William J. Brennan, Jr.

“ The Act provides that a "common carrier . . . may not subject a person, place, port, or type of traffic to unreasonable discrimination." § 10741. In addition, the Act states that " [a] rate . . ., classification, rule, or practice related to transportation or service . . . must be reasonable." § 10701 (a) . [1] The ICC has primary responsibility for determining whether a rate or practice is reasonable. ”

“ That carrier may not charge or receive a different compensation for that transportation or service than the rate specified in the tariff whether by returning a part of that rate to a person, giving a person a privilege, allowing the use of a facility that affects the value of that transportation or service, or another device. ”

“ Notes
↑ The Act states that when reviewing the reasonableness of a carrier's rates, the Commission "shall authorize revenue levels that are adequate under honest, economical, and efficient management to cover total operating expenses . . . plus a reasonable profit." 49 U.S.C. § 10701 (e) (1982 ed.) .↑ Section 11902 provides that a shipper who knowingly receives a rebate or offset against the filed rate is liable to the Government for a civil penalty in an amount equal to three times the rebate. ”

“ The duty to file rates with the Commission, see § 10762, and the obligation to charge only those rates, see § 10761, have always been considered essential to preventing price discrimination and stabilizing rates. "In order to render rates definite and certain, and to prevent discrimination and other abuses, the statute require [s] the filing and publishing of tariffs specifying the rates adopted by the carrier, and ma [kes] these the legal rates, that is, those which must be charged to all shippers alike." ”

“ A carrier who willfully fails to file and publish its tariffs is subject to the same penalty. See § 11903 (b) ; see also § 11904 (corporate liability) .↑ The Commission stated that its new policy did not "abrogate Section 10761. Rather, we emphasize that carriers must continue to charge the tariff rate, as provided in the statute. The issue here is simply whether we have the authority to consider all the circumstances surrounding an undercharge suit." NITL Petition to Institute Rulemaking on Negotiated Motor Common Carrier Rates, 3 I.C.C.2d 99, 103 (1986) (citations omitted) . ”

“ From 1981 to 1983, Quinn, a motor common carrier certificated by the ICC, privately negotiated rates with Primary that were lower than Quinn's rates then on file with the ICC. Quinn never filed the negotiated rates with the ICC.
In 1983, Maislin filed for bankruptcy, and a postpetition audit of its accounts revealed undercharges of $187,923.36 resulting from billing Primary at the negotiated, rather than filed, rates. The agents of the bankrupt estate, pursuant to the authorization of the Bankruptcy Court, issued balance due bills to Primary for these undercharges. ”

“ This rigid approach was deemed necessary to prevent carriers from intentionally "misquoting" rates to shippers as a means of offering them rebates or discounts. See S.Rep. No. 46, 49th Cong., 1st Sess., 181, 188-190, 198-200 (1886) . ”