Rtc Transportation, Inc. v. Conagra Poultry Company

971 F.2d 368 RTC TRANSPORTATION, INC., a Georgia Corporation, Motor Carrier Audit & Collection Company, a Division of Delta Traffic Service, Inc., a Texas Corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. CONAGRA POULTRY COMPANY, f/n/a Country Pride Foods, Ltd., a Delaware Corporation, Defendant-Appellant. No. 89-15836. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued June 12, 1992. Submission Deferred June 12, 1992. Submitted June 23, 1992. Decided July 29, 1992. Lawrence A. Wengel, Gary Scott Decker, Greeve, Clifford, Diepenbrock & Paras, Sacramento, Cal., Peter A. Greene, Thompson, Hine & Flory, Washington, D.C., for defendant-appellant. Miles L. Kavaller, Beverly Hills, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Before: GOODWIN, SCHROEDER and BEEZER, Circuit Judges. BEEZER, Circuit Judge: 1 This case addresses whether a shipper who did not pay a common carrier's filed rate, but instead paid a lower negotiated rate, may defend an action to collect the undercharge either because the carrier acted as a contract carrier or because the filed rate was unreasonable. The district court granted summary…