United States v. Southern Pac. Co.

The United States instituted action against the Southern Pacific Company, a common carrier engaged in interstate commerce by railroad, to collect a penalty under the act of Congress known as the Safety Appliance Act, approved March 2, 1893 ( 27 Stat. 531 ), as amended by an act approved April 1, 1896 ( 29 Stat. 85 ), and as amended by an act approved March 2, 1903 ( 32 Stat. 943 ), 45 U.S.C.A. §§ 1 to 10, inclusive, and an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission issued pursuant thereto, dated June 6, 1910, fixing the minimum percentage of operative power brakes required in a train.

The complaint sets out ten alleged causes of action,'all but one of which (the sixth) were disposed of by confession of judgment. This cause was tried to the District Court, without a jury, and resulted in judgment for the defendant, the court holding that the movement complained of was a switching movement and not a train movement, and hence not violative of any provision of the Act. This is an appeal by the United States from such judgment.

On the morning of May 13, 1937, at about 9:14 a. m. one of defendant’s switching engines, in charge of a switching crew, assembled nine cars from three…