Doctrines Day1

1 Paula Plaza Transportation Prof. Ty TRANSPORTATION CLASS #1 WHAT IS A PUBLIC UTILITY? Ira Munn v People of State of Illinois This is appeal from a decision of the Supreme Court of Illinois which affirmed the decision of the CFI which prosecuted and fined the warehouse owners of grain for transacting business w/o a license as required by the Act to regulate warehouses. Issue: whether it is within the competency of the General Assembly of Illinois to fix by law the maximum charges for the storage of grain of warehouses at Chiachage and other places in the State for having not lesss than 100k inhabitants? AKA, whether the state may fix the compensation which an individual may receive for the use of his own private property/business and services in connection with it? YES Doctrine: Social compact, all shall be governed by certain laws for the common good. Property becomes clothed with public interest when used in a manner to make it of public consequence and affect the community at large. It is difficult to see why if the common carrier, miller, ferryman pursues a public employment and exercises a public office why the plaintiffs do not. KMU v Garcia This is a petition for certiorari with urgent prayer for issuance of TRO- granted KMU claimed that the authority given by LTFRB to provincial bus operators to set the rate 15-25% above the existing authorized fare w/o a petition and hearing for the purpose is unconstitutional. The establishment of a presumption of public need in favor of an applicant for a proposed transport service w/o proving public necessity is illegal- violating PSA and ROC. Doctrine: PSA and LTFRM are not authorized to delegate the rate fixing power to a common carrier, transport operator or public service. This would l eave commuters at the mercy of transport operators. Public utilities are privately owned and operated businesses whose services are essential to the general public. They are enterprises which cater to the needs of the public for their comfort and convenience. Public utility services ar e impressed with public int erest and concern. The common carrier holds a peculi ar relation to public interest as well. Private properties cease to be juris privati o nly. When one devotes his property to a use in which the public has a interest, he grants to the public an interest in that use, and must submit to the control by the public for the common good, to the extent of the interest he has has thus created. Luzon Stevedoring Inc and Visayan Transpo v PSC This is a petition for review of a decision of the PSC restraining petitioners from operating their watercraft to transport goods for hire until the rates they propose to charge are approved by the Commission. Held: subject to the rates Doctrine: It is not necessary that one holds himself out as serving or willing to serve the public in order to be considered a public service- even if it rends service for a limited clientele. In the US there is no fixed definition of what constitutes a public service or public utility, it is not necessary that to be a public service it is dedicated to public use. A business may be aeffected with public interest and regulated for public good although not under any duty to serve the public. Public utility is not defined by the number of people actually served. Nor does the fact that the service is rendered under a contract prevent the company from being a public utility. Just as the legislature may not declare a company or enterprise to be a public utility, a public utility may not evade control and supervision of its operation by selecting its customers under the guise of private transactions. READINGS ON WHAT IS A PUBLIC UTILITY? The Economic concept of public utility: H.E. Batson Economic concept of PU: 1. there are certain industries which have a tendency to charge discriminat ing prices for their products- they have an unusual tendency towards price-differentiation 2. property of be ing of considerable utility to th e publi c

Doctrines Day1

Documents

Transcript of Doctrines Day1