Barnes Laundry Co. v. Pittsburgh

Citations

• 266 Pa. 24
• 109 A. 535
• 1920 Pa. LEXIS 493

Syllabus

<p>Municipalities — Public service companies — Municipal operation of water plant — Bates—Excessive rates — Equity—Injunction—Act of July 26, 1918, P. L. 1S71¡. — Constitutional law — Title of act — i Classification.</p> <p>1. Municipal corporations are not within the term “public service companies” as used in the Act of July 26, 1913, P. L. 1374; nor are they embraced in its rate-making provisions; nor are they subject at all to the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission beyond the “limited extent” referred to in the title and provided for in certain parts of the act.</p> <p>2. The authorities which hold that when a city undertakes to supply water it acts “not by virtue of any right of sovereignty, but exercises merely the functions of a private corporation” have no application to the construction of the Act of July 26, 1913, P. L. 1374.</p> <p>3. The classification, made by the Public Service Company Act, of corporations doing public service, into (1) corporations other than municipal, and (2) municipal corporations, does not violate the constitutional inhibition against special legislation.</p> <p>4. The fact that the act contains a provision to the effect that if any particular part shall be declared unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect other parts thereof, is no justification for. reading the law as though the alleged unconstitutional parts— working the division of corporations into different classes — were not contained therein, thus placing municipal corporations rendering the same kind of service as public service companies in a general class with the latter, and, by this method of construction, or elimination, subjecting the former to all the terms of the act.</p> <p>Springfield Gas & Electric Co. v. City of Springfield, vol. 15, No. 8, Bate Besearch, page 1, disapproved.</p> <p>5. When rendering the same character of service as public service companies, municipalities for many purposes must be considered and treated like private corporat