Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. v. United States
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction against an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission (“ICC”) entered on June 3, 1974 (the “June 3d Order”) in a proceeding entitled Ex-Parte No. 305, which order had the effect of permitting a 10% nationwide increase in railroad freight rates and charges. Plaintiffs allege jurisdiction exists under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1336,1398, 2321 and 2325.
Plaintiffs are two regulated public utilities which in the course of generating and supplying electricity to their customers allegedly purchase and ship by rail in interstate commerce “large quantities of various commodities [including] bituminous steam coal.”
The ICC proceeding, Ex-Parte No. 305, was initiated on April 22, 1974 when most of the nation’s railroads (except the Long Island Railroad) petitioned the ICC for permission to file a master tariff
Plaintiffs instituted this action on August 5, 1974 seeking to enjoin the June 3d Order. The Court granted motions by Eastern, Southern and Western railroads
Congress in enacting the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 and its subsequent amendments established an extensive administrative procedure by which the ICC would oversee the railroads’ rate increases. See 49 U.S.C. §§ 1-27. By statute, when a railroad seeks to effect a rate change, it must file a tariff with the ICC setting forth a schedule of new rates.
The June 3d Order expressed the ICC’s recognition that the railroads were in need of additional freight revenues to carry their costs and improve services. The June 3d Order “authorized [the railroads] to establish upon
If the Court were to grant the injunctive relief sought by plaintiffs, the railroads under the statute could file new tariffs seeking to implement the rate increases. Moreover, the financial difficulties of the nation’s railroads are a matter of public knowledge and have been aggravated by inflation.
The Court rejects plaintiffs’ contention that jurisdiction exists because the complaint alleges that the ICC procedures in this case were improper. As noted above, the issue with which plaintiffs are fundamentally concerned, i. e., the reasonableness of the increased railroad rates as to commodities purchased and shipped by plaintiffs, has yet to be considered by the ICC. See Alabama Power Co. v. United States, 316 F.Supp. at 338-39; Atlantic City Electric Co. v. United States, 306 F.Supp. at 341-42. Also, if they desire, plaintiffs may seek judicial review upon completion of the section 13 proceedings.
Accordingly, defendant ICC’s and the railroad intervenors’ motions to dismiss the plaintiffs’ complaint are granted.
It is so ordered.
. Eastern Railroads are:
Boston and Maine Corporation, by its Trustee Robert W. Meserve
The Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, by its Trustee R. D. Timpany
Delaware and Hudson Railway Company
Erie Lackawanna Railway, by its Trustees Thomas F. Patton and Ralph S. Tyler, Jr.
Lehigh Yalley Railroad Company, by its Trustees John F. Nash and Robert C. Ilaldeman
Maine Central Railroad Company
Norfolk and Western Railway Company
Penn Central Transportation Company, by its Trustees Robert W. Blanchette, John H. McArthur and Richard C. Bons
Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company
Reading Company, by its Trustee Andrew L. Lewis, Jr.
. The Southern Railroads are :
Southern Railway Company
The Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company
Apalachicola Northern Railroad Company
Atlanta & Saint Andrews Bay Railway Company
Atlanta and West Point Rail Road Company
Atlantic and East Carolina Railway Company
Birmingham Southern Railroad Company
Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway; Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway of South Carolina Lessees: Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company, Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company
Central of Georgia Railroad Company
Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Company
Columbia, Newberry and Laurens Railroad Company
Columbus and Greenville Railway Company
Fernwood, Columbia & Gulf Railroad Company
Florida East Coast Railway Company
Gainesville Midland Railroad Company
The Georgia Northern Railway Company
Georgia Rail Road & Banking Company, Operated as the Georgia Railroad by Lessees : Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company, Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company
Georgia Southern and Florida Railway Company
Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Company
Interstate Railroad Company
Livo Oak, Perry & South Georgia Railway Company
Louisiana Southern Railway Company
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company
Norfolk Southern Railway Company
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company
Sandersville Railroad Company
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company
State University Railroad Company
Tampa Southern Railroad Company
Tavares and Gulf Railway Company
Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia Railway Company
Tennessee Railroad Company
Western Railway of Alabama
Winston-Salem Southbound Railway Company
. The Western Railroads are :
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company
Burlington Northern Inc.
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company
Green Bay and Western Railroad Company
Kansas City Southern Railway Company
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Company
Missouri Pacific Railroad Company
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company
St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company
Soo Line Railroad Company
Southern Pacific Transportation Company
The Texas and Pacific Railway Company
Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad Company
Union Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad Company
. To file tariffs implementing rate increases as to specific commodities, the railroads do not need advance ICC authorization; however, when the railroads intend to effect a general increase on all freight rates, as they did in this case, they may seek special ICC permission to file a “master tariff” which permits them to avoid administrative difficulties.
. See notes 1-3 supra.
. But, the railroads may seek permission to file a “master tariff” as provided in note 4 supra.
. It is unnecessary to decide whether the June 3d Order is a suspension order.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- NIAGARA MOHAWK POWER CORPORATION and Public Service Electric & Gas Company v. UNITED STATES of America and Interstate Commerce Commission, and Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company, Defendant-Intervenors
- Status
- Published