Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/238/275/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 02:00:20+00:00

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Justia › US Law › US Case Law › US Supreme Court › Volume 238 › Illinois Central R. Co. v. Mulberry Hill Coal Co.
A state statute which merely requires a railroad company to furnish cars within a reasonable time after demand made for them is not such a direct burden upon interstate commerce as to be void in the absence of legislation on the subject by Congress, and so held as to c. 114, § 84, Rev.Stat. Illinois, 1913.
Whether such a statute, valid when enacted, became an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce on the enactment of the amendment of the Interstate Commerce Act not now decided, as that point was not raised in either of the state courts.
The state courts have jurisdiction of a case for damages against a carrier for failure to deliver cars in accordance with its own rules for distribution where the rule itself is not attacked, but discrimination against plaintiff notwithstanding the rule is the basis of the suit. Penna. R. Co. v. Puritan Coal Co., 237 U. S. 121.
While the amendment of 1906 to the Interstate Commerce Act gave new rights to shippers, it preserved existing rights and did not supersede the jurisdiction of the state courts in any case, new or old, where the decision did not involve the determination of matters calling for the exercise of administrative power and discretion of the Commission or relate to a subject as to which the jurisdiction of the federal courts had otherwise been made exclusive. Id.
The facts, which involve the liability of a carrier for failure to furnish cars to a coal mining corporation located on its line, are stated in the opinion.
beyond the control of the carrier. Defendant introduced in evidence its established rules governing the distribution of coal cars during the period covered by the suit, and there was evidence tending to show that these were followed. But it cannot be said that this was conclusive, and it was distinctly negatived by the finding of the jury.
A verdict was rendered in favor of plaintiff, which by remittitur was reduced to $716.92. The resulting judgment was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Illinois (257 Ill. 80), and the case comes here upon questions raised under the commerce clause of the Constitution of the United States and the Act to Regulate Commerce.
"Every railroad corporation in the state shall furnish, start, and run cars for the transportation of such passengers and property as shall, within a reasonable time previous thereto, be ready or be offered for transportation at the several stations on its railroads and at the junctions of other railroads, and at such stopping places as may be established for receiving and discharging way-passengers and freights, and shall take, receive, transport and discharge such passengers and property, at, from and to such stations, junctions, and places on and from all trains advertised to stop at the same for passengers and freight, respectively, upon the due payment, or tender of payment of tolls, freight, or fare legally authorized therefor, if payment shall be demanded,"
case or any other case, is that the railroad corporation shall furnish cars within a reasonable time after they are required to transport the property offered for transportation, and what would be a reasonable time in any case would depend upon all the circumstances and conditions existing, including the requirements of the interstate commerce carried on by the corporation."
commerce to depend upon the willingness of the company to be subjected to enormous pecuniary penalties as a condition to the exercise of the right."
The statute now in question merely requires a railroad company to furnish cars within a reasonable time after demand made for them, and the question, what is a reasonable time? is to be determined in view of the requirements of interstate commerce. That the operation of the statute is thus limited in practice, and not merely in theory, is shown by the history of the case at bar. Upon a former trial, there was a verdict for the plaintiff, and the resulting judgment came under the review of the appellate court (161 Ill.App. 272), which, while ruling in favor of the plaintiff upon the main questions, reversed the judgment and awarded a new trial (p. 282) because of the rejection of evidence offered by the defendant to show that there were times when it had not a sufficient amount of coal cars to supply the demand of all the operators along its lines, that this was the case during the year 1907, and that, during this year plaintiff received its fair and just proportion of the cars.
We agree with the conclusion reached by the state court that the Illinois statute is not a direct burden upon interstate commerce, so as to be void in the absence of legislation by Congress.
provisions of this act to provide and furnish such transportation upon reasonable request therefor."
Chi., R.I. &c. Ry. v. Hardwick Elevator Co., 226 U. S. 426, 226 U. S. 435; St. Louis, Iron Mountain & S. Ry. v. Edwards, 227 U. S. 265; Yazoo & Miss. R. Co. v. Greenwood Gro. Co., 227 U. S. 1, and other cases of that class, are cited, to which may be added Charleston & West. Car. Ry. Co. v. Varnville Furniture Co., decided June 1, 1915, 237 U. S. 597.
As to this point, it is sufficient to say that no such question was raised in either of the state courts. Indeed, after the denial of the motion to dismiss and the motion to direct a verdict, defendant requested, and the trial court gave to the jury, an instruction setting forth almost in haec verba the requirements of the state statute, and declaring "that no other or greater duty devolves upon railroad companies to receive and transport freight than mentioned in the statute."
"nothing in this act contained shall in any way abridge or alter the remedies now existing at common law or by statute, but the provisions of this act are in addition to such remedies,"
but if the action is based upon a violation or discriminatory enforcement of the carrier's own rule for car distribution no administrative question is involved, and such an action, although brought against an interstate carrier for damages arising in interstate commerce, may be prosecuted either in the state or the federal courts. And because in that case the action was not based upon the ground that the carrier's rule of car distribution was unreasonable or discriminatory, but that plaintiff was damaged by reason of the carrier's failure to furnish it with cars to which it was entitled even upon the basis of the carrier's own rule of distribution, it was held that the state court had jurisdiction without previous application to the Interstate Commerce Commission.
It is true that the Puritan case arose before the passage of the Hepburn Act of 1906; but there is nothing in the amendments introduced by that act to affect the jurisdiction of the state court in an action such as the present.
In this case, plaintiff made no attack whatever upon defendant's rules for car distribution. The declaration, indeed, is based wholly upon the statute, and contains no averment of discrimination. It was defendant that endeavored to import the question of car distribution into the case by introducing the evidence above referred to, and by requesting an instruction (which the court accordingly gave) to the effect that, if defendant had not and could not procure sufficient coal cars to furnish all of the operators on its lines with all the cars desired and demanded by them, and did fairly and equitably distribute its available cars among the operators, it discharged its whole duty to plaintiff. But the verdict of the jury in favor of plaintiff negatived the hypothesis of fact upon which this and another like instruction were based.

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