Opinion ID: 406460
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Motor Carrier Act of 1980

Text: 4 This case arises under the recently enacted Motor Carrier Act of 1980, 49 U.S.C. § 10101 et seq. 2 A brief review of the circumstances surrounding the enactment and subsequent history of the Act is useful. In 1935 Congress enacted the original Motor Carrier Act 3 to bring stability to the previously chaotic trucking industry. The Act empowered the ICC to regulate the industry by issuing licenses according to the public convenience and necessity. The federal government thus was able to control competition within the industry in an effort to maximize service to shippers and consumers and profits to trucking companies. In keeping with its continuing effort ... to reduce unnecessary regulation by the Federal Government, 4 Congress made sweeping amendments to the Motor Carrier Act in 1980. The amended Act, by specific provisions, empowered the ICC to issue broad certificates of authority to new applicants and to remove various restrictions on existing certificates. Herman applied for a certificate of new or expanded authority pursuant to § 5 of the amended Act, 49 U.S.C. § 10922(b). 5 5 Shortly after the amended Act became effective, the ICC issued a series of policy statements and guidelines to be followed in the adjudication of application proceedings. In American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. Interstate Commerce Commission, 659 F.2d 452 (5th Cir. 1981), we reviewed these statements and guidelines and concluded that with respect to some of them, the ICC had exceeded its authority under the amended Act. Id. at 475. We found that many of the so-called statements and guidelines were actually rules which would authorize the Commission to grant freely virtually any application entered without regard to the traditional requirement of a showing that the applicant was fit, willing, and able to provide the services for which authority was sought. Id. at 465, 467, 473. In fact, the rules went so far as to require many applicants to seek and obtain certificates for authority to haul commodities they did not want to haul and to serve locations they did not want to serve. We remanded to the ICC so that it could formulate new rules in accordance with the scope of its authority under the Act. 6 When the ICC granted Herman's application, the now-invalidated rules were still in effect. This fact does not predetermine the result in this case, however, because our role as an appellate court is limited both by our narrow standard of review, see Part III infra, and by our recognition of the breadth of the amended Act in its policy of encouraging the granting of new and expanded certificates of authority. While we cannot overlook the fact that the ICC was operating under overbroad rules in granting Herman's certificate, as long as the grant satisfies the requirements of the Act as stated in 49 U.S.C. § 10922(b), we must affirm the ICC's decision.