Spiller v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co.

Citations

• 253 U.S. 117
• 40 S. Ct. 466
• 64 L. Ed. 810
• 1920 U.S. LEXIS 1454

Syllabus

<p>In cases of a class which may ultimately reach this court by writ of error under Jud. Code, §§ 128 and 241, this court has jurisdiction to review by certiorari judgments of the Circuit Court of Appeals which are not final in the sense of concluding the litigation, such jurisdiction arising under § 262 when the jurisdictional amount prescribed by § 241 is in controversy and under § 240 when it is not. P. 120.</p> <p>This jurisdiction will be exercised in proper cases to avoid protraction of the litigation. P. 121.</p> <p>The courts cannot refuse to enforce a reparation order upon the ground that the evidence before the Intérstate Commerce Commission was insufficient to sustain it when substantial documentary evidence that was before the Commission is not produced at the trial. P. 125.</p> <p>The Act to Regulate Commerce allows the Commission wide latitude in the investigation of claims for reparation, and its finding and order may not be rejected as evidence because of errors in its procedure not amounting to a denial of a fair hearing, so long as the essential facts found are based on substantial evidence. P. 126.</p> <p>In a proceeding in which the Commission awarded reparation for excessive freight charges on many shipments of cattle consigned to commission companies by many shippers over many railroads, a witness who had gathered the details of the shipments in some cases from shippers but mainly from the commission companies, presented them at the hearings and further testified that the shippers rarely kept books, relying on the commission companies to do so,, and that the practice of the latter was to pay the freight,' sell the cattle and remit tjie proceeds to their owners minus the freight paid and other charges; the evidence was received without objection and summaries showing the details of the shipments, rate paid, overcharge claimed, etc., were submitted to the carriers and “O.K.’d” after comparison with their books. Held, that this evidence, including