Henderson Coal Co. v. Public Service Commission

Citations

• 73 Pa. Super. 45
• 1919 Pa. Super. LEXIS 171

Syllabus

<p>Public Service Company Law — Common carriers — Rules and regulations — Consignments of money — Reasonable requirements.</p> <p>A common carrier has the right to prescribe reasonable and appropriate rules and regulations, not in contrayention of law, for the conducting of its business, having in view the safety, protection and preservation of freights carried by it, as well as the protection of itself against fraud, injury and undue risk and liability. It 'has the right to require the articles to be shipped to be delivered to it within the time necessary to ship the same on its next ensuing trip. No more can be required for the mere convenience or advantage of the shipper, or to enable him to avoid the risk and put the same on the carrier, when it ought justly to rest upon him.</p> <p>What is the reasonable amount of money which a carrier may be required to take the risk of keeping over night in any given point of shipment is an administrative question rather than one of law. It is a question of fact, or, at least,- a mixed question of law .and fact and one which should be left, in a large degree, to the sound discretion of the Public Service Commission, which has jurisdiction over such matters, and the conclusions of that tribunal are not to be disturbed by judicial interference unless it is made clearly to appear that they are unreasonable and not in conformity with law.</p> <p>Where an express company made a rule that it would refuse for transportation packages of money to be shipped on the following day, such a provision is not unreasonable or contrary to the regulations of the Public Service Company Law.</p>