State Ex Rel. Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Baltimore
| Decision Date | 01 June 1915 |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | State ex rel. Public Service Commission v. Baltimore &Ohio R. R. Co. |
Section 5, of chapter 9, Acts of the Legislature, 1913, is not an invalid attempt to delegate to the Public Service Commission the power specifically limited by section 9, Article XI, of the Constitution, to the Legislature to "from time to time, pass laws, applicable to all railroad corporations in the State, establishing reasonable maximum rates of charges for the transportation of passengers and freights", etc. (p. 403).
Said section but confers upon the Public Service Commission powers of a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial nature, limited to intrastate rates, similar to those conferred by Congress upon the Interstate Commerce Commission, limited to interstate transportation, and to administer and carry into effect the general laws of the State, regulating railroads and other public service corporations, enacted in pursuance of the Constitution. (p. 404).
While it is now established law by state and federal decisions, that the making of reasonable maximum rates for general application is primarily a legislative function, it is equally settled that legislative control over railways and other public service corporations may, within constitutional limitations, be delegated to Public Service Commissions, the reason for such regulative laws being the distinction between prescribing rates generally, without complaint, controversy or investigation, and directing the observance of a particular rate or schedule after judicial or quasi-judicial investigation of its propriety. (p. 497).
Chapter 41, Acts of the Legislature, 1907, limiting railroads to the rate of two cents per mile for carrying intrastate passengers and baggage remains the paramount law, binding upon the carrier, until in the first instance upon application by the carrier, or by some one injuriously affected thereby, or upon the initiative of the Public Service Commission, such rate has been investigated by the Commission and judicially determined to be unreasonable or confiscatory as to a particular carrier, and therefore invalid, and until then or until such law has been otherwise amended or lawfully nullified, the Public Service Commission has jurisdiction, as prescribed by the act creating it, to compel observance by a carrier of such law. (p. 408).
Since the decision of this Court in Coal & Coke Railway Co. v. Conley. 67 W. Va. 129, the Act of 1913, creating the Public Service Commission, inaugurated a new system of regulating public service corporations, and that act must be read and interpreted along with chapter 41, Acts of 1907, and all other previous regulatory statutes, not repealed thereby, as in pari materia therewith, and as together constituting the law of the State regulating and controlling all public service corporations. (p. 408).
Until the Public Service Commission, pursuant to the authority conferred upon it by said act, has investigated and determined that a particular rate complained of is unreasonable, and invalid as to a particular carrier, the courts cannot interfere by injunctive process, or otherwise, to stay the hand of the Commission in the performance of its proper duties and functions. (p. 409).
Mandamus by the State, on the relation of the Public Service Commission, against the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company.
Peremptory writ awarded.
A. A. Lilly, Attorney General, Frank Lively, Assistant Attorney General, and S. B. Avis, for petitioner.
Conley & Johnson, for respondent.
By mandamus relator seeks to enforce obedience by defend- ant of its special supplemental order, of April 26, 1915, requiring it to obey, comply with, and conform to the provisions of chapter 41, Acts of the Legislature of 1907, limiting railroads "in their charges for the transportation of any person with ordinary baggage, not exceeding one hundred pounds in weight, to the sum of two cents per mile, or fractional part of a mile," etc., and prohibiting it from putting into effect its proposed increased passenger rates, fares and charges, and its proposed regulations and practices, stated and contained in certain tariffs and schedules, filed by it on April 1, 1915, and from making or putting into effect any other or different passenger rates, fares, regulations and practices, from those prescribed in said chapter, and now in practice, in so far as they relate to the transportation of persons with ordinary baggage, between points and stations within the State of West Virginia, until the 1st day of June, 1915, unless otherwise ordered by the Commission.
The order referred to was supplementary to an order entered on April 24, 1915, which was supplementary to a prior order, entered on April 20, 1915. By the first of said orders the Commission took note of the filing of said tariffs and schedules, on or prior to the 1st day of April, 1915, and of the proposal of the defendant to put them into effect May 1st, 1915, and that such passenger rates, fares and charges were in excess of those allowed by the act of 1907. And in view of said proposed changes it was considered and ordered that the Commission should enter upon a hearing or investigation concerning the propriety and lawfulness of said new tariffs and schedules, and being of opinion that the defendant should obey and comply with the provisions of said act until the Commission should have heard, investigated and finally determined the propriety of said increases, and the lawfulness of the proposed passenger rates, fares, charges and regulations, it was ordered that defendant be forthwith served with a copy of said order, and that it be required to appear before said Public Service Commission on April 24, 1915, and then and there present for consideration any reasons it might desire to present why it should not obey said statute, and why it should not be prohibited from putting into effect such pro- posed increased passenger rates, fares, etc., for a reasonable time, until the Commission should have heard, investigated and finally determined the propriety thereof.
On the day so appointed the defendant entered a special appearance, solely and only for the purpose of objecting to any further proceeding or action on the part of the commission in respect of or in relation to the matters referred to, and filed a statement in writing setting out the grounds of its objection to the jurisdiction of the Commission of the matters and things under investigation and hearing. On consideration whereof, the Commission was of opinion and so ordered, that the grounds of objection were not sufficient, and that it had jurisdiction of the matters therein referred to, and that said special appearance be rejected. Thereupon, on request of the counsel for defendant, additional time was given until April 26, 1915, to enable it to determine what further appearance, if any, it should make in said investigation and hearing, and on the day to which said hearing was continued, defendant failing to enter any further appearance, the second supplemental order, of April 26, 1915, was duly entered.
By respondent's special appearance, on April 24, 1915, jurisdiction was challenged upon the following grounds: "First: That relator was without lawful power or authority, (a) to make any order affecting passenger rates, (b) to require appearance by respondent, (c) to require respondent to present reasons why it should not obey or comply with the provisions of chapter 41, of the Acts of 1907, or (d) to make any order prohibiting respondent from putting into effect and operating under the proposed increased passenger rates, fares and charges, referred to in the order of April 20, 1915.
Second: That on April 23, 1915, respondent had instituted its suit in equity in the circuit court of Kanawha County, West Virginia, against the Attorney General, and all the prosecuting attorneys of the several counties of said state, through which respondent's lines of railroad run, and against the several members of the Public Service Commission, to enjoin them and each of them from instituting or in any manner prosecuting respondent, or any of its agents, officers, or employees, for alleged violations of said act, and from in any manner whatsoever interfering with or impeding respondent from putting into force and operating thereunder the rates, tariffs, fares, etc., aforesaid; and attacking in said suit said chapter 41, of the Acts of 1907, as unconstitutional, null and void, and exhibiting with said special plea or appearance a copy of said bill, and alleging that process thereon of said court had been served on relator on April 23rd, 1915, and that notice had been given relator that application for said injunction would be made to said court on May 3rd, 1915. Wherefore, it was alleged, the Public Service Commission could take no action. And the-prayer of said special appearance was that respondent be not required to further appear or answer.
By demurrer, motion to quash, and return to the alternative writ, respondent has presented and relies on the same grounds as a defense to the writ.
It is conceded that the Public Service Commission, purely a creature of the statute, possesses only such powers and authority in the premises as are expressly conferred, or are necessarily implied, in order to properly perform its functions and to carry into effect the plans, and purposes of the act creating it, United Fuel Gas Co. v. Public Service Commission, 73 W. Va. 571. As the statute was construed in that case the functions of the Commission as an administrative...
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