Shreveport Window Glass Co. v. Railroad Commission
Shreveport Window Glass Co. v. Railroad Commission
Opinion of the Court
On certain through shipments from New Orleans to Shreveport the Louisiana Railway & Navigation railroad, a through line between said two points, charged plaintiff freight in accordance with the rates fixed by the order No. 1222 of the Railroad Commission.
At the time said shipments were made the said order 1222 had been annulled, by judgment of court, in SO' far as applying to the Texas & Pacific Railroad, in a suit brought by a shipper on the latter railroad against it and said commission, for the reason that the rates therein fixed were excessive, and the pre-existing lower rates had been re-established for the latter railroad.
Discovering this, plaintiff contended that, in view of said judgment and of rule 55G of said commission, shippers on the Louisiana Railway & Navigation road were entitled to the benefit of the rates thus established for the Texas & Pacific, the said rule 55G reading as follows:
“Where there are two or more lines between any two connecting points in Louisiana having through connections, the lowest established rate between such points shall be charged by through lines accepting freight for transportation between said points.”
The Louisiana Railway & Navigation Railroad refusing to be bound by said judgment, as not having been a party to the suit in which it was rendered, and therefore refusing to make restitution of the alleged overcharges, plaintiff lodged a complaint against it with said commission, asking that it be ordered to make said restitution, and be penalized for violation of said rule 65G.
The commission took the same view as the railroad had done, and, in order to clarify the situation, adopted an amendment to said rule 55G reading as follows:
“No line, however, shall be compelled to protect the rate of another line, provided the shipper is notified by the agent in writing at the time the shipment is tendered of its unwillingness to do so.”
This amendment is known as order No. 1869.
In the present suit plaintiff asks that the said commission be ordered to show cause why its said ruling rejecting the said complaint should not be set aside, and the right of the plaintiff to the rate fixed by said judgment for the Texas & Pacific should not be established and perpetuated; why it should not penalize said Louisiana Railway & Navigation for violation of said rule 55G; and, finally, why said order 1869 should not be abrogated, and said rule 55G affirmed as it existed prior to said amendment.
The only grounds alleged for the abrogation of said amendment are stated in the petition as follows:
“That the effect of order No. 1869 is to destroy and nullify the effectiveness of rule 55G to the prejudice of petitioner and other shippers, and petitioner shows that it is dissatisfied with said order, and desires that the same be ordered abrogated.”
By the said amendment No. 1869 the rates which plaintiff contends were established by the judgment of court in the Texas & Pacific case were changed. The very fact of this change is the reason of plaintiff for desiring that said amendment should be abrogated. In so far, therefore, as relates to the time from and after the adoption of said amendment the demand that the rates established by said judgment be established and perpetuated as to the Louisiana Railway & Navigation is but a renewal or repetition, in another form, of the demand that said amendment be abrogated. So long as said amendment stands, fixing different rates from thbse fixed by the said judgment in the Texas & Pacific case, it is impossible for the court to perpetuate the rates fixed by said judgment. And, as already seen, the court is powerless to abrogate that amendment. The demand for the perpetuation of said Texas & Pacific rates cannot therefore be granted.
The judgment dismissing plaintiffs suit is therefore affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- SHREVEPORT WINDOW GLASS CO. v. RAILROAD COMMISSION OF LOUISIANA
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- (Syllabus by Editorial Staff.) On Reheaiing. 1. Carriers The desires and dissatisfaction of a shipper with a l'ate rule of the Railroad Commission of the state are no grounds for abrogation of the rule. 2. Carriers By Act No. 171 of 1908, no suit to set aside, change, or alter orders of the Railx-oad Commission shall be entertained unless filed within three months after the order is made. 3. Carriers c&wkey;18(2) — Railroad Commission —Appellate Jurisdiction of Courts. No law confei-s on the coui’ts appellate jurisdiction over the rulings of the Railroad Commission fixing rates. 4. Mandamus Since the law which confers on the Railroad Commission authority to penalize railroads (Act No. 175 of 1912) leaves the matter to the disci'ction of the commission, such discretion of a judicial or quasi judicial ti'ibunal cannot be controlled by mandamus. 5. Carriers In any change that may be demanded to be made in its rules, the Railroad Commission has a real interest that may serve as a basis for it to stand in judgment, but in a question of the proper interpretation of its foi'mer rules, whether separately or in conjunction with any judgment, the commission is without interest, and the question is moot.