Source: http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/585/783/424451/
Timestamp: 2017-09-22 13:25:46
Document Index: 625541611

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 247', '§ 247', '§ 1100', '§ 305', '§ 554', '§ 1100', '§ 305', '§ 554', '§ 1100', '§ 1507']

North Alabama Express, Inc., and Hiller Truck Lines, Inc., Petitioners, v. United States of America and Interstate Commerce Commission,respondents,floyd & Beasley Transfer Company, Inc., Intervenor-respondent, 585 F.2d 783 (5th Cir. 1978) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Fifth Circuit › 1978 › North Alabama Express, Inc., and Hiller Truck Lines, Inc., Petitioners, v. United States of America...
North Alabama Express, Inc., and Hiller Truck Lines, Inc., Petitioners, v. United States of America and Interstate Commerce Commission,respondents,floyd & Beasley Transfer Company, Inc., Intervenor-respondent, 585 F.2d 783 (5th Cir. 1978)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - 585 F.2d 783 (5th Cir. 1978)
Commission procedure requires that any person wishing to contest an application file a "protest" with the Commission within 30 days of the date of Federal Register publication. 49 C.F.R. § 247(e) (1). If the merits of the application are slated for oral hearing, protestants are normally allowed to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses as full parties. The failure to file a protest within 30 days of Federal Register publication, however, is regarded by the Commission "as a waiver of opposition and participation in the proceeding." 49 C.F.R. § 247(e) (2). The Commission's rules further provide that no person who fails to file a protest within the 30-day period "will be permitted to intervene in opposition in a proceeding except upon a showing of substantial reasons." 49 C.F.R. § 1100.248(i).
The due process clause requires that notice be reasonably calculated to inform parties of proceedings which may directly and adversely affect their legally protected interests. Walker v. City of Hutchinson, 352 U.S. 112, 115, 77 S. Ct. 200, 202, 1 L. Ed. 2d 178 (1956); Covey v. Town of Somers, 351 U.S. 141, 146, 76 S. Ct. 724, 727, 1 L. Ed. 2d 1432 (1956). In the administrative context, due process requires that interested parties be given a reasonable opportunity to know the claims of adverse parties and an opportunity to meet them. Federal Communications Commission v. Pottsville Broadcasting Co., 309 U.S. 134, 143, 60 S. Ct. 437, 442, 84 L. Ed. 656 (1940); Morgan v. United States, 304 U.S. 1, 18, 58 S. Ct. 773, 776, 82 L. Ed. 1129 (1938); Intercontinental Industries, Inc. v. American Stock Exchange, 452 F.2d 935, 941 (5th Cir. 1971). Sections 205(e) and 206(b) of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C.A. §§ 305(e), 306(b), explicitly embody this reasonable notice requirement. See Buckner Trucking, Inc. v. United States,354 F. Supp. 1210, 1219 (S.D. Tex. 1973) (three-judge court); Pinkett v. United States, 105 F. Supp. 67, 71 (D. Md. 1952) (three-judge court). The I.C.C. is also bound by the requirements of reasonable notice prescribed in the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 554(b). Buckner Trucking, supra at 1219; Refrigerated Transport Co. v. United States, 313 F. Supp. 880, 888 (N.D. Ga. 1970) (three-judge court); Florida Citrus Commission v. United States, 144 F. Supp. 517, 521 (N.D. Fla. 1956) (three-judge court). Finally, the Commission's own rules provide that:
49 C.F.R. § 1100.247(c).2 We must evaluate the adequacy of notice with "due regard for the practicalities and peculiarities of the case." Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank and Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314, 70 S. Ct. 652, 657, 94 L. Ed. 865 (1950); Intercontinental Industries, Inc. v. American Stock Exchange, 452 F.2d 935, 941 (5th Cir. 1971). "The notice must be of such nature as reasonably to convey the required information." Mullane, 339 U.S. at 314, 70 S. Ct. at 657; Milliken v. Meyer, 311 U.S. 457, 463, 61 S. Ct. 339, 343, 85 L. Ed. 278 (1940); Grannis v. Ordean, 234 U.S. 385, 34 S. Ct. 779, 58 L. Ed. 1363 (1914). The operative test is that "the notice as published must reasonably apprise any interested person of the issues involved in the proceeding." Buckner Trucking, supra at 1219.
The most fundamental objection to the Commission's reliance on the regular route-irregular route distinction is that it totally misses the simple and uncomplicated purpose of Federal Register notice to inform. That purpose is not fulfilled when ambiguous notice can be justified only by reference to equally ambiguous precedent. Notice is required by the due process clause, the Interstate Commerce Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act because it is fundamentally unfair for application proceedings to commence without giving opposing carriers or members of the public who may be adversely affected by the application a chance to be heard. Federal Register publication is not an empty or formal gesture. It is an indispensible jurisdictional requirement that must be satisfied with regard to practical substance, not mechanical form. Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank, supra, 339 U.S. at 314, 70 S. Ct. at 657. Put simply, an interested member of the public should be able to read the published notice of a motor carrier's application and understand the essential attributes of that application. Others who see the notice should not have to guess the applicant's true intent. Notice should not depend on inferences to be gathered from the deciphering of restrictions, or from a particular carrier's past associations with the applicant. The Commission's arguments divert attention from the important point that adequate notice must be provided to Any interested person. 49 U.S.C.A. §§ 305(e), 306(b); 5 U.S.C.A. § 554(b); Buckner Trucking, supra, 354 F. Supp. at 1219. In Kreider Truck Service, supra, the Commission itself stated:
In requiring republication of notice with an explicit statement of an intention to tack, our primary concern is not the specific plight of NAE but the duty owed by the Commission to other potentially interested members of the public. Because adequate notice to all interested persons goes to the very jurisdictional validity of agency action, the Commission's order cannot be rescued by arguments aimed solely at what NAE could or actually did infer. Even if NAE was less than diligent in determining the scope of Floyd's application and in presenting the notice argument to the Commission,5 insufficient published notice renders the order jurisdictionally invalid. The Joint Board knew that the failure to include notice of tacking was an issue in the case and it erroneously held that the lack of notice was cured by the regular route-irregular route distinction. Since adequate notice is for the benefit of all interested members of the public, no Commission order can be approved until adequate notice is published. There is both Commission and judicial precedent for the appropriate remedy when published notice of a motor carrier application is found defective. The grant of authority must be stayed pending republication in the Federal Register and an opportunity for interested persons to be heard. Bonanza Trucking, supra, 94 M.C.C. 620, 622; Georgia-Florida-Alabama Transportation Co., Inc. v. United States, 290 F. Supp. 764, 769 (M.D. Ala. 1968) (three-judge court).
A long line of Commission cases authorizes private plantsite tacking. See, e. g., Johnston's Fuel Liners, Inc., Ext. Coal Tar Products, 121 M.C.C. 621, 623 (1975); Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Grey Line Scenic Tours, 121 M.C.C. 242, 255 (1975); Holt Motor Express, Inc., Modif. of Certif., 120 M.C.C. 282, 288 (1974); Wheeling Pipe Line, Inc., Ext. Ethylene Pibromide,82 M.C.C. 229, 234 (1960); Cf. M. I. O'Boyle & Son, Inc., Interp. of Certif., 52 M.C.C. 248, 251 (1950), Aff'd 92 U.S.App.D.C. 383, 206 F.2d 473 (1953) (tacking through a military base). It is difficult to imagine any trucking operation that does not routinely require the cooperation of numerous other businesses outside the jurisdiction of the I.C.C. Tacking at privately owned plantsites is indistinguishable from the many operations involving privately owned terminals or loading facilities that motor carriers utilize daily. If abuses arise from the use of private plantsites for tacking, the appellants, or any other aggrieved party, may file a complaint with the Commission. 49 C.F.R. 1100.24 Et seq. If Floyd is at fault, the Commission may revoke or alter its operating authority. If the plantsite operator should revoke permission to tack at the site or impose intolerable conditions, the Commission may relocate its joinder point. See Bell Extension Longview, Tex., Gateway, 105 M.C.C. 768 (1967), Aff'd sub nom. Hearin-Miller Transporters v. United States, 301 F. Supp. 258 (S.D. Miss. 1969), Aff'd 397 U.S. 41, 90 S. Ct. 814, 25 L. Ed. 2d 39 (1970). Speculative objections to the wisdom of private plantsite tacking was not enough to overturn a practice that has enjoyed longstanding Commission approval. It is well within the Commission's authority to permit such tacking and to police abuses should they occur.
This regulation has been modified so that the caption summary of the authority sought that is to be printed in the Federal Register is prepared by the applicant itself and submitted as part of the application. 49 C.F.R. § 1100.247(c). The regulation further provides that "incomplete or incorrect captions may result in rejection of the application." Under both the old and new regulations, it is the applicant who holds primary responsibility for assuring the accuracy of the notice. Assuming that the contents of the published notice are otherwise complete, it is well settled that publications in the Federal Register are deemed legally sufficient notice to all interested persons. See 44 U.S.C. § 1507; Federal Crop Ins. Corp. v. Merrill, 332 U.S. 380, 68 S. Ct. 1, 92 L. Ed. 10 (1947)
Cf. Federal Crop Ins. Corp. v. Merrill, 332 U.S. 380, 387, 68 S. Ct. 1, 5, 92 L. Ed. 10 (1947) (Jackson, J., dissenting):