Southern Pacific Transportation Co. v. Public Utilities Commission

In a very real sense this case reveals a series of missed opportunities on the part of appellant to have its preemption claims heard and decided. As it turns out, the appellant could have brought its suit to obtain an injunction in federal court following the enactment of the Staggers Act and prior to the California Supreme Court’s denial of appellant’s petition for review. Perhaps, but by no means certainly, it could have brought suit in federal court seeking only a declaratory judgment at that time also. At the time any decision to initiate such suit would have had to have been made,…