Clark Brothers Coal Mining Co. v. Pennsylvania R. R.

Citations

• 241 Pa. 515
• 88 A. 754
• 1913 Pa. LEXIS 812

Syllabus

<p>Comers — Railroad companies — Discrimination as to car supply • — Interstate commerce — Jurisdiction of federal and state courts— interstate commerce commission — Award of reparation.</p> <p>1. In an action against a railroad company to recover damages for unlawful discrimination against plaintiff in the distribution of coal cars, in violation of the Act of June 4, 1883, P. L. 72, where defendant contended that the jurisdiction of the court was ousted by a proceeding instituted by plaintiff before the interstate commerce commission, for redress of the same grievances for which the action was brought, in which proceeding orders had been issued forbidding the practices complained of, and awarding reparation to plaintiff, the court did not err in sustaining the jurisdiction of the state court, where it appeared that practically all the coal mined by plaintiff during the period covered by the action had been sold f. o. b. cars at the mines, and was therefore not subject to interstate commerce regulation, that the action was not brought for violation of any federal statute, or for breach of any order of the interstate commerce commission, but for violation of a duty imposed upon defendant as a common carrier by the state law, and where it further appeared that no proceedings had ever been taken to enforce the award of the commission, and it did not appear that the award had ever been paid.</p> <p>2. An award of the interstate commerce commission is not a judgment in the sense that it concludes the enforcement of the claim on which it rests in a court having jurisdiction of the cause of action. The act of congress gives no such effect to an award but simply makes it prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein in an action brought on it in a state or federal court. When introduced as evidence to support the claim it is, like other evidence, open to attack and may be wholly discredited.</p>