United States v. Saskatchewan Minerals Great Northern Railway Company/Opinion of the Court

These appeals are from an amended judgment of a three-judge district court, 253 F.Supp. 504, which set aside an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission dismissing appellee's complaint, 325 I.C.C. 621, and remanded the case to the Commission 'for further proceedings with instructions to grant relief' to the appellee 'in accordance with the opinion heretofore entered by this court on December 8, 1965, and the Supplemental Memorandum Decision entered by this Court on March 3, 1966.' Accepting the District Court's decision to set aside the Commission's order on the merits, appellants challenge that portion of the judgment which instructs the Commission to grant relief to the appellee and precludes the Commission from reopening the proceedings for the receipt of additional evidence relevant to the question whether the rates challenged by the appellee are in fact unreasonably preferential in violation of § 3(1) of the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. § 3(1). We agree with the appellants that, under the circumstances present here, this restriction is an improper limitation on the Commission's duty to reconsider the entire case. Arrow Transp. Co. v. Cincinnati, N.O. & T.P.R. Co., 379 U.S. 642, 85 S.Ct. 610, 13 L.Ed.2d 550. Accordingly, the judgment of the District Court is vacated and the cases are remanded to the District Court with instructions to enter an order remanding the case to the Commission for further proceedings consistent with the District Court's opinion of December 8, 1965. It is so ordered.

Judgment vacated and case remanded.