McDonald v. Thompson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

64 federal appellate · 64 district · 52 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 337 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The Commission ruled that since a ‘common carrier’ may transport only a ‘class or classes of property’, the authority granted under the ‘grandfather clause’ of § 206(a) ‘should reflect any limitation in the undertaking’ of the common carrier ‘as indicated by the service actually rendered on and since the statutory dates.’ . It accordingly proceeded to eliminate commodities which, though of the same general class as the others, had been carried before but not after June 1, 1935. It further restricted future operations to those commodities which prior and subsequent to June 1, 1935, had been carried in substantial amounts and with a degree of regularity. We would not disturb those conclusions if only a question as to the weight of the evidence was involved. But we are not satisfied that the Commission applied the proper criterion in reaching its conclusion that only specified commodities could be carried in the future. “Sec. 206(a) requires a showing that the applicant, or its predecessor, was ‘in bona fide operation as a common carrier’ on June 1, 1935, and ‘since that time’. By § 208(a) the certificate must specify ‘the service to be rendered’ by the carrier. * * * It is plain that a carrier’s holding out and actual perforinance may be limited to a few articles only. That is to say he may be a common carrier 'only of a restricted number of commodities. * * * On the other hand, if the applicant has carried a wide variety of general commodities, he cannot ’ necessarily be deni”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Arrowhead Freight Lines, Ltd. v. United States · 232 F. Supp. 339 - Cardinale Trucking Company v. United States

2. ““A common carrier by water is defined in part III of the act as ‘any person which holds itself out to the general public to engage in the transportation by water in interstate or foreign commerce o-f passengers or property or any class or classes thereof for - compensation. * * * ’ Under the ‘grandfather’ clause, an applicant for a cer tificate must show that it ‘was in bona fide operation as a common carrier by water on January 1, 1940, over the route or routes or between the ports with respect to which application- is made and has so operated since that time. * * * ’ “It will be noted that in neither instance is there any reference to whether the transportation performed by the carrier is or is not subj ect to regulation. In determining a carrier’s status and the scope of its operation during the ‘grandfather’ period, its entire operations should be considered, and not merely that part which the Congress has seen fit to make subject to regulation. To find that ‘grandfather’ rights may be granted only to the extent that a showing- is made as to the performance of regulated transportation requires the reading into the law of language which, in fact, is not there. “This matter is particularly important in instances like the present where an applicant is seeking a certificate covering all commodities, or general cargo. Obviously no carrier actually transports all commodities, and therefore the bona fides of an applicant’s operations depend on the representative character of the”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 76 F. Supp. 567 - Inland Nav. Co. v. United States