United States v. Northern Pac. Terminal Co.

• Decision Date: 02 April 1906
• Docket Number: 4,813.
• Citation: 144 F. 861
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. NORTHERN PAC. TERMINAL CO.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

144 F. 861

UNITED STATES v. NORTHERN PAC. TERMINAL CO.

No. 4,813.

United States District Court, D. Oregon.

April 2, 1906

This is an action instituted by the United States against the defendant, as a common carrier engaged in interstate commerce, to recover for violation of the safety appliance act of Congress approved March 2, 1893, 27 Stat. 531, c. 196 (U.S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 3174), and acts amendatory thereto in hauling on its line of railroad, by first count, one car namely, Union Pacific coal No. 11,147, used in moving interstate traffic, to wit, coal consigned from Cumberland, in the state of Wyoming, to a point in some state of the United States other than Wyoming, when the coupling and uncoupling apparatus on said car was out of repair and inoperative. The second count has relation to Oregon Short Line Company car No. 5,574, consigned from same point to like destination. Other counts follow that are not now involved; the matters with relation thereto having been settled out of court.

As a separate defense, the defendant sets up, in effect that it is engaged in furnishing terminal facilities only for those railroads terminating in the city of Portland, namely, the Northern Pacific, the Southern Pacific, and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company; that it does not own nor control any railroad except its tracks within the terminal yards, none of which is now, or at any time has been, used in the transportation of interstate commerce, except that the engines of the defendant are used in switching the cars of the several companies for which it furnishes terminal facilities to the team tracks of the defendant, for unloading purposes for Portland delivery and placing the same and other such cars upon the tracks appropriated to the use of the company to which such cars belong; that of the cars mentioned in the complaint none were hauled over any lines of the railroad of defendant, or at all transported or operated by defendant, except within the terminal grounds, and there only for the purposes aforesaid.

Answering separately the first cause of action, the defendant alleges that the said car No. 11,147 was brought into defendant's terminal yards by the Southern Pacific Company, having loaded thereon coal, to be delivered, received, and used upon the engines of the Southern Pacific Company in the city of Portland; that defendant had no means of knowing the condition of said car, or the coupling apparatus complained of, until the same came into its yards; that upon so receiving said car the coal thereon was transferred by defendant to the engines of the Southern Pacific Company but, on discovering that the coupling gear was out of order defendant immediately delivered the car back to the Southern Pacific Company, with a tag attached, for the purpose of having the same taken to the shops of the latter company for repairs.

As it respects the second cause, the car was brought in by...