United States v. Missouri-Kansas-Texas R. Co.

• Decision Date: 04 March 1952
• Docket Number: No. 13719.,13719.
• Citation: 194 F.2d 777
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. MISSOURI-KANSAS-TEXAS R. CO. et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

194 F.2d 777 (1952)

UNITED STATES v. MISSOURI-KANSAS-TEXAS R. CO. et al.

No. 13719.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

March 4, 1952.

Hubert H. Margolies, Atty. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., A. W. Christian, Asst. U. S. Atty., Frank B. Potter, U. S. Atty., Ft. Worth, Tex., for appellant.

Wm. R. McDowell, O. O. Touchstone, G. H. Penland, M. E. Clinton and Robert Thompson, all of Dallas, Tex., for appellees.

Before BORAH, RUSSELL, and RIVES, Circuit Judges.

BORAH, Circuit Judge.

The question here is one of freight rate application. More specifically, whether under the tariffs of the southwestern railroads the applicable carload rating on airplane, tank and marine internal combustion engines is 40% of first-class or 35% of first-class.

The tariffs involved are Southwestern Lines Tariff No. 252A and No. 173-O. For present purposes these tariffs may be regarded as identical in that they each contain two exceptions to the class rating (45% of first-class) which is provided on internal combustion engines in the Western classification. We shall accordingly treat them as one and conveniently refer only to the provisions of Tariff No. 252A. One exception, Item 130, provides a rating of 40% of first-class on "Agricultural Implements and other Articles." Under this general heading is a list of "Articles referred to," which includes "Engines, steam or internal combustion, N. O. I. B. N." (not otherwise indexed by name). This is the rate which the carriers charged and which the district court held was applicable to the shipments. The other exception, Item 180, is under the heading "Automobile Parts, viz." Thereunder and in connection therewith appears Item 190 which provides a rating of 35% of first-class on "Automobile Parts named in Items 195 or 200." In Item 200 is found a "List of Automobile Parts referred to in Item 190," which includes "Engines, internal combustion, including fuel tanks." The government contends that the shipments herein were entitled to this 35% rate.

There is no contention on the part of the government that these shipments were automobile parts. On the contrary the uncontroverted evidence shows that the shipments consisted of airplane, tank, and boat internal combustion engines. The carriers billed the government agency for these shipments on the basis of the exception rating of 40% of first-class and in due course were paid. Thereafter, the government determined that there had been an overpayment on the shipments for the reason that the exception rating of 35% of first-class published on "Automobile Parts, viz:" was applicable and to recoup the amounts due it deducted from amounts subsequently found due the carriers on other and different shipments the excess over 35%. Challenging the arbitrary and unwarranted action on the part of the Government, the carriers brought these six actions under the Tucker Act¹ to recover such deductions. The cases were consolidated in the court below and tried together. The court, in holding that the 40% rate applied, found no inconsistencies in the tariff regulations and no uncertainty about what was shipped, and rendered judgment in favor of the carriers in the amount sued for. This appeal followed.

The construction of a printed railroad tariff presents a question of law and does not differ in character from that presented when the construction of any other document is in dispute. The four corners of the instrument must be visualized and all the pertinent provisions considered together, giving effect so far as possible to every word, clause, and sentence therein contained. The construction should be that meaning which the words used might reasonably carry to the shippers to whom they are addressed, and any ambiguity or reasonable doubt as to their meaning must be resolved against the carriers. But claimed ambiguities or doubts as to the meaning of...