Iowa RCO Association v. Illinois Commerce Commission

409 N.E.2d 77 (1980)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Iowa RCO Association v. Illinois Commerce Commission

Illinois Appellate Court
409 N.E.2d 77 (1980)

  • Written by Robert Cane, JD

Facts

The Illinois Commerce Commission (the commission) (defendant) considered a petition by Northern Pipe Line Company of Delaware, Incorporated (Northern) for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for construction and operation of a 200-mile-long crude-oil pipeline from Wood River, Illinois, to Pine Bend, Minnesota. The purpose of the pipeline was to provide a route to transmit crude oil between refineries. The construction of the pipeline would have required the taking of private property through the exercise of the power of eminent domain by Northern. Refineries in the north-central area of the country had been dependent on Canadian crude-oil imports, but Canada announced plans to reduce crude-oil exports to zero. The pipeline was to provide only interstate shipments of oil. Under both the federal Interstate Commerce Act and Illinois’s Public Utilities Act, Northern would have been required to furnish nondiscriminatory services to nonaffiliated users seeking to use the pipeline. Iowa RCO Association (RCO) (plaintiff) objected at the commission’s hearing on Northern’s petition. RCO argued that Northern was not a public utility; that the pipeline was not for public use of Illinois residents, among other claims, so Northern could not exercise the power of eminent domain; and that the issuance of the certificate of public convenience and necessity was improper. The commission granted Northern’s petition, and RCO appealed to the circuit court. The circuit court affirmed the commission’s decision. RCO appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Green, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership