(1) A certificate or permit, or rights obtained under a certificate or permit, that are held, owned, or obtained by any common carrier or contract carrier may be sold, assigned, leased, encumbered, or transferred as other property, subject to prior authorization by the commission.
(2) Absent other facts, the fact that a common carrier or contract carrier conducts operations with independent contractors does not in and of itself constitute a lease or transfer of the certificate.
(3) An existing certificate or permit shall not be transferred unless the fitness of the transferee is established to the satisfaction of the commission.
Source: L. 2011: Entire article added, (HB 11-1198), ch. 127, p. 408, § 1, effective August 10.
ANNOTATION
Annotator's note. Since § 40-10.1-205 is similar to §§ 40-10-106 and 40-11-104 as they existed prior to the 2011 reorganization of the motor carrier statutes, relevant cases construing those sections have been included in the annotations to this section.
A certificate is by law deemed subject to transfer as any other property, although the approval of the commission is additionally required, and the fitness of the purchaser to succeed to the common-carrier operation of the transferor. DeLue v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 169 Colo. 159, 454 P.2d 939 (1969).
In order for the public utilities commission (PUC) to revoke, amend, or alter permits or certificates of participating parties in a transfer, it must comply with the statutory procedural requirements which would legally justify the end sought to be accomplished, issue a notice, hold a hearing at which the respondent is given an opportunity to defend itself, and finally, enter its decision in accordance with the evidence. Anything less will not satisfy the statute nor that quality of fairness required by "procedural due process". Buckingham v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 180 Colo. 267, 504 P.2d 677 (1972).
Transferee's authority limited to that of transferor. The PUC correctly refused to fragmentize the general commodity certificate transferred and limit the transferee's authority to the service which had been primarily provided by the transferor where the evidence demonstrated the transferor had carried on the business of hauling a broad range of commodities and that it has accepted all freight tendered to it within the scope of its operating authority. DeLue v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 169 Colo. 159, 454 P.2d 939 (1969).
Contract carrier has no legal interest to assert in a proceeding involving certificate transfer. Since the contract carrier has no right to protection from competition by a common carrier or its successors in interest in has no legal interest or right which it can assert in a proceeding involving the transfer of a common-carrier certificate. DeLue v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 169 Colo. 159, 454 P.2d 939 (1969).
No transfer. Where the owner does not surrender his duties as president and director of the corporation, he and his wife continue to be majority stockholders, and the duties of the manager were similar to other carriers; it is quite apparent that there was not a transfer of control. Overland Motor Express, Inc. v. Kingery Transp. Co., 167 Colo. 105, 445 P.2d 713 (1968).