Wisconsin Central Ltd. v. Public Service Commission of Wisconsin

KANNE, Circuit Judge.

The plaintiffs, railroads doing business in the State of Wisconsin, filed this lawsuit in response to rules promulgated by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (“PSC”), which has jurisdiction “to supervise and regulate every public utility” in Wisconsin. Wis. Stat. § 196.02(1). The railroads sought declaratory and injunctive relief based upon their assertions that the rules run afoul of several provisions of the Constitution of the United States and that PSC exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to it by the Wisconsin legislature. The district court denied…