed to be an extension, the remedy is not by way of defense to an application to fix the place and manner of the crossing. The statute of Arkansas which confers upon the railroad commission...