Alliance Shippers, Inc. v. Southern Pacific Transportation Company

Alliance Shippers, Inc. is a shipping agent engaged in the business of assembling truckload shipments from various shippers and arranging transportation for these shipments to their destinations. In the course of its business, Alliance purchases trailer-on-flatcar (TOFC) service from railroads such as Southern Pacific.

The Interstate Commerce Commission exempted TOFC service from regulation pursuant to authority conferred by Congress in Section 213 of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, 49 U.S.C. § 10505 (1982). See Improvement of TOFC/COFC Regulation, 364 I.C.C. 731 (1981), aff'd, American Trucking Ass’ns v. Interstate Commerce Comm’n, 656 F.2d 1115 (5th Cir.1981). After discovering other shipping agents were receiving more favorable rates from Southern Pacific, Alliance filed this suit alleging federal common law and state statutory price discrimination claims and federal and state antitrust claims. Southern Pacific filed a motion for summary judgment. Southern Pacific stated that “for the purpose of Southern Pacific’s Motion for Summary Judgment ... Southern Pacific is adopting as facts those alleged by plaintiff Alliance Shippers, Inc. in its Complaint.” Thus, the motion was in…