United States v. Fleming's Express, Inc.

MOORE, Senior Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from a determination in the District Court of Massachusetts that Fleming’s Express, Inc. (Fleming’s) 1 is guilty of a misdemeanor under the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. Sections 5(4) and 10(1) 2 , as a result of its acquisition of Shipper’s Service, Inc. (Shipper’s) 3 without appropriate approval from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).

The facts, according to stipulation of the parties, are straightforward and lead to an apparent conflict between Section 5(4) as it has been interpreted since 1933 and Section 5(10) as amended in 1966.…