Opinion

Long Island Rail Road Company v. United States

  • 193 F. Supp. 795
  • 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4314
  • 1961 WL 106786
Court
District Court, E.D. New York
Filed
Apr 20, 1961
Status
Published
Author
Bruchhausen
On the bench
Friendly, Bruchhausen, Rayfiel
Cited by
17 cases

The opinion

BRUCHHAUSEN, District Judge

(dissenting).

The principal issue herein is whether the Commission possessed the power to suspend the routing restriction, imposed by the plaintiff. Unquestionably it was authorized under 49 U.S.C.A. § 15 (7) to suspend the $1.37 rate, thus preserving the status quo. By suspending the routing restriction and allowing the rate to stand, the Commission thus required the plaintiff to participate in joint rates and routes. In so acting, without conducting a full hearing the Commission exceeded its power. The establishment of through routes and joint rates is governed by Section 15(3) of the said Act which provides that “the Commission may * * * after full hearing * * * establish through routes.” The suspension order resulted in effecting or establishing through routes in conjunction with joint rates.

The contention that the routing restriction is “a practice”, a term used in Section 15(7) does not withstand examination. The terms “routing” and “practice” are referred to separately in Sections 15(3) and 15(7).

It is urged that the Long Island failed to avail itself of various remedies such as requesting the Commission to suspend both the routing restriction and rate or cancelling the tariff under Section 3. Assuming that the Long Island had these choices, it was not obliged to take advantage of them or either of them and should not suffer defeat because it claimed its rights under Section 15(3).

The suspension order should be vacated.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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