Opinion ID: 471045
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Private Right of Action Under Section 810

Text: 11 Safir's claim for restitution of subsidies paid to defendants rests entirely on the contention that the remedy he seeks is available by way of a private action under section 810. It is no longer open to question that defendants' pricing practices in 1965 and 1966 violated the statute. Safir v. Gibson, 432 F.2d 137 (2d Cir.), cert. denied 400 U.S. 942, 91 S.Ct. 241, 27 L.Ed.2d 246 (1970) (Safir II). The second paragraph of section 810 provides appropriate remedies for such violations. First, it allows a public remedy, viz., that [n]o payment or subsidy of any kind shall be paid directly or indirectly out of funds of the United States ... to any contractor or charterer who shall violate this section. We previously have interpreted this statutory language to authorize the government to recover subsidies or payments made during a period of violation. Safir I, 417 F.2d at 977. More pertinent to our consideration, however, is the private remedy provided by section 810. The statute specifically provides that [a]ny person who shall be injured in his business or property by reason of anything forbidden by this section may sue therefor ... and shall recover threefold the damages by him sustained.... 12 Since section 810 does not specifically afford Safir the additional private remedy he is pursuing here, the dispositive question on this appeal is whether such a private remedy is implicit in the statutory scheme. Where a statute expressly provides for particular remedies, as section 810 does, courts are disinclined to read others into it. Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. (TAMA) v. Lewis, 444 U.S. 11, 19-20, 100 S.Ct. 242, 246-47, 62 L.Ed.2d 146 (1979); see generally Cort v. Ash, 422 U.S. 66, 78, 95 S.Ct. 2080, 2087, 45 L.Ed.2d 26 (1975) (setting forth four factors considered pertinent in determining whether a private remedy is implicit in a statute not expressly providing one). In the absence of strong indications of congressional intent to permit unexpressed remedies, we are compelled to conclude that Congress provided precisely the remedies it considered appropriate. Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Association, 453 U.S. 1, 15, 101 S.Ct. 2615, 2623, 69 L.Ed.2d 435 (1981). 13 The history of the Merchant Marine Act, and of section 810 in particular, provides no support for Safir's argument that private litigants are entitled to relief beyond treble damages for actual injury. The Act established a program to subsidize American-Flag Carriers, its stated purpose being to foster the development and encourage the maintenance of a merchant marine sufficient to carry the United States water-borne commerce at all times and capable of serving as a naval and military auxiliary in times of war or national emergency. See 46 U.S.C. Sec. 1101 (1982); American Export Isbrandtsen Lines, Inc. v. United States, 499 F.2d 552, 558 (Ct.Cl.1974). Subsidies were provided in order to enable American-Flag carriers to compete successfully with foreign carriers. At the same time, those subsidies never were intended to give some American shippers a competitive advantage over other American shippers. Thus, section 810 provided comprehensive remedies for potential abuses of the subsidy system. The public remedy, by cutting off subsidy payments and allowing the government the option of recovering subsidies paid during a period of violation, effectively prevents a carrier from reaping benefits while violating the statute. The public remedy also permits the United States government to apply the recovered subsidies in a manner consistent with the purposes of the Act. At the same time, the private remedy explicitly provided for in the Act sufficiently redresses any injury that a private party might suffer. 14 In passing the Act, Congress focused specifically on the matter of remedies for victims of unfair practices. Senator O'Mahoney, after discussing the case of a subsidized American carrier that took part in putting an unsubsidized American carrier out of business, introduced an amendment, enacted as section 810, to make clear Congress' intent not to pay subsidies to lines that acted to crush American competition. He said: 15 In order to give an opportunity to those who may be injured by illegal combinations of the kind I have described to protect themselves I have incorporated in this amendment the principle of section 4 of the Clayton Act which permits the victim of such unfair practices to sue for treble damages. 16 80 Cong.Rec. 10076 (1936) (quoted in Safir I, 417 F.2d at 977). We find this evidence persuasive support for our conclusion that had Congress intended to allow private litigants to recover past subsidies, it would have said so. 17 In so holding, we do not ignore our earlier decision, in which we held that section 810's public remedy implicitly includes a governmental right to recover past subsidies. Safir I, 417 F.2d at 977. Our interpretation of the public remedy, which we believed necessary to effectuate the statutory scheme, does not support the view that there should be an expansion of the private remedy. Allowing a private litigant to recover subsidies paid to carriers that engage in violations of section 810 is neither necessary to the statutory scheme nor likely to further the purposes of the Act. 18 When faced with congressional silence, ambiguous language or conflicting statements, we sometimes have found it necessary to engage in a searching analysis of a statute in order to ascertain the true intent of Congress. Here, we are faced with clear statutory language, supportive legislative history and a comprehensive statutory scheme. Accordingly, we reject Safir's claim to recover the subsidies paid to defendants. In light of this conclusion, we need not address Safir's appeal of the denial of a preliminary injunction. 19