Yellow Corp. and the U.S. trucking industry won a Supreme Court battle over the fees that states may impose after the justices ruled that Michigan was charging too much for some trucks,
according to Bloomberg News and the Associated Press.
Yellow Corp., the nation's largest trucking company, objected to Michigan rules that would have required a $10 yearly payment for each Yellow truck. Critics of the Michigan policy said that, if permitted by the high court and adopted by other states, it might have meant an extra $150 million in annual fees industry wide.
Without dissent, justices sided unanimously with Yellow Freight System, which contested the $10 the state required the company to pay for registering vehicles that have Illinois license plates. Michigan could have to repay $425,000 and stop charging fees for the trucks.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, writing for the court, said the Michigan fee increase violated the spirit of a 1991 U.S. law that revamped the federal guidelines for trucking fees. Had Michigan won, other states could have raised registration fees for all trucking companies, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said in the ruling.
The ruling overturned a Michigan Supreme Court decision.
"To the industry, it is a very good result because it effects all truckers and trucking companies," said Daniel Churay, Yellow Corp.'s senior vice president, general counsel and secretary.
At issue was the court's interpretation of a federal law banning states from charging higher fees than they did in 1991. Michigan changed its method that year for 1992 fees, which the court said was what Congress opposed.
The case revolves around the a law passed by Congress in 1991 that said states could not raise truck registration fees "collected or charged" as of Nov. 15, 1991.
States are allowed to charge a registration fee of up to $10 for every truck that passes through its borders. Many states agree to waive fees for trucks that are registered in another state if the other state allows their trucks to pass through without paying the fee, which helps their trucking companies save money.
Michigan had such an agreement not to charge fees for trucks with Illinois license plates. But in September 1991, Michigan changed its policy to say the trucks must have their principal place of business in Illinois -- not simply a license plate from the state -- to qualify for the waiver in 1992.
Yellow Freight System is based in Overland Park, Kan., but says its 3,700 trucks with Illinois plates should not have to pay the fees because they were not required to do so on Nov. 15, 1991.
Michigan Solicitor General Thomas Casey argued that the state's fee was $10 at the time. He said the state chose to waive it for some truckers, but has the right to change the policy at any time.
Yellow Freight had won in lower courts, but the Michigan Supreme Court
reversed and said the fees were allowed.