Opinion ID: 413436
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: effect of the csx merger

Text: 56 In Illinois v. United States we directed the ICC to consider the merger of the Chessie System and the Family Lines Railroad System (CSX merger), which occurred on November 1, 1980. Specifically, we were concerned that the merger might result in significant additional revenues to the Flora line. 666 F.2d at 1081. In its January ruling, the Commission discussed the possible effect the CSX merger might have, concluding that petitioners' claim of possible development of future increased traffic was too indefinite to warrant denying the abandonment. 57 On January 27, 1982, petitioners, alleging new evidence and substantially changed circumstances, petitioned the Commission to reopen the case. Petitioners cited new, lower rates being offered to shippers using the Flora line and resulting increases in traffic over the line. On April 21, the Commission denied the petition to reopen, holding that the reduced rates were not significantly lower than previous rates, that the lower rates could not long be maintained over the line because of its high losses, and that petitioners had not shown what portion of the new traffic would inure to the benefit of the Flora line and what would merely be moving on the tracks to other locations. 58 The law is clear that petitioners face the heavy burden of demonstrating that the ICC abused its discretion in refusing to reopen the record. The Supreme Court directs that federal courts decline to require reopening the record 'except in the most extraordinary circumstances.'  Union Mechling Corp. v. United States, 566 F.2d 722, 726 (D.C.Cir.1977) (quoting Bowman Transportation, Inc. v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc., 419 U.S. 281, 296, 95 S.Ct. 438, 447, 42 L.Ed.2d 447 (1974)). We hold that the Commission properly exercised its broad discretion in denying the petition. 59 Petitioners claim that the abuse of discretion standard does not apply in this instance because in Illinois we directed the ICC to consider the effect of the CSX merger. We disagree because the Commission did sufficiently discuss the merger in its January decision based upon the evidence then available to it; the petition to reopen itself stated that the evidence was not previously available. Our decision in Illinois did not require the Commission to reopen the case whenever any new evidence of the effect of the CSX merger was discovered or alleged. 60 Decision making would be much less final if reopening a case were regularly required because of new evidence. There is always a delay between the end of a hearing and the time when an agency issues its decision, and there frequently is some new evidence discovered in the interim with arguable bearing on the case. See Bowman Transportation, Inc. v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc., 419 U.S. 281, 294-95, 95 S.Ct. 438, 446-47, 42 L.Ed.2d 447 (1974). There simply are no extraordinary circumstances present here to compel reopening. 61 In any event, we find no error in the Commission's reasons for denying the reopening. Petitioners make much of the railroad's decision not to use the so-called fifty percent rule in computing affiliated rail lines' costs. The railroad instead employed Rail Form A costs, and petitioners claim that the Commission should not have allowed this change of procedures--the railroad had used the fifty percent formula in earlier phases of the proceeding--especially without discussing the change. 62 The Commission's acceptance of B & O's figures based on Rail Form A costs was not improper. The fifty percent rule has never been written into any regulations or statutes; rather, as we have stated in allowing the Commission to stop using that rule, the so-called rule is only a formula to be used when a better one is not available. Chicago & North Western Transportation Co. v. United States, 582 F.2d 1043, 1060 (7th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1039, 99 S.Ct. 641, 58 L.Ed.2d 698. Nothing prevents the Commission from changing the method of calculating. Furthermore, no one was misled by the railroad's use of Rail Form A costs because in its submission to the ICC the railroad stated that it was using them. We find the other claims regarding the evidence of the CSX merger without merit.