bona fide operation
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 315 U.S. 475 - United States v. Carolina Freight Carriers Corp. · 1942Most cited · 550 citing opinions
Motor Carrier Act grandfather clause
The Act provides the test of 'bona fide operation'. That standard carries the connotation of substantiality. It also makes clear that a holding out to serve a specified area is not alone sufficient. It is 'actual rather than potential or simulated service' which is required. Substantial, as distinguished from incidental, sporadic, or infrequent, service is required.
How often courts cite the cases defining “bona fide operation”
Court decisions citing the 2 opinions that defined “bona fide operation” — 884 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 2 definitions, chronological · 1938–1942
- ORIGINAL
The expression, 'in bona fide operation', suggests absence of evasion, excludes the idea that mere ability to serve as a common carrier is enough, includes actual rather than potential or simulated service, and in context implies recognition of the power of the State to withhold or condition the use of its highways in the business of transportation for hire.