United States v. Baltimore & Ohio R. Co., 333 U.S. 169 (1948)

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United States v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.

No. 223

Argued February 3-4, 1948
Decided March 8, 1948
333 U.S. 169

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

Syllabus

1. The Interstate Commerce Commission has power under the Interstate Commerce Act to order a railroad to make deliveries of interstate carload shipments of livestock without discrimination to a shipper on the shipper’s private sidetrack, even though compliance with that order will require the railroad to use an intermediate segment of track maintained and operated by the railroad but owned by and leased from a competing shipper whose lease to the railroad precludes use of such track for the purpose of making such deliveries to its competitors. Pp. 175-178.

(a) The definitions contained in §§ 1(1)(a) and 1(3)(a) of the Interstate Commerce Act make all trackage "in use by any common carrier" subject to the regulatory provisions of the Act, even though not owned by the carrier, but only used by it under a lease. P. 176.

(b) The command of Congress against discrimination cannot be subordinated to the command of a track owner that a railroad using the track practice discrimination. P. 177.

2. It does not deprive an owner of his property without due process of law to deny him the right to enforce conditions upon its use which conflict with the power of Congress to regulate railroads so as to secure equality of treatment of shippers. P. 177.

3. Under § 2 of the Elkins Act, the Commission was justified in including, in an order against certain railroads to cease discriminatory practices, a noncarrier owner of a segment of track who required such discriminatory practices pursuant to the contract leasing such track to one of the railroads. P. 171, n. 2.

71 F.Supp. 499 reversed.

The Interstate Commerce Commission issued a cease and desist order requiring certain interstate railroads and the owner of a segment of railroad track leased to one of the railroads to desist from certain discriminatory practices in connection with interstate shipments. 266 I.C.C. 55. A federal district court enjoined enforcement of the order. 71 F.Supp. 499. On appeal to this Court, reversed, p. 178.