Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. v. Chicago & Erie Railroad

Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. v. Chi. & Erie R.R., 235 U.S. 371 (1914)

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1914-12-14
Topic
litigation

How later courts describe this case

  • holding filed rates effective because they were “adequate to give notice” of rate charged, although allegedly “not sufficiently formal to comply with the law”
  • tariff enforceable despite nonconformity to page format requirements

Citator

UpLaw has not yet analyzed Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. v. Chicago & Erie Railroad. The absence of a flag is not a finding that it is good law.

Cited by
41 opinions

Headnotes

  1. Administrative Law — Filed Tariffs — Demurrage Where a carrier files tariff sheets and a book of car-service rules with the Commission and gives notice of its demurrage charge, the Commission's acceptance of the documents without objection as to form, combined with their adequacy to give notice, establishes compliance with the Act to Regulate Commerce; formal defects in the documents do not defeat the demurrage charge. 205 U.S. 385 (White, C.J.)
  2. Administrative Law — Filed Tariffs — Presumption of Posting An objection that there was no proof that a filed tariff was posted for public inspection is without merit, citing Texas & Pacific Ry. v. Cisco Oil Mill, 204 U.S. 449; Kansas City Southern Ry. v. Albers Commission Co., 223 U.S. 573, 594; United States v. Miller, 223 U.S. 599. Citing 204 U.S. 449; 223 U.S. 573, 594; 223 U.S. 599
  3. Administrative Law — Demurrage — Delivery at Destination A demurrage charge at destination applies where cars billed to a city for reconsignment are held on storage tracks outside the destination — in this case, in another state — that are convenient to a belt line for transfer to any new destination, and where this holding is in accordance with the carrier's practice of more than twenty years.

Memorandum opinion by direction of the court by

Mr. Chief Justice White.

The judgment which is under review awarded demur- *375 rage on carloads of coal shipped by the plaintiff in error from West Virginia to Chicago, there to be reconsigned. (171 Ill. App. 302.) There are only two alleged Federal' contentions:

1. That allowing the demurrage conflicted with the Act to Regulate Commerce because no tariff on the subject was filed or published. The fact is that the railroad had complied with the law as to filing tariff sheets and had also long . before the time in question filed a book of rules of the Chicago Car Service Association, of which it was a member, relating to liability for demurrage and a few days after had written the Commission a letter stating that the de-' murrage charge would be one dollar per day. The argument is that such documents were not sufficiently formal to comply with the law and hence afforded no ground for allowing demurrage. But the contention is without merit. The documents were received and placed on file by the Commission without any objection whatever as to their form and it is certain that as a matter of fact they were adequate to give notice. Equally without merit is the insistence that there was no proof that the documents were posted for public inspection. Texas & Pac. Ry. v. Cisco Oil Mill, 204 U. S. 449; Kansas City So. Ry. v. Albers Comm. Co., 223 U. S. 573, 594; United States v. Miller, 223 U. S. 599.

2. Conceding that a tariff concerning demurrage was filed, it is insisted it only authorized demurrage at destination and the cars never reached, their destination, but were held at a place outside of Chicago. The facts are these: The storage tracks of the railroad for cars billed to Chicago for reconsignment were at Hammond, Indiana, a considerable distance from the terminals of the company nearer the center of the city, but were convenient to the belt line by which cars could be transferred to any desired new destination, and the holding on such tracks of cars consigned as were those in question was in accordance with *376 a practice which had existed for more than twenty years. Under these circumstances the contention is so wholly wanting in foundation as in fact to be frivolous.

Affirmed.