Honorable James E. Rilday 

Director, Motor Transportation Division 

Railroad DQnmission of Texas 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir8 

Opinion So. O-1833 

Ret Whether or not a~proposed truck 

lease form presentsa situation 

by whibh haulingtian be &me 

without regard tothe'Texas Motor 

Carrier Law, same being Article 

91lb;~Veipon's Annotated Civil 

Statutes. 

We have received your letter dated January 13, 1940, which is 

self-explanatory and same reads as followst 

'We enclose a file which is self-explsnatory and which 

reflects a proposal whereunder Valley Shipper5 have assooiated themselves in a corporation for the *rpose of i%rketing fruits, et o&era from the Valley to various points in 

both inter and intrastate points'and whereunder this oorporation will lease trucks from various persons with a planer 

in view of this oorporation's then hauling its products in 

these leased trucks on a theorythat it is a hauling of its 

ow5 goods in its ownt~cks or at least a.hauling~ of the 

goods of the bonstitutent members of the corporation in 

these leased trucks. 

"QUESTIONS 

"Does this plan, reflected by the enclosed documents, 

present a situation whereunder~this hauling 6an be-done 

without regard to the Texas Motor'Cai+ier Lam'or~is the. 

proposal a mere subterfuge to oiroumvent complianoe with 

said law?" 

The proposed lease form reads, in part, as follows: 
Honorable lanes E. Kilday, Page 2 

"Lessor is the owner of the folloaing desoribsd motor tm&, 

"Engine No. 

Manufaoturer 

State License No. 

, having the capacity of 

Three and one-half (e) Cons and has leased 58me to Lessee, such 

lease being for a perioa of one ysar beginning on the 

, 4. D. 19 and ending on the 

day of 

, 19-, both da& inclusive, 

day of 

subjects hereinafter set forth terms and conditions: 

"(a) The aforesaid truck is being leased primarily for the 

transportation of fresh fruits snd/or vegetables and/or fruit 

juioes, from the Lower Rio Grands Valley of Texas to ggrthern, 

Eastern and Western marketst and for the transportation of both 

oanned and fresh fruits. end/or vegetables and juioes, and paakers' 

and shippers' supplies from Northern, 'Eastern and Western cities 

in the United States to the Lowsr Rio Grande Valley of Texas. 

Lessee agrees to pay Lessor as rental for said truck the sue of 

. Dollars per week, plus an additional 

oents per ton mile for the transportation of all commodities, 

above described, during the period of time covered by this lease. 

,(b) Lessor warrants that said motor truck is in first olass 

condition and in every respect suitable for the transportation of 

fresh fruits and/or wgetables; that said tmak ha8 been duly 

lioensed and is 80 constructed and equipped as to aoraply with~all 

the rules and regulation8 governing its operation over the highways 

of this and other states. Atry repair8 necessary to keep the said 

truok in good running condition throughout the life of this lease 

shall be at the expense of the Lessor; and in the event that the 

Operation Of said teak should be 8u8pended for purpose8 of neoe8- 

sary repair8 durgng the life of this Lease, such 1085 of time shall 

be considered to bs for the account of Lessor and the life of this 

lease shall ba extended, without additionalretial payment, for a 

corresponding period in order to omp8nSate Lessee for such loss of 

time. 

"(0) Lessee, during the'tem of this lease, shall have absolute control and 7188 of said motor truck in the 881118 manner as though 

it %a8 the absolute owner thereof. Lea855 Will employ, 8ubjeat to 

the approval of Lessor, the operator or operators of saidtruck; but, 

it i8 expre88ly agreed by all pal-tie8 hereto that Le88ee shall have 

absolute oontrol and supervision of the operator and/or operators 

of said truok. Lessor agrees to waive any olaim and relinquish 

and release Lessee from any liability for any injury or damage ooaasioned to said tmak during the tern of this lease, whether 

Caused by negligence of the driver or otherwise. 
Honorable Jsmes E. Kilday, Page 3 

"(d) Lessee agrees, at it8 expense, to carry fire, theft 

snd aoaident insurance to protect Lessor against 1088 and injury 

to said truck. 

8(e) Lessee also agrees at it8 expense to carry public liability insursnoe with proper rider or aunibus clause 80 a8 to 

fully proteot all parties hereto in the amount of Tw8nty Five 

Thousand ((25,CCO.OO) Dollars for death or injury to one person, 

and Fifty Thousand (#30,0COeOO) Dollars for death or injury to 

tm or more persons growing out of the ssme aacident, and in the 

emomt of at least One Thousand (#l,mw) Lbllars for property 

damage. This insuranoe to be carried in a oompaq authorized to 

do business in th8 State Of T885.8." 

lfeare unable to arrive at the legal effeat of the heretofore quoted lea88 form a8 to its general application. It could well be that the 

operation of a truck under the said lease form in one instance would 

have the effect of rendering the Rotor Carrier Law inapplicable, while 

in another instance and under the ssme lease form, the operation of the 

truok would be subjeot to the provisions of the &tor Carrier Law. In 

any event, it would b8 necessary to ascertain the facts and oiroumstan085 leadimg to the making of eaoh particular lease a8 nell as the facts 

and circumstances relating to the operation thereunder in order to determnine whether or not the Rotor Carrier Law is applicable thereto. In 

this oonnectlon, 888 hderson, Clayton and Co. vs. State, 62 S% (2d) 

107 and 62 S.H. (2d) 941e 

We oall your attention to our opinion8 Nos. O-1221 and C-1401, 

copies of which are 8nclo8ed, which are in aooord with our holding 

here. 

Vb are, therefore, unable to pass upon the q e&ions of whether or 

not the proposed lease agreement presents a 8ifUa e ion by which hauling 

can be done without regard to the Rotor Carrier Law or whether the said 

lease agreement is an attempt to evade the provisions of the &tar Carrier Law. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GNNERAL OF TFXAS 

By ~/Glenn R. Lewis 

Glenn R.-MS 

h85istant 

By ~/Lee Shoptaw 

LS:GO Lee Shoptaw 

ENCLOSURE APPROVED FBB 2, 1940 

Gerald C, &nn 

ATTORNEY GENEBAL OF TEKAS 

APPRmD OPINION COMMITTEE BRB Chainnan