Opinion ID: 388140
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Staggers Rail Act.

Text: 36 Pursuant to Fed.R.App.P. 28(j), the railroads have moved for leave to refer to additional authorities. The railroads wish to place before the court Section 202 of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, Pub.L. 96-448, Oct. 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 1895, which they allege deprives the Commission, and hence the court, of jurisdiction over the Sergeant Bluff rate as of the date the Act was signed into law. 37 We acknowledge the principle that when a law conferring jurisdiction is repealed without reservation as to pending cases, all cases fall with the law. Bruner v. United States, 343 U.S. 112, 116-17, 72 S.Ct. 581, 584, 96 L.Ed. 786 (1952). The present appeal, however, does not necessarily fall within this principle. Exceptions to retroactive application of a statute have been recognized where only private rights, as opposed to great national concerns, are involved, United States v. Schooner Peggy, 1 Cranch 103, 110, 2 L.Ed. 49 (1801), or where retroactive application would result in manifest injustice. Bradley v. School Board of Richmond, 416 U.S. 696, 716, 94 S.Ct. 2006, 2018, 40 L.Ed.2d 476 (1974) (dictum); Thorpe v. Housing Authority of Durham, 393 U.S. 268, 282 n.43, 89 S.Ct. 518, 526 n.43, 21 L.Ed.2d 474 (1969) (dictum), citing Greene v. United States, 376 U.S. 149, 84 S.Ct. 615, 11 L.Ed.2d 576 (1964). 38 Assuming arguendo 10 that the revenue to cost percentage here is not sufficient to invoke the Commission's jurisdiction under the provisions of the Staggers Rail Act, this is a case in which manifest injustice precludes application of the Act. 39 The ninety day period statutorily allowed for the Commission's determination of jurisdiction is long past. See 49 U.S.C. § 10709(b). 11 All parties to this lengthy proceeding have looked to the Commission for an adjudication of their rights. Application of the Staggers Rail Act at this juncture could result in imposition of the $10.69 rate on IPS without an opportunity to be heard, in derogation of the parties' expectations. Bradley v. School Board of Richmond, 416 U.S. at 720, 94 S.Ct. at 2020. 40 For this reason, we deny the railroads' motion for leave to refer to additional authorities. We note also that as a general rule an agency is entitled to make the initial determination of its own jurisdiction. FPC v. Louisiana Power & Light Co., 406 U.S. 621, 647, 92 S.Ct. 1827, 1841, 32 L.Ed.2d 369 (1972).